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Home | Sports | Twins

Good riddance to Cleveland

The Twins continued to stagger toward the finish line, losing their third in a row to the Indians. Next up: Four games with the Rays.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: September 18, 2008 - 12:30 AM

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CLEVELAND 6, TWINS 4

Up next: Four-game series at Tampa Bay • Game 1 at 6:10 p.m. today • TV: FSN (1500-AM)

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CLEVELAND - Eventually, the Twins could look back on this as the collapse of 2008.

A chance to win another division title is just sitting there, begging them to seize it, but this team is unable to capitalize night after night.

The latest hair-pulling example came Wednesday, when the Twins kept Cliff Lee from getting his 23rd victory, only to see their bullpen lose another one.

Cleveland scored the go-ahead runs off Matt Guerrier in the seventh inning and completed a three-game sweep with a 6-4 victory at Progressive Field.

Once again, the Twins received no immediate punishment for their sins because the Yankees defeated Chicago 5-1, keeping the Twins 2 1/2 games back in the American League Central with 10 games to play.

The White Sox are 8-11 in their past 19 games, but the Twins are in an 8-16 spiral. They boarded a late flight to Tampa, Fla., where they'll open a four-game series tonight against the Rays, who own the majors' best home record at 55-22.

"At this point, you just see what we're made of," Guerrier said. "We lose three here at a time we need to be winning some games. It's going to be tough going to Tampa. They're fighting for a spot, and we've got pretty much our backs against the wall."

The Twins did manage to spoil Lee's final home start of the season.

The lefty took a 4-2 lead to the mound for the seventh but walked off with the score tied 4-4 after Delmon Young's run-scoring single past a drawn-in infield.

If the Twins had known this would turn into a battle of bullpens, they probably would have jumped at it.

Lee is 22-2, and the Twins countered with Scott Baker, working on three days' rest.

Baker allowed four runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings. Manager Ron Gardenhire pulled him after Shin-Soo Choo lined a two-run double to make it 4-2.

With first base open, Gardenhire hoped Baker would throw pitches in the dirt, trying to get Choo to chase.

"Joe [Mauer] went out and talked to [Baker before the pitch to Choo]," Gardenhire said. "We asked Bake what happened, and he said, 'I wanted to get ahead of him.' So we're just on a little different wavelengths here.

"It's my responsibility there. I left it in their hands. ... We went with a different theory that didn't work. Stupid."

After the Twins tied it in the seventh, Gardenhire found more frustration.

His relievers are 3-14 since Aug. 14.

This time, Cleveland put a runner on third base with one out against rookie lefthander Jose Mijares before he fanned Choo for a big second out.

With Jhonny Peralta coming up, Gardenhire turned to veteran righthander Matt Guerrier. Peralta was 1-for-15 for his career against Guerrier, but Peralta flared a ball into left-center field, and Young couldn't make a sliding catch. Jamey Carroll scored, as the ball bounced away for a double.

Victor Martinez followed with an RBI double down the right field line.

"Walking out there, it's not a good feeling right now," Gardenhire said. "You know it's the right thing to do, but we're not making enough good pitches to make it work. We've just gotta keep after it. That's all we can do."

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