SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico _ The Twins wore the white pants on Tuesday, but it wasn't clear if they actually were going to be received as the home team in the Puerto Rico series.
Even as Eddie Rosario received a huge ovation from during pregame introductions, you-know-who lined up across the infield from him. And with Francisco Lindor on their side, it appeared that Cleveland was the preferred team among the fans who showed up to watch Major League Baseball at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
That was confirmed in the fifth inning, when Twins right-hander Jake Odorizzi threw the wrong pitch to the wrong spot to the wrong man.
Lindor crushed a hanging 3-2 curveball over the right-field wall for a two-run home run to open the scoring, and that unleashed the full-throated fury of jubilant fans as they praised their native son. That also unlocked the rest of the Indians offense, as Cleveland went on to win 6-1 in the first of two games played in San Juan. It's the first game for both teams outside of Canada and the continental U.S.
Odorizzi had locked horns with Cleveland ace Corey Kluber, as each pitcher had tossed four shutout innings. Fans were largely quiet, except for when Lindor or Rosario batted. Now they know how other fans in the league feel sometimes
But Lindor's home run jumped started the atmosphere. Fans began singing, banging on the metal outfield bleachers and pounding Thunderstixx together. And the Indians kept giving them reasons to do so.
Odorizzi got through the fourth but Jose Ramirez greeted him in the fifth with a home run to nearly the same spot as Lindor's to put the Indians ahead 3-0. Michael Brantley made it back-to-back homers with a shot to right-center as Cleveland took a 4-0 lead. Twins manager Paul Molitor couldn't get to the mound fast enough to remove Odorizzi from the game.
Odorizzi allowed at least three homers in a game for the sixth time in his career. His career-high is four, on June 25, 2016 at Baltimore. He had allowed just one homer so far this season.
Kluber, meanwhile, cruised into the seventh while working on a three-hit shutout. The Twins best threat to score came in the fourth, when Rosario led off with a single and went to second when Logan Morrison walked. But Eduardo Escobar tapped back to the pitch, Max Kepler looked at strike three and Robbie Grossman grounded out to first to end that opportunity. Kluber used that to start a run in which he retired nine of 10 Twins batters.
At that point, it was one reminder of why Cleveland was 17 games better than the Twins last season. The Twins, coming off of a wild-card berth last season, are looking to close the gap on their AL Central division foes.
While the Puerto Rico series celebrates MLB's visit to the island, which spurred many public appearances and charitable endeavors, the Twins have tried to focus on the division battle.
"The first time we will see them this year," Twins manager Paul Molitor said before the game, "and we know the type of team that they have. It is hard to find holes in what they do.
"We understand that they have set the bar within the division here, the last few years in particular. And you can't worry about they are doing except when we are playing them.
"We will try the best we can to try to find a way into that conversation. It is a challenge for our guys. They enjoyed the wild card experience, but I know that they realize that winning the division is the way to go to set yourself up for the best opportunity to make a postseason run."
