The Minnesota Twins came up short in their bid to pull off a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday, as Ron Gardenhire's squad could only muster four hits on the afternoon in a 6-2 loss.
Twins starter Brian Duensing opened the game hoping to lower his 4.39 earned-run average, and was promptly knocked around for four runs in the first two innings before settling down to reel off three straight scoreless frames. Although he left the mound after seven innings where he scattered 11 hits, only four of Duensing's six runs allowed were earned due to an error by infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka.
Offensively, Gardenhire's team literally had no answer for Cleveland right-hander Justin Masterson, who put forth one of his strongest outings of the season with a seven strikeouts and only three hits allowed over seven innings. The lone bright spot against Masterson came from arguably the most unlikely source, as infielder Alexi Casilla belted not only his first home run of the season (a two-run shot), but his first homer dating back to June 21st of last season.
Next up, the Twins will enjoy a much-needed rest day on Thursday before returning home Friday for a three-game homestand with the Tampa Bay Rays.
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