Justin Morneau helps Minnesota Twins hammer Cleveland Indians 14-3 – MLB Update
Minnesota Twins hammered the Cleveland Indians 14-3 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio on Monday, August 6 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
The Indians, who had a tough time in their previous series against Detroit Tigers, were looking to restore some of their lost pride in front of the home crowd but that did not turn out to be the case as the Twins played out of their skin to register an emphatic
win.
Starting pitcher Scott Diamond produced another dominant performance as he gave up just three runs in seven solid innings to improve to 10-5.
Twins’ offence, in particular, played a key role in deciding the outcome of the clash. Josh Willingham may be having a quiet season by his standards but he looked in outstanding form on Monday to lay the foundations of an impressive Twins’ victory.
Willingham homered to left in the second inning to set the tone for the rest of the match. Justin Morneau also joined the party with a home-run to right and Denard Span extended the lead to 3-1, reaching first base safely on an error by Indians’ second baseman.
"It's one of those things I'm able to appreciate," Morneau said after hitting his 200th career home-run. "When you're younger you take it for granted you're going to play until you're 40. You go through some tough times. It's something you can
be proud of."
Morneau, Ben Revere and Joe Mauer continued to attack the struggling Cleveland’s pitching and Ryan Doumit connected for a three run home-run to cap a ten run second inning for the Twins.
"It was incredible, really, to score 10 runs in an inning," Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It doesn't happen very often."
"I asked one of my coaches to pinch me tonight because I couldn't believe it was happening again," manager Manny Acta said. "It continues to be rough and disappointing the way we're giving up runs.”
For the Indians, Carlos Santana homered to left centre in the sixth but the Twins held on to their lead with ease to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
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