MINNEAPOLIS _ There was a common chant in the mild air at Target Field: "Eddie, Eddie."
Both Eddie Rosario and Eduardo Escobar, who homered twice, were on the receiving end of it, in the Twins' much-needed 7-4 victory over Cleveland on Friday night.
First it was Escobar who settled the on-edge fans with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first.
Escobar golfed an 82 mph curveball that was below the zone from Carlos Carrasco and had just enough behind the swing to send it over the hedges of the hanging right-field garden. The home run made sure a leadoff double from second baseman Brian Dozier did not go to waste.
Escobar's home run was only the third three-run blast the Twins have hit all season, but it was their second in consecutive nights after Miguel Sano hit one that tied the score in Thursday night's 9-8 loss.
In the top of the second, Rosario first heard the chants when he made a nice running catch of a Melky Cabrera fly ball on the warning track.
Rosario followed that with an RBI single in the bottom of the second, scoring Robbie Grossman as Rosario carried over his hot hitting from May into June.
Rosario then made a stunning catch in the gap in left-center field, hauling in a ball he initially bobbled off the bat of Greg Allen. But Rosario was able to make the catch on the second attempt as he was still running.
At the plate, the Indians had seen enough of Rosario. They intentionally walked him in his next two appearances.
After two consecutive nights in which opponents sent Twins starting pitchers out with inflated earned-run averages before the end of the fourth, the Twins were able to turn the tables on Carrasco.
After Grossman hit a line drive back at Carrasco to lead off the bottom of the fourth, Carrasco allowed run-scoring doubles to Ryan LaMarre and Sano and he left after 3 2/3 innings.
Jose Berrios had a mixed night for the Twins on the mound, giving up four runs while striking out seven, but it was good enough to keep the Twins in position to win.
Yan Gomes and Allen came around to score after leading off the third with a single and a double, respectively while Edwin Encarnacion lined a hanging curveball 424 feet to left to make it 6-4 in the Indians sixth. But Berrios was able to gather himself and get out of the inning, his last of the night.
There was anxiety in the seventh for the Twins after Trevor Hildenberger relieved Berrios and gave up a two-out triple to Allen. Francisco Lindor, he of the two home runs and two doubles Thursday, represented the tying run. But for a change the Twins were able to get Lindor out, as he hit a harmless grounder to Hildenberger for the final out of the inning.
Escobar then provided some more relief in the bottom of the inning, this time crushing a sinker from Josh Tomlin 443 feet into the upper deck of right-center field. If that estimation is correct, it would be the longest home run a Twins player hit this season.
Curiously, there was no "Eddie, Eddie" after Escobar's home run. Perhaps the crowd was tired of chanting it.
