By Joe Christensen, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) –
MINNEAPOLIS — After looking overmatched for seven innings against Cleveland starter Jeanmar Gomez on Monday night, the Twins rallied to tie it in the eighth with three runs against the Indians bullpen.
But the excitement died quickly at Target Field, as Shin-Soo Choo lined a two-out, RBI single off Twins closer Matt Capps in the ninth, giving the first-place Indians a 5-4 victory.
(PHOTO: Darin Mastroianni of the Minnesota Twins slides under the tag of Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians avoiding a double play in third inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Monday, May 14, 2012.)
With two outs in the eighth, and the Twins trailing 4-1, Josh Willingham ripped an RBI double down the third-base line off righthander Vinnie Pestano. Indians manager Manny Acta turned to the lefthanded throwing Nick Hagadone to face Ryan Doumit, a switch hitter, whose four home runs this year had all come batting lefthanded.
With a 2-0 count, Hagadone left a fastball up and over the plate, and Doumit smashed it into the second deck in left field, giving him a team-leading 23 RBI.
Capps, who is 7-for-7 in save opportunities, couldn’t make the good feelings last, as he dropped to 0-2 on the year.
Twins starter Carl Pavano had another so-so start, allowing four runs on six hits over six innings, with no walks and three strikeouts.
Curiously, manager Ron Gardenhire lifted him after just 72 pitches, giving Francisco Liriano his first relief appearance of the season with the Twins trailing 4-1 in the seventh.
Liriano’s outing was also mixed. He retired the first five batters he faced, but walked the bases loaded with two outs in the eighth before striking out Michael Brantley to escape unscathed.
Gomez held the Twins to one unearned run on three hits over seven innings. It was another uninspiring performance for the Twins offense against an unheralded opposing starter.
Gomez isn’t a bad pitcher. His ERA was 2.82 on May 4, but before coming to Minnesota, he gave up eight runs in his previous outing against the White Sox.
Pavano, who is 2-3 with a 5.14 ERA, admitted Sunday that he’s been pitching with soreness in his right shoulder. An MRI exam last Friday revealed inflammation in the front of the shoulder but showed now other structural damage, which came as a relief to the Twins.
Pavano said he planned to have a cortisone shot next weekend if the soreness persisted through his next start, Saturday in Milwaukee.
Over the first three innings, Pavano faced just 10 hitters and recorded three strikeouts.
