Thome’s 578th homer powers Twins

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

Jim Thome loves a good pennant race even more than his climb up the home run list.

Thome hit a two-run shot for his 578th career homer and the Minnesota Twins rallied to beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 on Sunday.

“It was a big win, giving us some momentum,” Thome said. “The homer gave us a lift. It means more to help us win in a pennant race.”

Thome’s drive against his former team during Minnesota’s five-run fifth inning off David Huff (2-11) helped the Twins take two of three in the series and earn their 12th win in 16 games.

Minnesota pulled within a half-game of the AL Central-leading White Sox heading into their key three-game set in Chicago starting Tuesday night.

Brian Duensing (5-1) pitched a career-high 71/3 innings for the Twins, yielding three earned runs and nine hits.

“We’re not scoreboard watching yet,” Duensing said.

First baseman Michael Cuddyer, who walked and scored on Thome’s homer, praised Duensing for settling down after a rough start.

“He showed a lot of grit,” he said.

Matt Guerrier retired the two men he faced in the eighth and Matt Capps worked a perfect ninth for his second save in three tries since being acquired July 29 from Washington. Capps had 26 saves with the Nationals.

Thome, who hit a franchise-record 334 homers for Cleveland before leaving as a free agent after the 2002 season, belted his 185th homer at Progressive Field.

His 14th homer this year gave him 1,601 RBIs, passing former Indians player-manager and Baseball Hall of Famer Napoleon Lajoie for 31st on the career list. He’s five homers behind ninth-place Mark McGwire.

“It’s very special and humbling to be among those names,” said Thome, who turns 40 on Aug. 27. “I’d love to keep playing.

“Being with Minnesota is great. A lot of what I’ve done comes from having great teammates everywhere I’ve gone.”

Fresh off the disabled list, Orlando Hudson added a tying two-run double and eventually scored on Delmon Young’s infield out to give the Twins a 5-4 lead.

Cleveland took a 3-0 lead in the first. Michael Brantley tripled and scored on a one-out single by Shin-Soo Choo. One out later, Matt LaPorta hit a drive into the left-field bleachers for his seventh homer.