Just in time for a reality-check series with the Cleveland Indians, the Twins found their offense and reached a couple of milestones in a season marked by injuries, illness and poor production.
For the moment, the Twins put aside those issues with a 10-3 victory over Cleveland on Saturday at Target Field in front a crowd of 39,459 in mid-40s temperatures.
Imagine the concern if the Twins hadn’t warmed up faithful fans with the team’s best offensive display through 20 games. The Twins’ 10 runs were a season high, and their 13 hits matched their season high against Kansas City on April 12.
“It was a little more fun today,” right fielder Jason Kubel said. “Not every at-bat was a pressure situation.”
The Twins, who entered the game last in the American League in runs scored, runs batted in, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, bunched runs together for the first time this season and eased the stress on their starting pitching. Right-hander Brian Duensing (2-0) was the first Twins starter this season to see his teammates score more than two runs in an inning.
In the third and fifth innings against Cleveland starter Fausto Carmona, the Twins had three-run rallies that set up Duensing for a rare comfortable start for Twins pitchers.
“It was kind of refreshing to see the offense put up 10 runs,” said Duensing, who kept the Twins in control by limiting Cleveland to one run in seven innings. “We’ve been struggling on both sides as a team. It was a good, all-around game for us.”
There was relief throughout the Twins’ locker room that manager Ron Gardenhire and his players were spared from another round of questions about why the team can’t generate any offense, particularly in key situations. Before Saturday’s game, Gardenhire met with the team to discuss how to approach Carmona and other Cleveland pitchers.
In Gardenhire’s mind, with Cleveland leading the last-place Twins by six games in the AL Central, it was time to make adjustments.
“We just need to get more good at-bats,” Gardenhire said. “That’s been our problem. Guys have been chasing balls and pressing, swinging at the first pitch when they should be just trying to get on base. I keep saying it’s just a matter of time. We’ve got good hitters.”
Five Twins had two hits: Kubel, Denard Span, Jason Repko, Alexi Casilla and Justin Morneau, who was in the lineup at first base for the first time since April 16. Morneau was among four players who drove in two or more runs. Kubel had three RBIs; Morneau, Repko and Valencia had two each. Valencia got his two RBIs on a seventh-inning home run off Indians reliever Chad Durbin.
Morneau had the game’s most significant at-bat in the fifth inning. He ruined a gutsy move by Cleveland manager Manny Acta, who instructed Carmona to intentionally walk Kubel to pitch to Morneau, the Twins’ cleanup hitter, with the bases loaded and one out.
Span, standing on second base while Morneau was getting a free pass, couldn’t resist expressing his surprise to Indians second baseman Orlando Cabrera.
“I told Cabrera I’ve never seen this before,” Span said.
Morneau sent Carmona’s first pitch into right-center field for a two-run single that scored Span and Casilla.
“We played the way we’re capable of playing today, but we need to take this momentum into tomorrow,” Span said. “We haven’t been doing much on offense.”
