Mike Napoli had three hits, including his 19th home run and Carlos Carrasco pitched into the seventh inning.
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Minnesota Twins pitcher Tyler Duffey throws against the Cleveland Indians in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 16, 2016, in Minneapolis.
The rain started to fall in the ninth inning and really picked up in the 11th, so crew chief Larry Vanover called for the tarp with two outs in the top of the inning. After a two-hour delay, play resumed just in time for the Twins to load the bases with one out in the 11th against Joe Colon.
“It’s the only one I saw”, Dozier said of the fastball from Carrasco. But Sano also dropped an easy popup off the bat of Francisco Lindor in foul territory in the seventh inning for an error, then was charged with another one when he muffed a hot shot from Rajai Davis in the eighth.
“It looked to me like Gomer didn’t look it into the glove”, Indians manager Terry Francona said. “Four hits usually is not going to get you many wins”. “He made some mistakes and I got that one. That’s why we’re hitting him where we’re hitting him, because regardless of who’s pitching or what type, he puts the ball in play”, Francona said. “I was just hoping he was all right”.
Gomes has gone hitless in his last nine games and is in a 1-for-35 slump. After he went 0 for 4 on Friday night, the Indians conducted an exorcism in the clubhouse, complete with the sacrificing of a store-bought chicken in an effort to get him back on track. May the hits be plenty!
Indians OF Michael Brantley had his rehab assignment moved from Class A Lake County to Double-A Akron on Friday. Francona said he expected Brantley to play six or seven innings and that he was close to being able to play in back-to-back games. The right-hander will look to bounce back from his worst outing of the season his last time out against the Detroit Tigers on July 6. He played 12 seasons with Minnesota from 1997 to 2007 and again in 2015, hitting.268 with 214 home runs and 792 RBIs. Indians RHP Zach McAllister will begin a rehab assignment on Monday with Triple-A Columbus.
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Twins: CF Byron Buxton was in the lineup for a second straight day and manager Paul Molitor said the knee injury that occurred when Buxton crashed into the wall three games before the All-Star break is behind him now. Carlos Santana had three hits to increase his total to 19 during his 13-game hitting streak, but is 2-for-15 – albeit with two homers – versus Sunday starter Kyle Gibson.
