Twins beat up Indians, 10-1, at Progressive Field

CLEVELAND (AP) — Scott Baker denied feeling pressure, though he knew it was time for a Minnesota starting pitcher to step up.

Baker (9-7) pitched seven scoreless innings and was backed by home runs from Carlos Gomez and Jason Kubel, leading the Twins to a 10-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

“Getting those runs helped a lot,” Baker said. “Seven innings was a step in the right direction.”

Gomez had three hits and four RBIs, and Joe Mauer hit three of Minnesota’s season-high seven doubles as the Twins broke a three-game losing streak and moved 21‚Ñ2 games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central. The Twins came in with 163 doubles, next-to-last in the AL.

“Doubles are nice,” Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Gomez had a big night, Baker was tough and we had a lot of good things happen.”

Justin Morneau drove in two runs, giving him an AL-leading 88 RBIs. Orlando Cabrera, recently acquired from Oakland, extended his hitting streak to 14 games and hit his 400th career double.

Baker (9-7) picked up a staff that yielded 35 runs and 52 hits in a three-game weekend sweep by the Los Angeles Angels.

“You are aware of that, but can’t carry it out there with you,” Baker said. “My objective had to be the same regardless of the previous series.”

The right-hander allowed three hits and one walk, striking out four to improve to 5-1 in eight starts since June 25.

“His fastball is a little different,” said Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, who went 0-for-4. “He throws 88-90 [mph], but it looked like he was throwing 94. It’s straight, but it’s tough to get a good swing at.”

Baker is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA in two starts this year against Cleveland, which threatened against him only once. Jhonny Peralta singled with two outs in the fourth and went to third on a double by Travis Hafner. Rookie Chris Gimenez then hit a drive to the warning track in center that Gomez caught with a leap in front of the wall.

“Everything in the ballpark, I have to catch,” Gomez said.