Grossman's RBI Single Lifts Twins Over Indians, 4-3
CLEVELAND (AP) — Robbie Grossman delivered a two-out, two-run single off struggling Cleveland closer Cody Allen in the seventh inning to give the Minnesota Twins a 4-3 over the Indians on Wednesday night.
Down 3-2, the Twins scored twice in the seventh off Allen (4-6), the Indians' career saves leader who has not been sharp of late and could lose his job to Brad Hand.
Minnesota's Joe Mauer became the third player in club history to score 1,000 career runs. Mauer doubled and scored on Eddie Rosario's double in the fifth to join Hall of Famers Kirby Puckett (1,071) and Harmon Killebrew (1,047).
Twins rookie Willians Astudillo hit his first career homer in the third.
Allen came in earlier than usual to protect a one-run lead and got two quick outs before walking Logan Forsythe. Eddie Rosario singled and Allen gave up a four-pitch walk to Miguel Sano, drawing boos from Indians fans before Grossman ripped his two-run single through the right side.
In his last five appearances, Allen has allowed six runs in four innings. Last Friday, he blew a save and the game by giving up consecutive homers in the ninth inning at Kansas City.
Trevor May (3-0) picked up the win and Trevor Hildenberger worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his fifth save.
Cleveland is 39-20 against AL Central teams, but just 9-9 against the second-place Twins.
Allen's latest outing wasn't the only issue with Cleveland's bullpen. Before the game, the team placed left-hander Andrew Miller on the disabled list with shoulder soreness. It's the third stint on the DL this season for Miller, who has been limited to just 27 games.
Indians starter Adam Plutko was in line to get his first win since June 24 before the Twins rallied. Plutko has spent the season bouncing between Cleveland and Triple-A Columbus. The right-hander's currently is in the rotation only because All-Star Trevor Bauer is out with a stress fracture in his right leg.
The Indians didn't waste any time getting to rookie Kohl Stewart, scoring two runs in the first on two-out RBI singles by Yonder Alonso and Melky Cabrera. Stewart was on the ropes, but he avoided an uglier mess by getting Yan Gomes to bounce out with the bases loaded.
Edwin Encarnacion's RBI double in the fifth put the Indians ahead 3-2.
FAMILY AFFAIR
Toby Gardenhire, who manages the Twins' Class A team at Cedar Rapids, will be added to the big league coaching staff when Minnesota plays at Detroit next month. Gardenhire's father, Ron, is Detroit's manager. He also managed the Twins from 2002-14.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Twins: SS Jorge Polanco (strained left hamstring) was out of the lineup for the second straight day. He took swings in the indoor cages, but couldn't work out on the field before the game because of rain.
Indians: OF Rajai Davis (non-baseball medical condition) served as designated hitter and Neil Ramirez (back spasms) pitched at Double-Akron. Davis went 0 for 3 with a strikeout and Ramirez worked one scoreless inning.
UP NEXT
Mike Clevinger will face the Twins for the third time this season, facing right-hander Jake Odorizzi, who has already pitched against Cleveland four times in 2018.
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