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 Oswaldo Arcia had other plans.
The Twins' powerful left fielder crushed a solo homer to lead off
the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Minnesota to a 4-3 win at
Target Field.?
Arcia smashed a 1-2 fastball from Indians right hander Zach
McAllister (1-1) off the facing of the second deck in right field
for his third homer and second game-winning home run this season.
Arcia also had a run-scoring single to beat the Los Angeles Angels
on April 17.
"The first couple of pitches I was swinging too hard, too big,"
Arcia said through a translator. "Once I straightened up, the ball
came in a little bit. With my short swing, I took it out."
McAllister entered to start the ninth inning, and his fourth pitch
ended the game.
Kevin Jepsen (1-3) pitched a scoreless top of the ninth. His blown
save in the ninth on Sunday allowed the Washington Nationals to send
the game to extras, eventually winning on a solo homer by Chris
Heisey in the bottom of the 16th inning.
 "After yesterday's very, very challenging loss, to bounce back (was
good)," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Some of the pitchers
stepped up who I know didn't have a lot, but they went out there and
pitched for us."
Both starters lasted just 4 2/3 innings, which forced the Twins to
lean on a taxed bullpen.
Cleveland's Yan Gomes hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth
inning, the only damage done against Twins relievers.
Gomes' homer tied the game at 3-3, threatening extra innings. The
Indians catcher has now homered in consecutive starts.
Indians right-hander Danny Salazar gave up three runs on three hits
and four walks, striking out three.
"I was throwing too many balls, getting behind in the count,"
Salazar said. "That was the problem tonight. The last few games,
I've been throwing too many balls and getting behind in the count."
Cleveland's bullpen had allowed one hit in 3 1/3 innings before
Arcia's massive homer to end it.
"They gave us a chance," Indians manager Terry Francona said.
Twins lefty Tommy Milone struck out five and walked two, allowing
two runs on seven hits.
"Felt pretty good, just used too many pitches," Milone said. "That's
been the story here. It's been kind of hard for me to get out of the
fifth inning it seems like."
A one-out single by Carlos Santana helped the Indians grab 1-0 lead
in the second inning. Two batters later, Santana advanced to second
on a wild pitch then scored when Marlon Byrd singled over the head
of Twins third baseman Eduardo Nunez.
Byrd was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.
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Cleveland used small ball again in the fifth inning to stretch its
lead to 2-0.
Rajai Davis started the two-out rally with a single to center then
stole second base. Jason Kipnis followed with a sharp single to
center, scoring Davis just ahead of the throw from center fielder
Danny Santana.
Minnesota manufactured a two-out rally of its own in the bottom of
the fifth, getting a single by Santana and a walk by Nunez. A wild
pitch advanced both into scoring position for Brian Dozier, who
smacked a two-run double down the third-base line.
"(Salazar) pitched behind in the count, it seemed like all night,"
Francona said. "His fastball was explosive, but a lot of 3-2 counts.
At some point, you figure somebody is going to get a hit. Just
thought with the stuff he had tonight, he should go deeper in the
game."
An intentional walk to Joe Mauer set up Miguel Sano, who drove in
Dozier from second on a soft single to right field, giving the Twins
a 3-2 lead.
NOTES: Indians OF Michael Brantley was activated off the 15-day
disabled list after missing the first 16 games following offseason
shoulder surgery. ... Indians RHP Carlos Carrasco was placed on the
15-day DL with a right hamstring strain. He is expected to miss four
to six weeks. ... Twins OF Byron Buxton was optioned to Triple-A
Rochester after hitting .156 with 24 strikeouts in 45 at-bats. ...
Minnesota also optioned OF Max Kepler to Rochester. Kepler had two
doubles in 12 at-bats since being recalled April 10. ... Twins OF
Danny Santana was activated off the DL after recovering from a
hamstring injury. ... Minnesota recalled RHP Alex Meyer from
Rochester. Meyer struck out 19 and walked four in 17 1/3 innings
over three starts in Rochester, but he is expected to pitch in
relief with the twins. ... Cleveland will send RHP Cody Anderson
(0-1, 7.53 ERA) to the mound against Minnesota RHP Ricky Nolasco
(1-0, 2.66 ERA) on Tuesday.
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