Twins Vs. Indians Final Score: Minnesota Pulls Off Series Sweep With 5-1 Victory

Although they were unable to rack up double-digit runs for the third consecutive game, the Minnesota Twins kept their impressive stretch going with a 5-1 win over Cleveland on Sunday.

Thrust into a spot-start after the Francisco Liriano deal on Saturday night, Minnesota pitcher Brian Duensing went six innings of one-run ball to pick up his second victory of the season. Despite only throwing 70 pitches in the outing, Duensing was locked-in throughout and tossed a first pitch strike to 16 of the 23 batters he faced.

Offensively, the Twins picked up a huge day from first baseman Justin Morneau, who was coincidentally the only Minnesota player to finish Saturday's game without a hit. Morneau posted a 3-for-4 game from the plate that included his 13th home run of the season and bumped up his RBI total to 46 for the year.

Winners of three straight games, the Twins will face a familiar foe in the White Sox for a three-game series that begins on Monday.

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more on the Indians, visit Let's Go Tribe. And for more MLB news and analysis, check out Baseball Nation.

Minnesota Twins Recall Pitcher Jeff Manship From Triple-A Rochester

Minnesota's late-night deal that sent pitcher Francisco Liriano to the White Sox on Saturday opened up a wide open roster spot for manager Ron Gardenhire, and the Twins wasted little time recalling right-handed pitcher Jeff Manship from Triple-A to fill the void on Sunday:

The 27-year-old reliever was taken in the 14th round by the Twins back in 2006 and has been with the organization for his entire career. Despite serving up three earned runs in three consecutive appearances before being demoted back in June, Manship is 6-2 with a 2.35 ERA in 18 games as a starter for Rochester.

He was tabbed by Baseball America as having the best curveball in Minnesota's farm system as a prospect, but will need to show improvements with his fastball if he wants to stick around the big leagues this time around.

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Twins Vs. Indians: Brian Duensing To Step In For Francisco Liriano As Minnesota Goes For Sweep

The Twins have won the first two games of this AL Central clash and would've had a solid chance to complete the sweep, but that was before Minnesota sent Sunday's scheduled starter, Francisco Liriano, to the Chicago White Sox.

Instead, lefty Brian Duensing (1-6, 4.86 ERA) will get the spot start in Liriano's place. Duensing actually has been decent in 33 relief appearances this season, but he's posted a 10.13 ERA in 13 innings as a starter after giving up six runs in just two innings in his last start July 15.

Third baseman Danny Valencia is back with the Twins for the first time since being sent down to Triple-A Rochester May 9. He hit just .250 at Rochester, but Trevor Plouffe's injury necessitated his recall to Minnesota.

Cleveland, meanwhile, is fading fast in the AL Central race after losing seven of their past 10 games. They're five games back, and with Detroit and Chicago's upgrades to their starting rotations, Cleveland might have to shift their focus to the Wild Card chase.

Ubaldo Jimenez (8-9, 4.97 ERA), who made perhaps his best start since coming to Cleveland at last season's Trade Deadline, goes for the Indians.

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Twins Vs. Indians Final Score: Minnesota Flattens Rival Cleveland Again, 12-5

After racking up 15 hits in Friday's blowout win to open the series, the Minnesota Twins kept things rolling from the plate on Saturday with an impressive 12-5 victory over a floundering Cleveland Indians team.

Despite the fact that Twins batters only managed to record one ball that left the yard in the game, Josh Willingham's 27th of the season, second baseman Alexi Casilla had a monster evening with a 2-for-4 performance with four runs batted in to lead the offense. Casilla drove home a pair of runs on a triple in the fifth inning that broke the game open, and then followed suit with another clutch hit in the sixth on a two-run double with the bases loaded.

Picking up his well-earned second career victory, Twins starter Samuel Deduno gave up one run for the second consecutive start. Deduno tossed 105 pitches over seven innings of two-hit ball, and aside from issuing five free passes was largely in command of the strike zone all game long.

With two masterful pitching performances now behind them to build from, the Twins will hope that Francisco Liriano can keep the magic going in Sunday's three-game finale from Target Field.

For more Twins coverage, visit Twinkie Town. For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe.And for more MLB analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Indians Lineups: Game Two Sees Few Changes For Minnesota

The Minnesota Twins are coming off a hugely dominating performance against the Cleveland Indians in game one of their three-game set. The Twins' offense was just working - getting off to a great start immediately with a three-run homerun from Justin Morneau in the first inning. By the sixth inning, the Twins had scored 11 runs, while the Indians hadn't scored any. It was a complete game shutout for for Scott Diamond.

As such, the Twins aren't switching up much at all for game two. The Indians have made a lot of changes - switching out Asdrubal Cabrera, Lou Marson, Shelley Duncan and Jose Lopez for Johnny Damon, Casey Kotchman, Jack Hannahan and Brent Lillibridge. The Twins are only making a couple changes, putting in Alexi Casilla and Danny Valencia in place of Trevor Plouffe (who is on the disabled list) and Jamey Carroll. Samuel Deduno will pitch for the Twins, while Justin Masterson will throw for the Indians.

The full lineups for Saturday are below:

Twins

1. Denard Span CF
2. Ben Revere RF
3. Joe Mauer C
4. Josh Willingham LF
5. Justin Morneau 1B
6. Ryan Doumit DH
7. Danny Valencia 3B
8. Brian Dozier SS
9. Alexi Casilla 2B

Indians

1. Shin-Soo Choo RF
2. Michael Brantley CF
3. Jason Kipnis 2B
4. Carlos Santana C
5. Travis Hafner DH
6. Johnny Damon LF
7. Casey Kotchman 1B
8. Jack Hannahan 3B
9. Brent Lillibridge SS

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Minnesota Twins Place Trevor Plouffe On Disabled List, Luis Perdomo Recalled

When Trevor Plouffe was scratched from the starting lineup on Friday, it was a possibility that he'd land on the disabled list with a bruised right thumb. That possibility became a reality, as the Minnesota Twins have placed Plouffe on the disabled list, retroactive to July 21 -- the last time he appeared in a game for the Twins.

Plouffe originally bruised his thumb against the Royals on July 20, when he was jammed on an inside pitch from Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar.

He missed Minnesota's next five games as a result, but was slated to make his return on Friday.

"He didn't feel right in BP," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He swung earlier in the cage and was OK. But he got out there on the field and started swinging and felt it. No good."

Plouffe has enjoyed somewhat of a breakout year in 2012, hitting .259/.330/.525 with 19 home runs in 74 games.

The Twins also announced that Luis Perdomo has been recalled from AAA, after Anthony Swarzak was placed on the disabled list. Perdomo has accumulated 59 innings between AA New Britain and AAA Rochester, striking out 61 and walking 18, while allowing just 38 hits.

For the latest on the Twins, check out Twinkie Town.

Twins Vs. Indians: Minnesota Tries To Keep Rolling In Game 2 Against Cleveland

After suffering a three game sweep at the hands of the Chicago White Sox earlier in the week, the Minnesota Twins (41-58) took out their frustrations on the Cleveland Indians (50-50) with an impressive 11-0 win in the first game of the weekend series between the two teams on Friday night.

The series resumes at Target Field on Saturday evening, with Minnesota right-hander Samuel Deduno (1-0, 3.91 ERA) on the mound looking to build on his last start when he gave up just six hits and one run in six and a third innings to beat the Kansas City Royals.

Cleveland will start with right-hander Justin Masterson (7-8, 4.12 ERA) who heads to the hill with a 5-2 record in his last eight starts. Earlier in the year, Masterson took a loss in his last start against the Twins, giving up seven hits and three runs in six innigs of a game Minnesota won 6-3 on June 3rd.

Game two of the series starts on Saturday night at 7:10 p.m. and will be televised on Fox Sports North.

For more on the Twins, check out Twinkie Town. For more MLB coverage, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Indians Final Score: Scott Diamond A Gem As Minnesota Wins 11-0

Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau led a hit parade against the Cleveland Indians on Friday night. The heart of the Minnesota Twins lineup combined for two home runs and drove in seven runs on the way to an 11-0 route of the Cleveland Indians.

Morneau went deep in the top of the first inning, putting the Twins up 3-0. Willingham hit a three-run shot in a disastrous fourth inning for pitcher Josh Tomlin. Willingham now has 26 home runs on the season, matching the second-best single season total of his career. His best season for long balls was in 2009 when he hit 29.

Scott Diamond shined on the mound for Minnesota. He held the Indians to three hits in a complete game shutout, striking out six and walking not a single batsman. That was win No. 9 for Minnesota's precious stone.

Round two happens Saturday night at 7:10 p.m. at Target Field.

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Trevor Plouffe Injury: Twins 3B Scratched From Friday's Game, Could Land On Disabled List

A late scratch for Friday's series opener with the Indians, Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe has not recovery as hoped from his thumb injury and could be headed to the disabled list according to Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com.

Plouffe injured his thumb a week ago while playing Kansas City and has been held out of action since. Friday's opener with the Indians at Target Field was supposed to mark Plouffe's triumphant return to the lineup after a seven-day layoff, but more soreness in his thumb popped up during batting practice and manager Ron Gardenhire opted not to take any chances.

Viewed as one of the American League's most pleasant surprises for his mid-summer power surge, Plouffe smacked 11 home runs in the month of June alone to run away with Minnesota's starting third base job at a vital time. Although nearly every baseball pundit predicted that the 26-year-old infielder would come back to Earth in the second half of the season, Plouffe has maintained an impressive .302 average in July.

With a trip to the 15-day disabled list likely on the horizon, the Twins will need to decide whether to call-up Chris Parmelee or Danny Valencia to take over third base duties in the meantime. Clearly neither player presents the type of offensive threat that Plouffe does, so hopefully the Twins will be able to get their third baseman of the future back before long.

For more on the Twins, check out Twinkie Town. For more MLB coverage, be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Indians: Starting Lineups For Friday's Opener

Target Field will play host for a three-game series between the Twins and Indians starting on Friday night, as Minnesota continues its exhaustive 12-game stretch against divisional opponents.

After dropping three straight to the White Sox earlier in the week for a disheartening sweep, Ron Gardenhire's team will need to pick things up offensively against a Cleveland team that can't afford to stumble right now. Though the Indians have fallen into third place in the divisional standings, Cleveland has won three of four games and enters the weekend with a good amount of momentum after recently edging the Tigers 2-1 in a brief series.

The ball will be the hands of Minnesota starter Scott Diamond to open Friday's game one, as the 25-year-old hurler has his sights firmly set on his ninth victory of the season. Diamond did not yield a single earned run to the Indians in his only previous appearance against Cleveland this year, and could certainly use a strong outing after opening the second half with two straight sub-par efforts.

Here are the starting lineups for game one:

Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Ryan Doumit - DH
7. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
8. Brian Dozier - SS
9. Jamey Carroll - 2B
Scott Diamond - SP

Indians
1. Shin-Soo Choo - RF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera - SS
3. Jason Kipnis - 2B
4. Michael Brantley - CF
5. Carlos Santana - 1B
6. Travis Hafner - DH
7. Jose Lopez - 2B
8. Shelley Duncan - LF
9. Lou Marson - C
Josh Tomlin - SP

For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more Indians coverage, visit Let's Go Tribe. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Indians: Minnesota Welcomes Cleveland In For Weekend Series

The Minnesota Twins will face off against the Cleveland Indians in a weekend series starting Friday.