Last-place Indians suffer seventh straight loss as Twins rally for 9-6 victory

Grady Sizemore’s three-run homer — his league-leading 22nd home run — was the Tribe’s lone bright spot.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Joe Mauer homered, walked three times and scored three runs to help Kevin Slowey and the streaking Minnesota Twins rally past Cleveland Indians 9-6 Saturday night.

Craig Monroe and Alexi Casilla hit two-run doubles, and the Twins rebounded from the Indians’ five-run second inning by scoring five times in the sixth.

Slowey (6-6) settled down, striking out six and allowing five hits in six innings.

Grady Sizemore’s three-run homer, his league-leading 22nd, was the lone highlight for last-place Cleveland, which lost its seventh straight.

Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth for his 24th save in 26 attempts, and Minnesota improved to 17-3 since June 13. During the Twins’ recent surge, fueled largely by their young rotation, Slowey has pitched the best of all.

He was 3-0 with an 0.93 ERA and only two walks in his last four starts, and the right-hander carried that momentum into the first by retiring three straight after Sizemore started with a triple that took a wicked bounce over left fielder Delmon Young’s head.

Then came the second inning, though, when he walked the leadoff man, Shin-Soo Choo, and did the same three batters later with Kelly Shoppach. In 12 previous starts, Slowey walked only nine. Both Choo and Shoppach later scored.

David Dellucci had an RBI double, Andy Marte drove in a run with a single, and Sizemore capped the scoring with the 100th homer of his four-year career to give Cleveland a 5-2 edge.

Meanwhile, Minnesota was whittling away at the lead against Aaron Laffey, who has only one win in his last seven starts after giving up five hits and four walks in five innings. Denard Span drove in Nick Punto with a single in the fourth. Mauer clobbered a 3-1 pitch to start the fifth and cut it to 5-4.

Tom Mastny (0-2) entered in the sixth and surrendered the lead. Span began the rally with a one-out walk, but Carlos Gomez ignited it with another one of his bunt hits — he leads the majors with 21 — to put two runners on for Casilla.

Mastny moved left and fielded the ball cleanly, but fumbled it for a bit and had to wait for Casey Blake to get to first base. The throw was a split-second late.

Three batters after his go-ahead double, after Rafael Perez relieved, Casilla trotted home on a wild pitch that bounced in the dirt, glanced off the catcher Shoppach’s shoulder, and sailed backward into the seats. Brendan Harris finished the frenzy with a two-run single.