CLEVELAND: Two-out hits are good if they lead to two-out runs. The Indians were experts in the former but novices in the latter on Sunday in a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
The Indians recorded seven hits and one walk with two outs in the loss. In five of the first seven innings against Twins starter Danny Duffey (1-2, 1.85 ERA), the Indians had at least one two-out base runner.
Extending innings is often a desirable trait for an offense. Except, today the needed hit to make them count never came. The loss put the Indians back to an even-.500 record at 17-17 this season.
“We couldn’t just get that one,” said Chris Gimenez, who went 1-for-4 with a single. “I felt like we just needed that one hit. … I think, too, I feel like offensively, if we can just get that one hit, I think it’s going to snowball off of that. The last couple of games, unfortunately, we just haven’t been able to put that timely hit together.”
The Twins, however, made some two-out hits count and took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Byung Ho Park doubled to open the second and after Bauer quickly recorded the first two outs of the inning, Eddie Rosario singled home a run and Juan Centeno doubled to score Rosario.
“I hate giving up runs, especially when you’re one pitch from getting out of it,” Bauer said. “Ultimately, it’s going to happen. It’s baseball. We were on the winning end of a game like this last time I pitched and we ended up losing it this time.”
Later, in the seventh, Jorge Polanco hit his first career home run, a solo shot to center field, to tack on an insurance run and extend the Twins’ lead to 3-0.
Bauer (3-1, 3.89 ERA) threw 6⅔ innings, gave up those three runs on five hits and two walks and struck out eight.
Jason Kipnis contributed the Indians’ offense in the eighth inning with a solo home run down the right-field line off of Twins reliever Trevor May. It was his fifth home run of the season.
The Twins (10-26) answered in the ninth against Jeff Manship. With two on, Rosario drove a ball to deep center field that Tyler Naquin couldn’t handle before crashing into the wall, giving Rosario a two-RBI double to extend the Twins’ lead to 5-1.
The Indians finished the day out-hitting the Twins 9-8. But aside from Kipnis’ home run, those hits, most of them with two outs, only became stranded runners.
“We weren’t able to get guys on early in innings and we didn’t get any two-out hits,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “On a day like today, you’re going to have to string some hits together, unless you hit the ball like Kip did down into right field, and we weren’t able to do that.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ