Twins Win 14-3, Indians Lose 10th Straight
CLEVELAND (AP) — Justin Morneau homered twice and drove in four runs, Joe Mauer had three RBIs and Ryan Doumit hit a three-run homer to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 14-3 victory over Cleveland on Monday night, the Indians' 10th straight loss.
Ben Revere had four of the Twins' 14 hits and extended his hitting streak to 20 games while Josh Willingham hit his 29th homer, matching his career-high.
The Twins, who homered three times in their 10-run second, fell one run shy of their biggest inning in franchise history. Minnesota has scored 11 runs in an inning four times.
Scott Diamond (10-5) allowed three runs in seven innings as the Twins beat the Indians for the sixth straight time this season. Minnesota swept a three-game series at Target Field in late July.
The Indians went 0-9 on a road trip that ended Sunday. Before Monday's game, general manager Chris Antonetti expressed his support for manager Manny Acta and the coaching staff even though the team was coming off the least successful trip in the franchise's 112-year history.
The trip ended in shocking fashion when All-Star closer Chris Perez allowed five runs with two outs in the 10th in a 10-8 loss to Detroit. The Indians never had a chance Monday and are two losses from the longest losing streak in franchise history, a 12-game skid in 1931. Cleveland lost 11 straight in 2009.
The Indians loaded the bases with no outs in the first, but scored only one run when Carlos Santana hit into a double play. The brief lead became Cleveland's only highlight when the Twins sent 13 men to the plate in the second.
Zach McAllister (4-4) breezed through the first inning on 12 pitches. The right-hander threw 52 pitches in the second and didn't last the inning. He allowed back-to-back homers to Morneau and Willingham to start the second. Doumit's three-run shot off Josh Tomlin capped the rally. A throwing error by second baseman Jason Kipnis on a ground ball that should have ended the inning made eight of the runs unearned.
Tsuyoshi Nishioka grounded out to finally end the inning and the Indians were met with sarcastic applause from the fans as they left the field.
The Indians' slump has featured a complete collapse in all phases of the game. Shoddy defense didn't help in the latest loss. McAllister appeared to be out of the inning when Denard Span hit a slow roller to right side with runners on first and third, but Kipnis' throw pulled Santana off the bag at first.
Doumit scored on the play giving the Twins a 3-1 lead. Revere had an RBI single and Mauer, who had three hits, followed with a two-run double. McAllister was finally pulled after a walk to Willlingham and Morneau's RBI single. Doumit greeted Tomlin with his three-run homer.
McAllister allowed nine runs — two earned — in 1 2-3 innings.
Morneau hit his 200th career homer, a solo shot in the fourth.
The Twins hadn't scored 10 runs in an inning since June 4, 2002 against the Indians in Minnesota, a game the Twins won 23-2.
Santana hit a two-run homer in the sixth for the Indians.
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