Cleveland Indians: Big eighth-inning leads Tribe past Twins

The Cleveland Indians offense came up clutch with a three-run eighth inning to clinch a critical series victory over the first-place Twins.

The Cleveland Indians picked up perhaps their biggest win of the 2020 season Wednesday as they plated three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take down the Minnesota Twins 6-3 and take two out of three from their division foes.

In the top of the first, Twins slugger Max Kepler welcomed Mike Clevinger back to the majors with a leadoff solo shot to give Minnesota an early 1-0 lead.

The Twins added onto their lead in the top of the second as LaMonte Wade hit an RBI single to extend the Minnesota lead to 2-0.

In the bottom of the third, the Indians finally received a big-hit from Jose Ramirez as the former MVP finalist slugged a go-ahead three-run home run off of Jose Berrios to put Cleveland on top 3-2.

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With the lead, Clevinger was able to hold the Twins at bay for the remainder of his outing as he finished the night after six innings of work that saw him allow two runs, eight hits and strike out six Twins.

Clevinger would not earn the win, however, as in the top of the seventh, the Twins tied the game at three after Jake Cave ripped an RBI single off Oliver Perez.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Indians offense came up clutch as Tyler Naquin hit an RBI double and Cesar Hernandez delivered a two-run single to put Cleveland on top 6-3.

Three-runs would be more than enough for Brad Hand as he retied the Twins in order in the top of the ninth to lock down his ninth save of the year and a series win for the Tribe.

With the win, the Indians are now just a half a game behind the Twins for first place in the AL Central with a record of 19-12. They remain tied with the Chicago White Sox for second place in the division and the fourth seed in the AL Playoffs.

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On Deck: The Indians will have a day off Thursday as they travel to St. Louis for a three-game series with the Cardinals. St. Louis is currently .. on the season and are in the early stages of a stretch that have them playing 55 games in 43 days after their season was put on hold after just five games due to several positive COVID-19 cases within the organization. Friday’s series opener is scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m. EST from Busch Stadium with Indians rookie Triston McKenzie in line to make his second career start.