MINNEAPOLIS _ For the most part, the Indians have had to bite, scratch and claw their way to any offense through the season's first couple of games as they battle a divisional foe without a few key pieces to the lineup.
But thanks to another tremendous starting pitcher performance, they'll be entering a rubber match game on Sunday with a 1-1 record after defeating the Minnesota Twins, 2-1, at Target Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Indians were shut out in Thursday's Opening Day loss and didn't begin Saturday's game in much better shape. That was until Hanley Ramirez announced his arrival to the Indians in the fourth.
Ramirez brought home the first run of the season for the Indians, and it was a loud one, as he belted an offering from Twins starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi into the second deck in left field for a solo home run and a 1-0 Indians lead. In a lineup sans Francisco Lindor and Jason Kipnis, that power potential is why Ramirez was brought into camp and why he had such a long leash, even as the bat speed took time to translate to the field.
The Twins later tied it 1-1 against Trevor Bauer, and both teams remained deadlocked until the ninth inning. Facing Twins reliever Blake Parker, Carlos Santana led off the inning with a single and advanced to third via two wild pitches. After Ramirez walked, pinch-hitter Greg Allen drove a ball deep enough to center field to score Santana with a sacrifice fly, giving the Indians a 2-1 lead.
Closer Brad Hand entered in the ninth and recorded his first save of the season, but it took some work. A misplay by the Indians defense turned a routine pop-up into a double for Byron Buxton to lead off the inning. With two outs, Nelson Cruz was intentionally walked and Eddie Rosario then drew a walk to the load the bases for a showdown between Hand and C.J. Cron, who popped out to right field to end it.
Bauer, similar to Corey Kluber on Thursday, turned in a strong 2019 debut. Bauer continued where he left off 2018, allowing just one run on one hit and one walk to go with nine strikeouts.
His lone blemish came in the fourth inning. Jorge Polanco drilled a ball to the gap in right-center that went for a one-out triple. Nelson Cruz followed by grounding a ball to the right side that resulted in the second out of the inning but also the trying run scoring.
He was, though, able to escape a jam in the seventh to keep it tied. Bauer walked Polanco to begin the inning and hit Cruz to put runners on first and second. He then fell behind Eddie Rosario 3-0 but battled back to induce a harmless fly ball to left field. Cron then grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning and Bauer's day.
