|
 T.J. House worked seven scoreless innings and Carlos Santana hit
his second home run of the day and drove in both of Cleveland's runs
as the Indians completed a doubleheader sweep of the Minnesota Twins
with a 2-0 victory on Thursday at Progressive Field.
"We played two pretty crisp games," Indians manager Terry Francona
said. "Doubleheaders are hard to win."
The left-handed House gave up four hits, had eight strikeouts and
did not issue a walk. He struck out the side in the seventh inning,
his last. Cody Allen pitched the ninth inning to pick up his 20th
save.
In the first game, Santana and catcher Yan Gomes homered and
right-hander Corey Kluber pitched 8 1/3 strong innings as the
Indians won 8-2.
Kluber (15-9) gave up two runs and eight hits with seven strikeouts
and did not issue a walk. Santana belted a two-run homer in the
first inning, and Gomes hit a solo homer in the second and added a
two-run double in the third.
Right-hander Kyle Gibson (11-11) started for the Twins but lasted
only three innings, giving up seven runs.
There wasn't much hitting by either side in the second game, with
House (3-3) out-pitching right-hander Ricky Nolasco (5-11). House
and two relievers combined on a four-hitter.
Kluber and House, the Indians' two starters in the doubleheader,
combined to pitch 15 1/3 innings with 15 strikeouts and no walks.
"Corey pitched them really well, pounding the zone," House said. "He
had a ton of 0-2 and 1-2 counts. I tried to stay in the same place
he was."
In his last three starts, House has pitched 21 innings with 20
strikeouts and no walks. Called up from Triple-A Columbus in May,
House stepped into the rotation and has been one of the Indians'
most consistent pitchers during the last two months.
"It's exciting watching the development of this kid. He's out there
doing it," Francona said. "Finding pitching is one of the best
feelings in the game. We didn't knock the ball out of the park, but
the way we pitched it ended up being a good day for us."
Nolasco, who is 0-5 with a 6.05 ERA in his last seven starts,
pitched seven innings, giving up one run and six hits with five
strikeouts and no walks.
"My curve was good today and I did a good job filling up the zone. I
thought I did pretty good," Nolasco said. "That's the way this game
goes. It's hard sometimes. Their guy threw the ball well."
[to top of second column]
|
Leading 1-0, the Indians added an insurance run in the eighth inning
off left-hander Caleb Thielbar. Center fielder Michael Bourn reached
on a bunt single, left fielder Michael Brantley walked and Santana
singled, scoring Bourn to make it 2-0.
House, who matched his career highs in strikeouts and innings in the
game, has quietly been a very effective starter for the Indians in
the second half of the season. In his last five starts, he is 2-0
with a 2.03 ERA.
"Their kid pitched really well," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
"He had a lot of nice stuff, made a lot of good pitches. We couldn't
get anything going."
Nolasco retired 10 of the first 12 batters he faced. That streak was
interrupted with one out in the fourth inning when Santana pounded a
1-2 pitch over the right-field wall for a solo home run, giving
Cleveland a 1-0 lead.
Santana has 27 home runs, which matches his career high set in 2011,
and is also a club record for a switch-hitter.
NOTES: Indians RHP Corey Kluber (15-9) was the winner in the first
game. Kluber's 15 victories are the most by an Indians pitcher since
LHP Cliff Lee went 22-3 in his Cy Young Award-winning 2008 season.
... Indians INF-OF Mike Aviles started the second game at third
base. It was Aviles' first start since Sept. 1. He had been
sidelined since then with a concussion. ... Twins RHP Kyle Gibson,
who took the loss in the first game, gave up seven runs in three
innings, his shortest outing since giving up seven runs in three
innings to the New York Yankees on July 4.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
