Twins finally get a hit off Kluber, and win in extras

Trevor Plouffe's slow start to the 2015 season mirrored his team's. Maybe he and the Twins are coming out of it together.

Plouffe, 4-for-34 on the season as he stood in the batter's box in the 11th inning Friday night, walloped a 3-1 pitch from Bryan Shaw into the left-field bleachers in Target Field, earning the Twins their third consecutive victory, 3-2 over the Cleveland Indians.

The Twins collected only six hits all night, and none in the first five innings off reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber. They are still hitting only .216 as a team. But like Plouffe, they are showing signs of putting a confidence-crushing start to the season behind them.

"It's quiet leadership that sustains you," manager Paul Molitor said. "At least for the time being, we've been able to overcome what was a frustrating beginning for everyone."

None more than Plouffe, who was batting .130 while the Twins opened the season 1-6. But he has a touch for these big moments: The third baseman has been at the plate for three of the Twins' past four walk-off wins, including a 10th-inning win over the Indians here last September.

"I'm confident [in those situations]. I think anybody in this clubhouse would want to be up there with the game on the line," he said. "I was never not confident [this season]. Frustrated, yes."

The Twins had reason to be frustrated, too, having little chance early against Kluber, then leaving the go-ahead run in scoring position in the sixth, eighth, ninth and 10th innings.

So when Plouffe led off the 11th by looking at three straight balls from Shaw, he wanted to swing at the 3-0 pitch, but Molitor put on the take sign. When Shaw's 3-1 pitch, a cutter at 90 miles per hour, crossed the middle of the plate, "a lot of frustration came out of me with that swing," Plouffe said. And the ball sailed deep into the night, a no-doubt home run from the moment it was struck.

"He's keeping a good attitude," Molitor said of the night's hero. "Poor starts have a tendency to affect the mind a little bit more. But getting a big home run like that takes a lot of pressure off."

The Twins felt plenty of pressure early — just to get a baserunner.

Kluber was dominating for five innings, consistently fooling the Twins on breaking balls that seemed to suddenly dive. He struck out five of the first seven Twins he faced, and easily stretched his streak of consecutive innings with at least one strikeout to 13.

"If there was any theme running through the dugout after the first time around, it was, 'Let's get him before he gets you,' " Molitor said. "We got aggressive."

Oswaldo Arcia was first, lining a solid single to right field to lead off the sixth inning. He went to second base on a wild pitch, and scored on Chris Herrmann's single. Not only did that break up Kluber's no-hit chances, but it seemed to rattle the Indians, too.

Jordan Schafer hit a ground ball up the middle, Danny Santana laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Cleveland recorded outs on neither play, loading the bases. Shortstop Jose Ramirez threw too late to third base to retire Herrmann on Schafer's grounder, and Kluber fielded Santana's bunt and threw to home plate, though Herrmann had held up at third.

That allowed Herrmann to score the Twins' tying second run when a third strike to Eduardo Escobar bounced in the dirt and past Perez.

From there, the Twins bullpen held Cleveland in check. Pelfrey allowed one run over five innings, an encouraging performance in his first appearance at Target Field since May 1. He had some help — Eduardo Escobar threw out Jose Ramirez at the plate from left field to end the fifth inning. Tim Stauffer gave up a home run to Brandon Moss, but the bullpen then pitched 5⅔ scoreless innings.