Powered by a 3-for-4 performance from catcher Joe Mauer, the Minnesota Twins evened their three-game series with Cleveland at one game apiece on Saturday with a 7-4 victory.
Mauer opened the scoring in the first inning for the Twins with an RBI single, and clean-up hitter Justin Morneau followed suit with a base hit of his own that also drove home a run. Minnesota plated two more runs on a Trevor Plouffe clutch single before Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin could work his way through the inning, and staked an immediate 4-0 lead on the scoreboard.
Despite the advantage, Twins starter P.J. Walters struggled to keep Cleveland hitters off balance on his second and third trips through the lineup, and was pulled in the fifth after he gave way to the Indians' game-tying fourth run. Plouffe quickly chipped in his sixth home run of the season on a solo shot to left field in the sixth though, and Mauer put the game on ice the following inning with a two-run bomb of his own that made the score 7-4.
Winners of four of their last five games, all eyes will be on Minnesota starter Scott Diamond on Sunday as he tries to get the better of Cleveland artist Justin Masterson in the series finale.
For more on the Twins, head over to Twinkie Town. For more Indians coverage, visit Let's Go Tribe. And for the best MLB analysis around, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.