Jorge Polanco homered and doubled three times, while Byron Buxton also went deep, for the visiting Minnesota Twins during their 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night.
It was the second four-hit game this season for Polanco, who, according to the Twins’ television broadcast, tied a club record with four extra-base hits in a game. Buxton and Luis Arraez each posted two hits for Minnesota (60-77), which has won two straight following a four-game losing streak.
Franmil Reyes belted a two-run homer for Cleveland (68-67), which has lost three of four at home and dropped to 5-8 against Minnesota this season.
Five pitches and three batters into the game, Minnesota had a 2-0 lead against Cleveland’s Logan Allen. Buxton led off with an infield hit, Polanco followed with a double to left field and Rob Refsnyder drove both home with a single to right. Polanco made it a 3-0 game with a shot well into the left-field seats in the third to increase his career-high homer total to 27.
The Indians got within a run when Ramirez opened their half of the fourth with a bunt single and Reyes followed with his 27th homer of the season.
Buxton clubbed his 11th of the campaign, just over the high left-field wall, in the fifth for a 4-2 Minnesota advantage.
Minnesota starter Bailey Ober yielded his only runs on Reyes’ homer, with five other hits, and struck out four without a walk over four innings. Michael Pineda (5-8) followed by giving up two hits and striking out three with a walk over three innings to earn the winning decision.
Allen (1-6), meanwhile, allowed all five runs with eight hits over 5 1/3 innings for Cleveland.
Arraez’s pinch-hit RBI single extended the Twins’ lead in the sixth.
Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli was away from the team and back in Minneapolis for the birth of his first child.
–Field Level Media