Triple play only small part of Twins' woes

Nothing seemed to go right during a showdown with the AL Central-leading Indians, right from the first inning.

By La Velle E. Neal III, Star Tribune

Last update: August 29, 2007 - 12:26 AM

CLEVELAND - All that will be remembered about the Twins' 8-3 loss to the Indians on Monday will be the 5-4-3 triple play Mike Redmond hit into in the seventh inning.

"That triple play," Twins outfielder Torii Hunter said, "kind of deflated us."

Truthfully, air was seeping out of this one as soon as Twins pitcher Carlos Silva began the game by walking Grady Sizemore. It continued with an error by Jason Bartlett, feeble early at-bats by Twins hitters and an eruption by Silva in the fourth inning as he left the game.

Their five-game winning streak, which had tied a season high, ended as the third-place Twins fell 6½ games behind Cleveland and four behind second-place Detroit.

"Playing the first-place team, we have to play perfect to go out there and beat these guys," Redmond said. "We made some mistakes and good hitters will make you pay."

The triple play topped it all. It was the first triple play turned by Cleveland since 1992 at Baltimore. It was the third triple play in the majors this season. It was the first at Jacobs Field ever, and the first turned in Cleveland since 1976 -- against the Rod Carew and Lyman Bostock-led Twins.

"A bad night for us," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Michael Cuddyer pounded a double to center to begin the seventh, followed by a Jason Kubel walk. The Twins, down 7-3 then, were threatening against Cleveland starter Paul Byrd (13-5).

But Cleveland manager Eric Wedge removed Byrd for lefthander Rafael Perez, who isn't afraid to pitch inside to righthanded hitters.

Redmond is an opposite-field hitter. Most teams play their third baseman off the line when he bats, but Indians third baseman Casey Blake was not. The positioning worked. Redmond fell behind 0-2 and then pulled a grounder to third that was gobbled up by Blake.

"He isn't exactly a fast runner," Blake said of Redmond. "Anytime they hit it and I'm moving toward the bag, I thought I had a chance to go for it."

Cuddyer saw the play begin as he hustled to third.

"I was wondering why [Blake] was playing on the line,"' Cuddyer said, "After that, I was like, 'Oh geez.'"

Blake stepped on the bag, then threw to second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera to force out Kubel. Cabrera then fired to Victor Martinez at first to nab the slow-footed Redmond as the announced crowd of 23,178 roared.

"That was pretty cool," said Blake, a former Twin. "It was a boost for the team."

Silva was in the clubhouse by then. He was knocked out after 3 2/3 innings, his shortest outing of the season, after giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits. He appeared to complain to coach Jerry White, who positions the defense, as he came off the field, an indication he wasn't pleased with where his teammates were set up.

"That's in-house baseball," Gardenhire said.

Silva (10-13) admitted to being frustrated. "In the situation we are in right now, the only thing you want to do is help the team out," he said. "You are looking for a strong outing and [to] keep the winning streak going."

La Velle E. Neal III • lneal@startribune.com

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