Twins win, need 1 to clinch

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS

The Minnesota Twins are one game away from the AL Central title.

Denard Span’s RBI-single highlighted a four-run eighth inning to rally the Twins to a 6-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night, reducing their magic number to one.

The Twins trailed 4-2 in the eighth. Delmon Young had an RBI-double and pinch-hitter Jose Morales added the game-tying sacrifice fly before Span’s single scored Danny Valencia for the lead. Orlando Hudson added an RBI-double to finish off the burst.

The Twins entered the game needing a win over Cleveland and a loss by the White Sox in Oakland to clinch their sixth division title in nine seasons.

Justin Masterson (6-13) allowed three runs and three hits in two-thirds of an inning for the Indians.

Glen Perkins (1-1) pitched one scoreless inning for the win and Matt Capps picked up his 15th save for the Twins and 41st of the year. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire picked up career victory No. 800.

Jim Thome hit a solo homer and Valencia had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, who were stymied by Indians starter Fausto Carmona for the first five innings.

The big lefty gave up the solo homer to Thome in the second inning, but was breezing through the Twins lineup for the second time in his last three starts before running into trouble in the sixth.

He walked Thome and gave up a single to Young before Valencia chased him with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2. Carmona gave up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Twins starter Scott Baker has been bothered by tendinitis in his pitching elbow for most of the second half of the season. He’s taken two cortisone shots to try to ease the pain and had not pitched since leaving in the second inning of a start on Sept. 2.