Young, Punto latest to deliver

Delmon Young and Nick Punto each homered and drove in four runs as the Twins continued their surge, while burying last-place Cleveland a little deeper.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: July 5, 2008 - 6:49 AM

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TWINS 12, CLEVELAND 3

Up next: vs. Cleveland • 6:10 p.m. today • TV: FSN (1500-AM)

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Nine months after falling one victory short of the World Series, the Cleveland Indians have all but given up on 2008.

The Twins pushed them closer to surrender Friday, as Delmon Young and Nick Punto each homered and drove in four runs in a 12-3 victory over Cleveland at the Metrodome.

Livan Hernandez (9-5) pitched six innings for his third victory in four starts, and the Twins climbed within one game of first-place Chicago in the American League Central.

The last-place Indians have dropped six consecutive games. On Friday, they designated closer Joe Borowski for assignment, and soon, they will strongly consider trading lefthander C.C. Sabathia to reload for 2009.

Three weeks ago, the Twins were teetering on oblivion's edge themselves after losing eight of 10, including two of three at Cleveland. But they have gone 16-3 in their past 19 games to make this another interesting summer for their fans.

An announced crowd of 22,634 watched as Young broke a 2-2 tie in the third inning with a three-run homer off Paul Byrd (3-10).

"It's really nice to see guys contribute," Punto said. "Tonight, it was me and Delmon. Delmon's starting to swing the bat really well. That's a key to this team going a long ways. So it was a good night."

In the first inning, Punto connected for his first home run since June 6, 2007.

Two innings later, Young delivered the hit of the game.

The Twins had runners on second and third with two out. Young was batting .206 with two outs and runners in scoring position, but with a 1-1 count, Byrd hung a 74-mile-per-hour breaking ball, and Young pulled the pitch several rows deep into the left-field seats.

Young finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored.

"There have been games where I've been 0-fer, but I've hit the ball harder," Young said. "These just happened to find holes. I'm just fortunate that stuff worked out and our team put up a lot of runs."

No matter how much he downplayed it, the home run was one of his biggest swings as a Twin. He did a TV interview after the game, and teammates surprised him with the old pie to the face.

On June 11, Young was batting .265 with one home run and 20 RBI. Since then, he has gone 23-for-59 (.390), leaving his season totals at .289 with three home runs and 33 RBI.

"Delmon Young was really on the ball tonight," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "A lot of guys were."

The Twins had 15 hits.

Young added an RBI single in the seventh inning after Cleveland had pulled within 5-3, and Punto added a three-run double in the eighth to help put the game away.

After going 0-for-6 in his first two games back from the disabled list, Punto has gone 5-for-11, raising his average to .289.

"His legs have been bothering him, but if we can keep him on the field, he's a great player," Gardenhire said. "He does a lot of good things for us. It's good to see a smile on his face."