Francisco Liriano pitches like an ace and one bad inning from Jake Westbrook helps end the Tribe's winning streak at six.
View full sizeIndians right fielder Shelley Duncan can't make the play on a bloop double off the bat of the Twins' Drew Butera during the third inning of the Tribe's 6-0 loss Wednesday in Minneapolis. MINNEAPOLIS -- It was a case of too much Francisco Liriano and not enough early fire from Jake Westbrook on Wednesday afternoon at Target Field.
Those were the biggest moving parts in the Indians' 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Twins that ended their six-game winning streak. Not only was it their longest winning streak of the season, but it was the longest winning streak in club history following the All-Star break.
Then again, did anyone really think the Indians were going to go 74-0 coming out of the break?
The Twins won the game with four runs in the third inning off Westbrook. They sent nine men to the plate with Westbrook contributing three walks, one intentional. Westbrook was done in by the old pitcher's curse of one bad inning.
His first two innings were scoreless as were his last three. That did not appease him. The third inning upset Westbrook so much that it took him several seconds to find a word to describe it.
Finally he settled on irritated.
"I was irritated," Westbrook said. "Big innings hurt us. What they do is they get you down a lot, especially early in the game, and especially against a very good club like the Twins. That's frustrating for a team and that's what I was fired up about."
Westbrook (6-6, 4.74 ERA) said he should have had that kind of internal fire from the first pitch.
"There's a fine line as a pitcher," Westbrook said. "You don't want to get too amped up or frustrated because it can hurt you. It's just a matter of finding that earlier in the game so it doesn't take a big inning [to get you going]."
Drew Butera, batting ninth, started the third with a bloop double to right. Shelley Duncan charged the ball, tried to make a sliding catch, but the ball bounced out of his glove.
"It was an awkward moment for me," Duncan said. "I should have caught that. It should have been a piece of cake."
After Denard Span bounced out and Orlando Hudson walked, Delmon Young doubled for a 1-0 lead. Westbrook intentionally walked Jason Kubel to load the bases, but the strategy didn't work as Michael Cuddyer singled to left to make it 2-0. Trevor Crowe cut down Young at the plate for the second out, but Westbrook continued to struggle.
He reloaded the bases by walking Jim Thome for the second of three straight times. J.J. Hardy followed with a two-run double past third. Thome is a .385 lifetime hitter against Westbrook with three homers and 10 RBI.
Liriano (8-7, 3.54) wasn't perfect, but he still pitched seven scoreless innings. The Indians reached him for six hits and four walks, but after hitting .429 (12-for-28) with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series, they went 0-for-6 Wednesday.
"Liriano just got tougher and tougher anytime we got runners in scoring position," manager Manny Acta said. "We had enough traffic to do some damage, but it seemed like anytime we got somebody on second or third, he stepped it up."
The Twins' defense assisted Liriano with three double plays. The biggest came in the fifth when the Tribe loaded the bases with one out. Jayson Nix sent a bouncer back to the mound to start a 1-2-3 double play.
In the sixth, Jhonny Peralta singled with one out, but Matt LaPorta lined into a double play at first to end the inning. Duncan grounded into a double play to end the second with runners on first and second.
Liriano, like Westbrook, has taken the long way back from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow after his dominant 2006 season.
"He's very good right now," Acta said. "I don't think [Liriano] will ever get back to 2006 . . . that's a lot to ask. But 93 mph to 95 mph with the slider and changeup, and being left-handed, is very good."
The Twins added the final two runs on Young's bad hop single past shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera with two out in the eighth. Liriano, Jesse Crain and Anthony Slama, making his big-league debut, combined on a seven-hitter.
It was the Indians' eighth shutout this season. That's an AL high.