AMERICAN LEAGUE Twins outlast Indians in 10th

Minnesota beat Cleveland for the first time in seven games this year, 6-5.
By JON KRAWCZYNSKI
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINNEAPOLIS -- Justin Morneau's sacrifice fly in the 10th inning lifted Minnesota to a 6-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night, the Twins' first win over their AL Central rivals in seven meetings.
After Guillermo Mota (0-3) got Joe Mauer to fly out to start the inning, Torii Hunter walked for the third time in the game.
He advanced to third on a single by Michael Cuddyer, and then scored when Morneau lifted a lazy fly ball to fairly deep center.
Grady Sizemore had no chance to throw out the speedy Hunter, who touched off a spirited celebration for the reeling Twins when he reached home plate.
Minnesota had lost six of eight coming in to fall 11 games behind AL Central-leading Chicago.
Sizemore had two hits and two RBIs and Eduardo Perez homered for the Indians, but their bullpen couldn't hold a 5-4 lead.
Nathan gets win
Joe Nathan (2-0) struck out five in two innings of perfect relief to pick up the win for the Twins, who overcame an unusually ordinary start from ace Johan Santana to beat the Indians for the first time since Sept. 4.
Santana was spotted a 4-0 lead after three innings, but he gave up five runs and nine hits with just five strikeouts in seven innings.
Prior to this outing, Santana had been simply outstanding in May, going 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA and 42 strikeouts in four starts.
This was the first time in four starts he failed to strike out at least 10.
After the Twins made it 4-0 lead in the third on a two-run homer by Cuddyer, Santana appeared well on his way to racking up another victory.
Tribe gets on the board
But Cleveland got on the board with Sizemore's two-run double in the fifth.
Perez's towering two-run homer highlighted a three-run sixth inning that gave the Indians a 5-4 lead.
The Twins tied the game when Morneau scored from third when Tony Batista hit into a double play against reliever Fernando Cabrera.
The run was charged to starter Cliff Lee, who gave up five runs and seven hits in five-plus innings.
Cabrera, Scott Sauerbeck and Rafael Betancourt combined for four innings of scoreless relief, but Mota allowed just the second run by the Indians' bullpen in the last 242/3 innings.
Notes
Cuddyer's homer in the third meant he reached base in 21 straight games. ... Hunter extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the second. ... Lou Merloni's single in the fifth was his first hit in eight at-bats since being called up by the Indians on May 17. ... Lee has gone at least five innings in 41 consecutive starts.