Shelley Duncan dominates again as the Cleveland Indians defeat Minnesota Twins 7-6 – MLB Update
Shelley Duncan sparkled in the second game of the double-header on Saturday, September 24 to help the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 7-6 at Progressive Field.
After winning the first game 8-2, Duncan drove in three more runs to guide the team to victory.
The win also meant the Cleveland Indians to be second in the league, an achievement they sought eagerly. "Finishing with a winning record and in second place are huge for us," Duncan said. "That second game was a lot of fun."
Duncan, who has had 44 RBIs this year alone in his 72 games, has an average of .263 with 10 home-runs to his credit, having 55 hits and 28 runs.
However, the most joyful and satisfied of all was the team manager Manny Acta. For him, Shelley’s performance bodes well for the Indians and their overall position in the league. "With so many guys out, Shelley has picked us up," Acta said.
Mitch Talbot came to pitch the first inning for the Indians. Danny Valencia was quick to score and give the team an early 1-0 lead as Scott Diamond pitched a scoreless inning for the Twins. Minnesota seemed determined to take up the lead.
Drew Butera scored a one-run triple while Ben Revere had a single to centre to make it a 3-0 lead for the Twins by the time the second inning came to an end. While Scott Diamond had his way in the game, Mitch Talbot was subject to hits.
Butera had a two-run single in the sixth while Trevor Plouffe had another single to seemingly give an irreversible 6-0 lead for the Minnesota Twins. However, everything was turned upside down against the Twins’ defence when the Indians’ hitters sprang into
action in the sixth inning.
Little did Scott Diamond realise what was awaiting him when he came to pitch the sixth. Shelley Duncan had his single to left, Lonnie Chisenhall singled to right, while Lou Marson, Cord Phelps and Ezequiel Carrera singled respectively to bring the Indians
close to the Twins in the 5-hit five-run sixth inning.
Duncan remained the hero for the second time in the day to score a two-run double to left. He not only scored the tiebreaking but winning runs as Chris Perez pitched an effective and shut-out ninth to conclude the game with a 7-6 victory for the Indians.
The Indians put in a tremendous effort as they fought hard throughout the game. Cleveland is having a brilliant season and they are looking to keep their slim chances of a wild-card slot open. It will be interesting to see if the Indians manage to get into
the play-offs.
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