 relieved starter Devin Smeltzer in the fourth and struck out two in two innings.Taylor Rogers got the final five outs for his 26th save, but had to work out of trouble in the eighth and ninth.Rogers relieved Sergio Romo with a runner on in the eighth and gave up a two-out single to Yasiel Puig, but struck out Greg Allen.The left-hander retired the first batter in the ninth, but was charged with an error when he didn't pick up Jason Kipnis' slow roller. Rogers struck out Roberto Perez and Mike Freeman to end the game.Jorge Polanco hit a two-run homer in the second off Mike Clevinger (11-3), who had won 10 consecutive decisions. Clevinger struck out 10 in eight innings, but lost for the first time since June 28.The Twins' shortstop also cut off Cleveland's best scoring threat in the third when he speared Carlos Santana's line drive with the bases loaded to end the inning.Minnesota's plan going into the series was to use their bullpen for Saturday's night game. The Indians opted to with a bullpen game Saturday night after the rainout.Smeltzer retired the first six hitters, but hit Jason Kipnis with a pitch to begin the third. Roberto Perez singled before Smeltzer retired the next two hitters. Oscar Mercado walked and Smeltzer went to a 3-2 count on Santana. Polanco made a diving backhand catch of the liner to end the inning.Polanco's two-run homer Friday got washed away by the rain. Max Kepler, who had been sidelined by a sore left shoulder, had a one-out single in the third before Polanco hit his 22nd homer of the season.TRAINER'S ROOMTwins: RHP Sam Dyson (sore biceps) shut down his throwing session Friday. He hasn't pitched since Sept. 3.Indians: Perez remained in the game after being hit by Tyler Duffey's pitch in the seventh. The ball deflected off Perez's left shoulder and hit him in the face. He went to first base after being examined by a team trainer.UP NEXTThe series wraps up Sunday when RHP Jose Berrios (12-8, 3.63 ERA) faces RHP Shane Bieber (14-7, 3,17 ERA) in a matchup of All-Star pitchers.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Indians look to gain more ground on Twins in DHFLMThe Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians saw their offenses make an immediate impact in their series opener, only to see Mother Nature wash away those results following a near-two-hour rain delay.That game ultimately was postponed after 2 1/2 innings -- with the score tied 2-2 -- resulting in a split doubleheader Saturday as the American League Central rivals reconvene in Cleveland.The first game will begin at 1:10 p.m. ET while the second is scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m.The Indians (86-61) have won four in a row to move within 3 1/2 games of the Twins (89-57), against whom they have won nine of 16 meetings -- including six of the last eight.Only one of the four starting pitchers has been confirmed for Saturday's showdown, as Cleveland right-hander Mike Clevinger (11-2, 2.72 ERA) will take the mound for the first contest.Clevinger improved to 10-0 record with a 2.00 ERA in his last 13 outings after allowing two runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 5-2 victory at Minnesota on Sunday.The 28-year-old's strong showing upped his mark to 2-0 in three starts this season against the Twins and 4-2 with a 2.87 ERA in 13 career appearances (10 starts) versus the club."I'm here to win," Clevinger told reporters recently. "I want us to win. I want to us to beat the (heck) out of them every time we see them. Especially when we're this close and we have this kind of race going down the stretch, it makes it that much more fun." Jorge Polanco (1-for-15) and Max Kepler (2-for-24) have struggled mightily against Clevinger, although Minnesota rookie Luis Arraez is 4-for-8 versus the hurler.Arraez, 22, enters Saturday's action with a 10-game hitting streak, during which he is 17-for-39 with 10 runs scored.The Twins have elected to use a pair of bullpen games for the doubleheader, while the Indians are following suit with their bullpen for the finale."We have 18 innings to cover at least, you never know what's going to happen," Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli told the media following the washout. "This is a pretty unique experience. I don't know if I've seen the two-bullpen-days in one day, but I think we have the personnel to make it work." Cleveland's Jason Kipnis told reporters that Friday's postponement could play into his team's favor."They had a bullpen game going tomorrow, and now they got to fit it into two," the 32-year-old Kipnis said. "So they lose out on (Friday starter Jake) Odorizzi. Granted, we lose (Aaron) Civale, but we get to come back with (Clevinger) and they got to piece together two starts tomorrow." While Cleveland isn't tipping its hand regarding the identity of its opener for the nightcap, the club announced that closer Brad Hand will not pitch in the series due to a tired left arm.The Indians called up reliever James Karinchak from Triple-A Columbus to provide a jolt to the team's bullpen."The reason we've got him now is there's 15 games left," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "That potentially gives us a chance to pitch him in a couple games, maybe not with the bases loaded and two outs, that type of situation. To see if he could possibly help us down the stretch."At worst, what it does is it gives us a read on where this kid is going into spring training. ... And again, that's at worst. Maybe this kid comes up and gets everybody out. We'll see." --Field Level Media
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