CLEVELAND - The Twins left Cleveland on Thursday after being pounded on for three games by the Indians -- and hoping they've hit rock bottom so things don't get any worse.
Even with two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana pitching up to his lofty standards, Indians righthander Fausto Carmona one-upped him as Cleveland finished a sweep in a well-played 2-0 victory.
The defeat left the Twins in a peculiar spot heading into three games this weekend against the revived Milwaukee Brewers. The Twins have lost seven of their past eight games and are 7-16 since April 21.
For anyone who's thinking the Twins still are better off than they were a year ago, you're right.
The Twins are 18-22 through 40 games.
They were 17-23 through 40 games last season.
Sounds as if it's time for a rallying cry.
"The reality is that we haven't played good baseball, and we need to be more consistent," Santana said. "It's not just about one guy, one pitcher, one hitter, one player. It takes the whole team to win a game. Unfortunately, it's not working for us right now.
"I don't try to do anything different. I try to let everyone know that I'm out there trying to do my job and standing up for my team and expect the same thing from everyone else."
The difference Thursday was the Twins were beaten instead of beating themselves as they have recently.
Twins players hopped out of bed Thursday morning with a little more pep in their step because they knew Santana gave them a real shot of stopping their skid and heading into Milwaukee on an upswing.
"Every time he's on the mound we feel that," outfielder Michael Cuddyer.
But Carmona, who beat Santana and the Twins on April 24 at the Metrodome, was waiting with an exceptional sinker.
"I don't remember seeing a ball move like that," said Twins outfielder Jason Kubel, who grounded out to second base three times. "I was able to see the pitches. They'd come in and look pretty good, down the middle. And I'll take a good hack. When I made contact, the ball is almost out of the strike zone. It was crazy."
Carmona (5-1) pitched the first complete-game shutout of his career, holding the Twins to four hits and two walks over 121 pitches. The Twins needed to be a little more patient with Carmona's sinker and let it fall out of the strike zone. But no walks and no power have been a losing combination for the Twins so far this season.
"It was so scary, I thought I was hung over," Twins outfielder Torii Hunter said.
Santana (4-4) struck out a season-high 11 during his seven-inning stint, but lost the game on his 88th and 90th pitches -- solo home runs by Victor Martinez and Ryan Garko.
Cleveland outscored the Twins 24-8 in the series and have won all five games between the teams this season.
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