Matt LaPorta clinches 3-2 victory for Cleveland Indians against Minnesota Twins – MLB Update
Matt LaPorta and Carlos Santana hit doubles in the eighth inning on Friday, August 12 to give the Cleveland Indians an awaited 3-2 victory at Progressive Field.
Justin Masterson put in a brilliant pitching performance to guide the Indians over the Twins.
The game had all the flavours of excitement. Masterson was indeed thrilled himself. "We want to keep people coming back," starter Justin Masterson said after yet another dramatic win.
It was Matt Laporta’s most invaluable hit that brought home a victory for the Indians. "I thought it had a chance to drop, but he's pretty fast out there so I didn't know," said LaPorta, adding that Cleveland’s hitters feed off each other's success late
in games.
The team manager Manny Acta found Masterson’s contribution highly valued. "He's very positive mentally," Acta said. "He knows he can't control the offense -- but he can control his two-seam and four-seam fastball. He's a tough guy."
Standing 13th in the MLB ranking with 59 wins, the Indians had a wonderful start on Friday with their starter pitched some strong innings to keep the Minnesota Twins’ hitters at bay.
Although Tsuyoshi Nishioka was quick to score the first run for the Twins in the third inning which saw two hits as well, the Indians’ starter Justin Masterson then remained strong throughout the remainder of the game.
Carl Pavano, on the other hand, was a tough competitor. Not allowing any runs in the hard fought game, he entered into the sixth inning, having held the 1-0 lead of the Minnesota Twins intact.
The Cleveland Indians’ offence took their time to make a comeback in a game seemingly dominated by the Twins’ offence. It was Travis Hafner who utilised the opportunity created by an error of Nishioka, to score the first run for the Indians that also tied
the game
Masterson was then subject to another hit in the eighth after Carl Pavano tossed a scoreless seventh. Tsuyoshi Nishioka singled to right to score the tiebreaking run for the Twins, giving the team another lead in the game.
Entering into the eighth the Indians’ offence burst into an agile action to reverse the tide. Carlos Santana scored a run to level the score while Matt LaPorta had another double to shallow left that gave a significant 3-2 lead at the end of the eighth inning.
Chris Perez pitched a strong ninth inning to turn that lead into a valuable 3-2 victory for the Cleveland Indians, snatching the game from the Twins just when the latter was dominating it since the start. It will be interesting to see how the Indians carry
their winning momentum into their next match-up.
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