Indians 6, Twins 2: Shin-Soo Choo went 4-for-4 with two RBIs to back seven strong innings from Justin Masterson as host Cleveland snapped an 11-game losing streak.
Masterson (8-10) rebounded from two wretched performances, limiting Minnesota to two runs on three hits to help the Indians avoid matching a franchise record for most consecutive defeats.
The only mistake by Masterson was serving up a two-run homer to Alexi Casilla in the fifth inning. He struck out seven and walking four as Cleveland halted a string of seven straight losses to the Twins.
Vinnie Pestano and Esmil Rogers each tossed a scoreless inning in relief to help the Indians hold an opponent under five runs for the first time since the losing streak started.
Choo doubled in a run in the first and had an RBI single in the second to help Cleveland build an early 4-0 lead. Carlos Santana and Asdrubal Cabrera also had run-scoring singles to lift the Indians to their first win since July 26.
Twins left-hander Brian Duensing (2-7) allowed six runs – four earned – on 11 hits in seven innings as Minnesota was denied in its bid for a second straight three-game sweep over the Indians.
Minnesota right fielder Ben Revere went 0-for-4 and had his career-high 21-game hitting streak snapped.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka had a hand in two of Cleveland’s three two-run innings, committing a throwing error in the second and losing a ball in the sun and botching a relay throw in the sixth. … Cleveland averted matching the 12-game franchise losing streak set in 1931. … The Twins had outscored the Indians 62-21 in winning the previous seven meetings. … Indians DH Travis Hafner (back) sat out his third consecutive game. He has missed four of the last five. … Casilla’s homer was his first since June 21, 2011. … Cleveland will host the Boston Red Sox in a four-game series beginning Thursday while Minnesota will return home to open a three-game set against Tampa Bay on Friday night.
