Twins rise and Indians fade as Baker comes on strong

CLEVELAND - Scott Baker survived a shaky start, and Matt Tolbert drove in two runs as the Minnesota Twins extended their season-high winning streak to five games with a 6-4 win Monday night over the falling-fast Cleveland Indians, who lost their fifth in a row.

Baker (3-4) was down by 2-0 after throwing just four pitches as the Indians hit screaming line drives all over Progressive Field in the first. However, the righthander bobbed and weaved his way around trouble and stayed in until the eighth. He allowed three earned runs and nine hits.

Josh Tomlin (7-3) lasted six innings for the Indians, who led the AL Central by seven games as recently as May 23 but dropped their seventh straight at home.

Asdrubal Cabrera hit a two-run homer, and Michael Brantley added a solo shot for Cleveland.

After being swept four straight by Texas over the weekend, the Indians had to be relieved the defending league champions left town. But Minnesota is playing its best ball in what has been a disappointing and injury-pocked season so far.

Before the game, the Indians puzzled everyone by their handling of a players-only meeting. Initially, manager Manny Acta said he was unaware of the meeting, but was pleased it took place.

"I'm glad they got together," he said.

However, after speaking to players during batting practice, Acta informed reporters that no such meeting happened. Later, a team spokesman sent out a text message confirming "a brief players gathering" between advance meetings for the position players and pitchers.

Outfielder Austin Kearns somewhat cleared things up and described the meeting "as just guys talking. No messages here or there. Just go out and play."

Twins 6, Indians 4

Minnesota 020 031 000 – 6 10 1

Cleveland 200 010 010 – 4 9 0

Minnesota AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Revere rf 4   0   1   0   0   1   .278

A.Casilla ss 4   0   0   0   0   0   .255

Span cf 4   0   0   0   0   0   .294

Cuddyer 1b 4   2   2   0   0   1   .264

Morneau dh 4   0   0   0   0   0   .232

D.Young lf 4   1   2   1   0   0   .223

L.Hughes 3b 4   1   2   0   0   1   .244

Tolbert 2b 4   1   2   2   0   1   .215

Butera c 3   1   1   1   0   0   .150

Totals 35   6   10   4   0   4   

Cleveland AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Brantley lf 4   2   3   1   0   0   .291

A.Cabrera ss 4   2   3   2   0   0   .308

G.Sizemore cf 3   0   1   0   0   0   .268

C.Santana c 4   0   0   0   0   1   .224

Choo rf 4   0   1   0   0   1   .239

LaPorta 1b 4   0   0   0   0   3   .246

T.Buck dh 3   0   0   0   1   0   .256

O.Cabrera 2b 4   0   1   0   0   1   .245

Hannahan 3b 3   0   0   0   0   1   .227

a-Duncan ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .231

Totals 34   4   9   3   1   7   

a-grounded into a double play for Hannahan in the 9th. E: Cuddyer (4). LOB: Minnesota 2, Cleveland 5. 2B: Cuddyer (7), D.Young (4), L.Hughes (5), Brantley (11). HR: A.Cabrera (12), off S.Baker; Brantley (5), off S.Baker. RBIs: D.Young (14), Tolbert 2 (8), Butera (10), Brantley (25), A.Cabrera 2 (42). CS: L.Hughes (1). RLSP: Minnesota 2 (Butera, Tolbert); Cleveland 2 (Choo, LaPorta). RA: Morneau, L.Hughes, G.Sizemore. GIDP: A.Casilla, C.Santana, Duncan. DP: Minnesota 3 (Tolbert, Cuddyer), (A.Casilla, Cuddyer), (L.Hughes, Tolbert, Cuddyer); Cleveland 1 (O.Cabrera, A.Cabrera, LaPorta).

Minnesota IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

S.Baker (W 3-4) 7   9   4   3   0   5   103   3.86

Mijares (H 7) 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   11   4.80

Al.Burnett (H 3) 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   8   6.06

Capps (S 8) 1   0   0   0   1   1   12   4.33

Cleveland IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Tomlin (L 7-3) 6   9   6   6   0   3   83   3.71

R.Perez 2   0   0   0   0   1   20   1.52

Durbin 1   1   0   0   0   0   9   5.47

S.Baker pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. IR-S: Mijares 2-1, Al.Burnett 1-0. HBP: by S.Baker (G.Sizemore). WP: Al.Burnett, Tomlin 2. Umpires: Home, Gary Cederstrom; first, Adrian Johnson; second, Alan Porter; third, Chris Conroy.

T: 2:34. A: 15,278 (43,441).

Orioles 4, Athletics 2

BALTIMORE - Brian Matusz and three relievers combined on a seven-hitter, and Baltimore sent Oakland to its season-high seventh straight loss.

Matt Wieters had two hits, an RBI, and scored a run for the Orioles, who took a 4-0 lead after two innings against Gio Gonzalez (5-4).

Adam Rosales homered for the A's, who have lost 15 of 19 to fall a season-worst seven games under .500 (27-34). Rosales was playing in his first game of the year after a stint on the disabled list with a broken right foot.

Matusz (1-0) allowed two runs and seven hits in 51/3 innings to earn his first win of the season. He spent the first two months on the DL with a strained left oblique muscle.

The lefthander was lifted in the sixth after giving up successive one-out singles to Kurt Suzuki and pinch-hitter Scott Sizemore, who was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento hours earlier. Jim Johnson got Rosales to bounce into a double play.

Oakland 000 200 000 – 2 7 2

Baltimore 130 000 00x – 4 9 0

Oakland AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Crisp cf 4   0   0   0   0   1   .261

Barton 1b 4   0   1   0   0   1   .224

C.Jackson lf 4   0   2   0   0   0   .260

Willingham dh 4   0   0   0   0   2   .244

K.Suzuki c 2   0   1   0   2   1   .242

M.Ellis 2b 2   1   0   0   0   0   .211

a-S.Sizemore ph-2b 2   0   1   0   0   0   .231

Rosales 3b 4   1   1   2   0   1   .250

Sweeney rf 3   0   0   0   0   0   .295

Pennington ss 3   0   1   0   0   0   .263

Totals 32   2   7   2   2   6   

Baltimore AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Andino 2b 4   1   2   0   0   1   .269

Markakis rf 4   0   1   1   0   1   .240

Ad.Jones cf 4   0   0   0   0   0   .293

Guerrero dh 4   0   1   1   0   0   .289

D.Lee 1b 4   1   1   0   0   0   .232

Wieters c 4   1   2   1   0   0   .274

Hardy ss 3   1   2   0   0   0   .275

Mar.Reynolds 3b 2   0   0   0   1   1   .188

Reimold lf 2   0   0   1   0   0   .294

Pie lf 0   0   0   0   0   0   .256

Totals 31   4   9   4   1   3   

a-singled for M.Ellis in the 6th. E: K.Suzuki (2), Pennington (6). LOB: Oakland 5, Baltimore 5. HR: Rosales (1), off Matusz. RBIs: Rosales 2 (2), Markakis (19), Guerrero (25), Wieters (28), Reimold (8). SB: D.Lee (2). SF: Reimold. RLSP: Oakland 3 (Willingham 2, Rosales); Baltimore 2 (Ad.Jones, Mar.Reynolds). GIDP: Rosales, Ad.Jones. DP: Oakland 1 (Pennington, M.Ellis, Barton); Baltimore 1 (Ji.Johnson, Hardy, D.Lee).

Oakland IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Gonzalez (L 5-4) 7   9   4   3   1   3   103   2.62

Balfour 1   0   0   0   0   0   12   2.81

Baltimore IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Matusz (W 1-0) 51/3   7   2   2   2   3   89   2.45

Johnson (H 9) 12/3   0   0   0   0   0   13   2.70

Uehara (H 8) 1   0   0   0   0   1   17   2.45

Gregg (S 11-14) 1   0   0   0   0   2   14   3.09

IR-S: Ji.Johnson 2-0. WP: G.Gonzalez. Umpires: Home, Mike Winters; first, Mike Everitt; second, Chris Guccione; third, Cory Blaser.

T: 2:19. A: 10,556 (45,438).

White Sox 3, Mariners 1

CHICAGO - Paul Konerko homered and John Danks pitched into the eighth for his first victory of the season, leading Chicago past Seattle.

The White Sox beat the Mariners for the ninth straight time at U.S. Cellular Field and are 13-1 at home against Seattle dating to August 18, 2008. The White Sox also matched a club record for the most consecutive home wins against the Mariners.

In his 12th start of the season, Danks (1-8) did not resemble the pitcher that lost his first eight decisions. The left-hander pitched 7 1-3 innings and only allowed one unearned run on seven hits. He struck out six and walked one.

White Sox reliever Jesse Crain struck out Justin Smoak and catcher A.J. Pierzynski threw out Brendan Ryan attempting to steal second in the eighth.

Pierzynski also added an RBI single in the eighth off Mariners reliever David Pauley.

Seattle 000 000 010 – 1 7 0

Chicago 000 100 11x – 3 7 1

Seattle AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

I.Suzuki dh 4   0   1   0   0   1   .264

Ryan ss 4   0   1   1   0   1   .256

Smoak 1b 4   0   1   0   0   1   .250

Olivo c 4   0   0   0   0   2   .246

F.Gutierrez cf 4   0   1   0   0   1   .179

M.Wilson rf 3   0   0   0   0   1   .148

a-A.Kennedy ph 1   0   0   0   0   0   .292

Ja.Wilson 2b 3   0   0   0   0   0   .252

Figgins 3b 2   0   0   0   1   1   .184

Halman lf 3   1   3   0   0   0   .857

Totals 32   1   7   1   1   8   

Chicago AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Pierre lf 3   0   1   0   0   0   .266

Al.Ramirez ss 4   0   0   0   0   1   .293

Quentin rf 4   0   2   0   0   1   .268

1-Rios pr-cf 0   1   0   0   0   0   .199

Konerko dh 3   1   1   1   1   1   .314

Pierzynski c 4   1   2   1   0   0   .269

Lillibridge cf-rf 1   0   0   0   3   0   .286

A.Dunn 1b 4   0   0   0   0   2   .176

Beckham 2b 3   0   1   1   0   0   .240

Morel 3b 3   0   0   0   0   0   .257

Totals 29   3   7   3   4   5   

a-grounded out for M.Wilson in the 9th.1-ran for Quentin in the 8th. E: A.Dunn (1). LOB: Seattle 5, Chicago 7. 2B: Quentin 2 (20), Pierzynski (10). HR: Konerko (13), off Pineda. RBIs: Ryan (19), Konerko (46), Pierzynski (19), Beckham (20). CS: Figgins (6). RLSP: Seattle 1 (Ryan); Chicago 3 (Konerko, A.Dunn 2). RA: I.Suzuki. GIDP: A.Dunn. DP: Seattle 1 (Ja.Wilson, Ryan, Smoak).

Seattle IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Pineda (L 6-3) 7   5   2   2   2   3   95   2.33

Pauley 1   2   1   1   2   2   24   0.99

Chicago IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Danks (W 1-8) 71/3   7   1   0   1   6   98   4.75

Crain (H 9) 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   7   3.08

S.Santos (S 11) 1   0   0   0   0   1   7   1.24

IR-S: Crain 1-0. IBB: off Pauley (Konerko). HBP: by Pineda (Pierre). Umpires: Home, Brian Runge; first, D.J. Reyburn; second, Marvin Hudson; third, Ted Barrett. T: 2:23. A: 23,847 (40,615).

Tigers 13, Rangers 7

ARLINGTON, Texas - Brennan Boesch had two of Detroit's four home runs while setting career highs with five hits and five RBIs, and Max Scherzer pitched just long enough for his first win in nearly a month as the Tigers dumped Texas.

Scherzer (7-2) hadn't posted a "W" since May 9 at Toronto, when the righthander won his sixth consecutive decision to open the season. He gave up five runs and eight hits in five innings.

All of Detroit's homers came off Colby Lewis (5-6), who gave up nine runs in 31/3 innings only five days after pitching eight scoreless innings at Tampa Bay to start a five-game winning streak for the AL West-leading Rangers.

Detroit won for the seventh time in eight games.

Detroit 304 201 102 – 13 18 1

Texas 002 300 020 – 7 10 1

Detroit AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

A.Jackson cf 5   3   3   0   1   1   .240

Kelly 3b 2   2   1   0   1   0   .243

a-Worth ph-3b 2   0   2   3   0   0   .500

Boesch rf 6   3   5   5   0   0   .278

C.Wells rf 0   0   0   0   0   0   .230

Mi.Cabrera 1b 5   1   2   1   1   1   .316

V.Martinez dh 4   0   1   1   0   0   .299

Dirks lf 5   1   1   2   0   0   .250

Jh.Peralta ss 5   1   1   0   0   1   .317

Avila c 5   1   1   1   0   2   .280

Raburn 2b 5   1   1   0   0   1   .201

Totals 44   13   18   13   3   6   

Texas AB   R   H   BI   BB   SO   Avg.   

Kinsler 2b 4   1   3   2   1   0   .230

Andrus ss 5   0   0   1   0   2   .277

J.Hamilton lf 4   0   1   0   1   0   .313

Mi.Young 1b 5   0   0   0   0   2   .312

A.Beltre 3b 3   2   2   0   0   0   .252

N.Cruz rf 4   2   2   4   0   2   .247

Moreland dh 4   0   1   0   0   0   .311

Torrealba c 4   1   1   0   0   0   .217

En.Chavez cf 3   1   0   0   1   1   .404

Totals 36   7   10   7   3   7   

a-singled for Kelly in the 7th. E: Jh.Peralta (3), Andrus (11). LOB: Detroit 9, Texas 6. 2B: A.Jackson (11), Worth (1), Boesch (13), Mi.Cabrera (17), V.Martinez (15), Jh.Peralta (11), Torrealba (9). 3B: Kinsler (2). HR: Boesch 2 (7), off C.Lewis 2; Dirks (3), off C.Lewis; Avila (9), off C.Lewis; N.Cruz (13), off Scherzer; N.Cruz (14), off Furbush. RBIs: Worth 3 (3), Boesch 5 (32), Mi.Cabrera (44), V.Martinez (30), Dirks 2 (7), Avila (32), Kinsler 2 (23), Andrus (26), N.Cruz 4 (33). S: Kelly. SF: V.Martinez. RLSP: Detroit 6 (Jh.Peralta, Dirks 3, Boesch, Mi.Cabrera); Texas 3 (Torrealba, Andrus, Mi.Young). RA: V.Martinez, Raburn, Andrus. GIDP: Mi.Cabrera, Andrus. DP: Detroit 2 (Mi.Cabrera), (Worth, Raburn, Mi.Cabrera); Texas 1 (Kinsler, Andrus, Mi.Young).

Detroit IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

Scherzer (W 7-2) 5   8   5   5   1   4   99   4.68

Furbush 3   2   2   2   0   0   41   1.84

Schlereth 2/3   0   0   0   2   2   18   2.50

Benoit 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   7   5.24

Texas IP   H   R   ER   BB   SO   NP   ERA   

C.Lewis (L 5-6) 31/3   10   9   9   1   3   88   4.37

Kirkman 31/3   3   2   2   2   2   48   6.75

Tateyama 11/3   1   0   0   0   1   25   2.45

Rhodes 1   4   2   2   0   0   23   5.79

IR-S: Benoit 2-0, Kirkman 2-1, Tateyama 2-1. IBB: off Kirkman (Mi.Cabrera, A.Jackson). HBP: by Furbush (A.Beltre). WP: C.Lewis. Umpires: Home, Alfonso Marquez; first, Ed Hickox; second, Ed Rapuano; third, Brian O'Nora.

T: 3:34. A: 33,921 (49,170).