JACOBS FIELD Twins top Tribe to stay tied in Central

Minnesota is just 6-9 against Cleveland this season.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Kyle Lohse pitched 71/3 shutout innings and Cristian Guzman homered for the first time in more than a year Saturday night as the Minnesota Twins stayed in step atop the AL Central with a 2-0 win over the Cleveland Indians.
Lohse (13-11) allowed six hits and matched a career high with nine strikeouts for the Twins, who came in tied for the division lead with Chicago. The White Sox beat Boston 3-1 Saturday night.
LaTroy Hawkins got two outs in the eighth and Eddie Guardado pitched a perfect ninth for his 35th save.
Pulling ahead
Guzman hit his first homer since Sept. 11 last season -- 600 plate appearances -- off rookie Jason Stanford (0-2) in the sixth and Torii Hunter homered in the seventh as Minnesota improved to 6-9 vs. Cleveland in 2003.
Guzman ended his long-ball drought by connecting on Stanford's first pitch in the sixth. The drive to straightaway center barely cleared the wall and outfielder Coco Crisp's glove.
Crisp raced back and made a leaping attempt at the wall but came up empty. After falling to the warning track, Crisp pounded his glove on the ground in frustration.
Hunter made it 2-0 an inning later with his 25th homer, a line shot to the bleachers in right.
Hunter is batting just .179 vs. the Indians this season, but he has homered twice against them so far in this series.
Lohse ended the fourth by taking Travis Hafner's hard shot up the middle off his left shin. The ball ricocheted to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz, who stepped on first for the out.
Lohse dropped to his knees on the mound and stayed motionless for a moment before walking gingerly to the dugout.
He looked fine over the next three innings, however, allowing just two hits and striking out four.
Strong pitching
Stanford, making just his sixth major league start, had the Twins swinging through, over and under his off-speed pitches for the first five innings.
In the second, he struck out Jones on a pitch that registered only 76 mph, then fanned Corey Koskie for the final out in the fourth on a 73 mph changeup.
After getting Hunter to wave at a 77 mph pitch for the first out in the fifth, Stanford gave up a single to Jones but got out of the inning by getting A.J. Pierzynski to ground into a double play.
Jones reaggravated a groin injury while running to second on the play. He went to the outfield for the bottom of the inning, but left and was replaced by Jon Ford.
Jones was on the disabled list in July with the injury.
Stanford allowed two runs -- both solo homers -- and four hits in seven innings.
Notes
Guzman's 543 plate appearances without a homer this season was the third highest total in club history, bettered only by Kirby Puckett (583 in 1984) and Rod Carew (591 in 1972). ... Twins LHP Eric Milton will make his first start this season on Sunday. Milton has been sidelined since undergoing surgery on his left knee during spring training. ... Stanford has made it through the latest cuts to make the U.S. Olympic team for 2004 in Athens.
MINNESOTACLEVELAND
abrhbiabrhbi
ShStwrt lf4010Crisp cf4000
Rivas 2b4000Blake 3b4010
Mntkw 1b3010Gerut lf4020
LeCroy dh4010AEscbr rf4010
Rstvich dh0000Brssrd 1b4000
Koskie 3b4000VMrtnz c4010
THnter cf4111Hafner dh4010
JJones rf2010Peralta ss3000
Ford rf1000ASntos 2b3010
Mohr rf0000LRcca ph1000
Przyns c3000
CGzmn ss3111
Totals32262Totals35070
Minnesota000001100--2
Cleveland000000000--0
E--CGuzman (11), ASantos (2). DP--Cleveland 2. LOB--Minnesota 4, Cleveland 9. 2B--Mientkiewicz (35). HR--THunter (25), CGuzman (1).
IPHRERBBSO
Minnesota
Lohse W,13-117 1-360019
Hawkins2-310000
Guardado S,35100001
Cleveland
Stanford L,0-2742216
Betancourt220003
WP--Lohse. Umpires--Home, Wally Bell; First, Bill Welke; Second, John Hirschbeck; Third, Matt Hollowell. T--2:22. A--20,440.