AMERICAN LEAGUE Twins defeat Indians on Cuddyer's homer
Minnesota stretched its winning streak to 11 games with a 3-2 win.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Twins have their eyes firmly fixed on the playoffs. And, everybody is staring straight at the New York Yankees.
Michael Cuddyer hit a tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning as the Twins, the AL Central champions, won their 11th straight game, beating the Cleveland Indians 3-2 Wednesday night.
A day after clinching the division title, Minnesota won its team-record 13th in a row at home. The Twins' next game at the Metrodome will be Oct. 4 -- Game 3 in the first round of the playoffs, which will likely be against AL East champion New York.
"You start setting yourselves up now and get healthy," said manager Ron Gardenhire, who sat every regular except Matthew LeCroy. "Now, everybody knows what New York's got and you see how you can match up."
Longest since 1991
Overall, the Twins' winning string is their longest since a 15-game streak in 1991, the last year they won the World Series. Minnesota's 45-20 record since All-Star break is the best in the majors.
Lew Ford, one of 14 rookies who started in the game, homered and hit an RBI triple for Minnesota.
Ben Broussard homered for Cleveland, which has lost 16 of its last 21.
"We've had a stretch where the bats have been going good, but not the last week or so," manager Eric Wedge said.
Kyle Lohse, Minnesota's likely Game 3 starter in the division series, allowed one run and four hits in six innings but fell short of his 15th win.
"I know we've got bigger things to accomplish right now than me getting my 15th win," Lohse said. "I feel good about the way I finished."
Orosco gets win
Jesse Orosco (1-0) pitched a third of an inning for his first AL victory since July 19, 1998, for Baltimore. Eddie Guardado pitched the ninth for his 41st save in 44 chances.
With the score tied at 2 in the eighth, Cuddyer greeted reliever Rafael Betancourt (2-2) with a solo shot to center field. The 423-foot homer, on a 3-2 pitch, was Cuddyer's third.
Broussard hit a 409-foot drive off Lohse with one out in the third inning for his 16th homer of the year.
The Indians' 1-0 lead stood until Ford hit a solo homer off C.C. Sabathia with one out in the sixth. It was Ford's third home run of the year.
"It was a little hard tonight, I didn't know anything about the people in their lineup," Sabathia said. "It was like spring training."
Minnesota took a 2-1 lead in the seventh when Denny Hocking hit a two-out single and scored on Ford's triple.
Indians tie it
But, the Indians used a passed ball and wild pitch in the eighth to tie it again. Jhonny Peralta walked to lead off the inning, moved to second on Rob Bowen's passed ball and got to third on Angel Santos' groundout.
With Coco Crisp at the plate, reliever Rick Reed bounced a wild pitch past Bowen, allowing Peralta to score. One out later Casey Blake singled and stole second base, but was stranded there when Mohr made a diving play in right field.