Twins win Game 1 of doubleheader in Cleveland

CLEVELAND _ The Twins on Wednesday set themselves up for a big day in Cleveland by whipping the Indians 7-1 at Progressive Field, in the first game of a doubleheader.tmpplchld Right-hander Kyle Gibson went six strong innings. One big hit early by Joe Mauer and another during the game by Torii Hunter led the offense. And the Twins have won seven of their last nine games to keep their wild-card hopes alive.tmpplchld They crept within one game of wild-card leader Los Angeles and one-half game of Houston. The Angels have won seven straight games to pass the Astros for the second wild-card spot. Both teams are in action late Wednesday. An Angels loss and a Twins win would pull Minnesota into a tie for the second wild-card spot and set up a fantastic finish to the season. It would require study sessions and pop quizzes on the possibility of a two-way and three-way ties for the second wild-card spot.tmpplchld Cleveland’s faint playoff hopes took a blow, as the Indians tragic number for postseason elimination sits at one going into the evening games.tmpplchld Gibson had to fight through some deep counts but eventually found the right pitch at the right time. In six innings of shutout ball, Gibson held Cleveland to four hits and two walks. And his nine strikeouts tied a season and career high. And he had to earn some of his outs, as home plate umpire Alan Porter would not give him the outside corner.tmpplchld Gibson won for the second time this month and is in position to start on Sunday on three days’ rest if needed. He threw 104 pitches on Wednesday, and it’s easier for pitchers who throw sinker balls to come back on short rest.tmpplchld Gibson had early run support, as Mauer hit a 95 miles per hour fastball from Carlos Carrasco over the center field wall in the first inning. It was Mauer’s 10th home run of the season.tmpplchld Carrasco was coming off of an outing on Friday in which he tossed a one-hit shutout and struck out 15 against Kansas City. He left more pitches over the middle on Wednesday and paid the price.tmpplchld The Twins broke the game open with four runs in the fourth inning. Mauer socked an 0-2 pitch for a double to left-center field. Miguel Sano singled on a 0-2 pitch to put runners on first and third. Trevor Plouffe hit the first pitch he saw for a RBI single and a 2-0 Twins lead.tmpplchld Eddie Rosario walked, then Torii Hunter ripped a bases-clearing double to left as the Twins took a 5-0 lead. Carrasco was replaced by Ryan Webb.tmpplchld The four-run fourth inning marked the third time in five games of this road trip that the Twins have scored at least four runs in an inning. And they have had at least a three-run inning in five of the first six games of this trip. Scoring in bunches has worked for the most part, as the Twins remain within range of a postseason berth.tmpplchld Byron Buxton added a RBI single in the seventh as the Twins took a 6-0 lead. Cleveland got an RBI single in the bottom of the inning by Jason Kipnis.tmpplchld Buxton struck in the ninth with a solo homer to right-center to complete the scoring for Game 1. It was his second homer in three games.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 Star Tribune (Minneapolis)tmpplchld Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) at www.startribune.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld