The Cleveland Indians had to go with a bullpen game on the mound and wait out a rain delay but still managed to defeat the Minnesota Twins by a score of 9-7.
Cleveland had to go the bullpen route Wednesday due to placing Carlos Carrasco on the injured list. Tyler Clippard got the start and was effective through the first inning but struggled in the second. Clippard was charged with three earned runs, all coming in the second inning. Although one was due to the three-run homer off the bat of Byron Buxton that Tyler Olson gave up. Nelson Cruz hit a home run in the third off of Nick Goody. Jorge Polanco would drive in the final two runs for the Twins. These came off a homer in the fifth and a single in the seventh. A.J. Cole, Adam Cimber and Brad Hand combined for 2.1 innings of work and did not allow a hit and struck out four.
The Indians offense needed to pull their weight and that is just what they did. Jose Ramirez drove in the first run on a routine groundout in the first. This would not be the last time that Ramirez drove in a run. Ramirez drove in Carlos Santana in the third and Jordan Luplow in the fifth. Speaking of Luplow, Luplow drove in three runs on the day. Luplow doubled home Carlos Santana in the fifth and hit a two-run shot in the seventh. This home run came after a lengthy rain delay and was Cleveland’s first lead since the first inning. The Indians continued to drive the ball after the delay. Roberto Perez also hit a solo shot in the seventh. Francisco Lindor continued his hot streak at the plate and hit yet another homer.
