CLEVELAND _ If records are made to be broken, streaks are created to be snapped. And boy, did the Twins do some snapping during their 6-3 victory on Friday.
Corey Kluber had not allowed more than three runs in a game since last July, 26 starts ago. Gone.
The two-time Cy Young winner hadn't walked a batter in 461/3 innings. Until now.
The Twins hadn't scored after the first inning in the past couple of days. Over.
Brian Dozier had endured a weeklong hitless streak that stretched to 20 at-bats. Ka-boom.
And best of all for the Twins, desperate to remain relevant in the AL Central: Kyle Gibson had not recorded a victory since March 31, a dozen oddly fruitless starts ago.
That one is history, too. Gibson outpitched Kluber, Eddie Rosario and Dozier hit home runs, and the Twins enjoyed their most heartening victory in a couple of weeks. Minnesota still trails the Indians by five games in the Central standings, but that's a lot better than seven.
Gibson was most responsible, continually getting ahead of a fearsome Cleveland lineup and forcing them to make weak contact. The Twins' right-hander, enjoying his best season as a professional in every category except his record, earned his second win of the season by holding Cleveland to just three singles over seven innings, and just one run.
That one came in the sixth inning, after Kluber had already been lifted, his five-inning start the shortest of the season. Two walks and a single by Yan Gomes prevented the Indians' first shutout since April, but hardly marred his night.
Gibson's been pitching like that for much of the season, so racking up his ninth quality start wasn't a big surprise. But preventing Kluber's 15th _ yes, he had provided a quality start in every start this year _ was startling.
It started, as every Twins rally seems to these days, with Rosario, who belted his 15th homer of the season _ and fifth in his last three games against Cleveland _ on the first pitch he saw from Kluber, blasting it deep into the right-field stands.
The past couple of days in Detroit, first-inning Rosario runs were all the Twins got, but their hottest hitter made sure that didn't happen this time. He led off the fourth inning with a hustle double, then watched as Eduardo Escobar drew the first walk that Kluber had issued since May 8. The Indians then got only one out on Logan Morrison's double-play grounder, bringing the Twins' coldest hitter to the plate.
But Dozier has faced Kluber plenty of times before, and he was ready. When Kluber left an 88-mph cutter in the middle of the plate, Dozier blasted it over the 19-foot-high wall in left-center, a blow that seemed to shock the loud crowd.
The Indians rallied with two runs off Taylor Rogers in the ninth inning, but Fernando Rodney was summoned to pitch to Francisco Lindor. Rodney struck him out on a changeup, recording his 13th consecutive save.
