MINNEAPOLIS _ Let's not forget who represented the American League in last year's World Series.
The Indians happened to begin Tuesday in last place in the AL Central. But that looked to be temporary. Especially when the Twins give them games.
The Indians won 11-4 Tuesday night at Target Field.
The game provided an example of how to take advantage of mistakes and how not to be satisfied. Cleveland accepted an extra out in the first inning to put up a crooked number and converted scoring opportunities in the late innings when leadoff hitters were hit with pitches or walked.
As Cleveland was moving toward a 7-7 record, the Twins, once 5-1, were on their way to falling to the same mark. With two more games left in this series, the Indians are in position to remind the Twins some more just who AL Central royalty is.
The Twins' strong start was fueled by strong pitching and defense _ but the club watched both areas break down on Tuesday. And the offense continues to sputter. Since starting 5-1, the Twins had scored three or fewer runs in five of their past seven games entering Tuesday. That's how you earn a 2-5 record over that time.
Cleveland Indians second baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrated his two run homer with Michael Brantley in the third inning at Target Field
And right-hander Phil Hughes, whose 2-0 start was his first since 2010, fell behind early Tuesday and could not recover.
Hughes couldn't catch a break in the first inning, when he was victimized by what had been an improved Twins defense.
Cleveland led 1-0 on Edwin Encarnacion's RBI groundout. Hughes was in a battle with Jose Ramirez when his eighth pitch finally resulted in a routine fly ball to right field that should have ended the inning.
Max Kepler settled under the ball but took his eye off it as he reached up with his glove hand. Fans gasped in surprise as the ball ticked off the glove for an error. Instead of the inning being over, it was 2-0.
Hughes ended up throwing 10 more pitches that inning. One of them was nearly in the dirt but still was smacked to right by Lonnie Chisenhall for an RBI single to make it 3-0.
The Twins came back to make it 3-2 in the bottom of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Kepler and an RBI double by Robbie Grossman, but Cleveland kept adding to its lead.
With two outs in the third, Ramirez launched a cut fastball into the seats in right for a two-run homer to make it 5-2. That usually enough to topple the Twins these days, as manager Paul Molitor has used 14 different lineups in 14 games.
Three consecutive hits by the Indians to open the fourth _ including an RBI single by Carlos Santana to make it 6-2 _ ran Hughes from the game. In 3?1/3 innings, Hughes gave up six runs, four earned, on eight hits with three strikeouts. He has little room for error, and Cleveland took advantage when his pitches didn't hit their spots.
Jorge Polanco made it 6-3 with a sacrifice fly in the fourth. But Cleveland kept scoring. When Encarnacion was hit with a pitch and Ramirez followed with a single to start the fifth, manager Terry Francona had Chisenhall bunt them into scoring positions. And Yandy Diaz came through with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-3.
Justin Haley issued a leadoff walk to Abraham Almonte in the sixth. He scored on Francisco Lindor's two-run triple to center as Cleveland eased to a 9-3 lead.
Miguel Sano hit a leadoff homer to center in the eighth to make it 9-4. Encarnacion hit a two-run shot in the ninth.
