Indians handling Twins, 5-1, through six innings.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- This is a daily briefing of the Indians' 2010 regular season. The Tribe plays host to the Twins tonight in the first of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
Pitching matchup: RHP Jeanmar Gomez (2-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. LHP Francisco Liriano (10-7, 3.18).
In-game updates:
The Indians led the Twins, 5-1, through six innings. They had four runs and seven hits through three.
Shelley Duncan hit a two-run double in the first. Later in the inning, Trevor Crowe delivered an RBI fielder's choice.
The Indians made it 4-0 in the second on Asdrubal Cabrera's RBI single.
Minnesota pulled within 4-1 in the third on a sacrifice fly.
Gomez allowed the one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. He was relieved by Justin Germano with runners on first and second and one out. Germano got Michael Cuddyer to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.
The Tribe restored the four-run advantage in the sixth.
Pregame notes:
Michael Brantley has resumed being the Indians' regular center fielder.
Brantley was promoted from Class AAA Columbus on Friday afternoon. Hours later, he was set to begin his third stint with the Tribe this season by starting in center and batting leadoff against Twins lefty Francisco Liriano.
To make room for Brantley, the Indians sent reliever Jensen Lewis to Columbus.
"We feel like Michael's a guy who is going to hit up here,'' Indians manager Manny Acta said. "It's a matter of time -- and we have it. We have the time, and we have the opportunity.''
Brantley broke camp with the Indians, struggled and was optioned to Columbus on April 18. He returned to Cleveland on July 4 and stayed until July 27. He combined to hit .157 (16-for-102) with 12 runs in the first two stints.
"It's going to take a while for him to change (the average), because he dug such a big hole,'' Acta said. "But we don't look at the numbers; we see at-bats. And he had better at-bats the last time he was here. Our team is better with him on it.''
Brantley is hitting .319 (87-for-273) with 54 runs in 67 games for the Clippers. He ranks second in the International League in average.
Brantley arrived in the clubhouse at 4 p.m. and quickly unpacked his giant Clippers duffle bag before taking the field for batting practice.
The Indians acquired Brantley from Milwaukee as the player to be named in the CC Sabathia trade in 2008. He debuted with Cleveland last year, hitting .313 in 28 games.
Lewis, who also opened this season with the Tribe, has been sent down four times this year. He is 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA in 25 appearances for Cleveland. He has 28 walks and 27 strikeouts in 25 2/3 innings for the Indians.
"We've explained a few things to him,'' Acta said. "That being said, he has a right to be disappointed. I understand if he's disappointed, because nobody wants to be in the minor leagues.''
Santana update: Rookie catcher Carlos Santana underwent surgery on his left knee Friday at Cleveland Clinic to repair a strained lateral collateral ligament. Indians head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff said Santana's recovery time will be 4-6 months.
"They didn't find any damage inside the knee or anywhere else, which is good news,'' Acta said. "They were able to repair the ligament; they didn't need to reconstruct anything.''
Santana was injured Monday night at Fenway Park in a collision at the plate with Boston left fielder Ryan Kalish. While attempting to score on a single, Kalish fell on Santana's extended leg. Santana's leg bent and his shoe came off.
He's in: The Indians claimed infielder/outfielder Drew Sutton off outright waivers from the Cincinnati Reds and optioned him to Columbus.
Sutton appeared in two games with Cincinnati in May and was 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBI. In 84 games with Class AAA Louisville this year he batted .262 with three homers and 27 RBI.
Sutton (6-3, 200) is a switch-hitter. He was a 15th-round pick by the Houston Astros in 2004 out of Baylor University.
The Indians' 40-man roster stands at 39.
K-Love in the house: Kenny Lofton visited the pressbox Friday night. He will be inducted into the Indians Hall of Fame on Saturday night in a pregame ceremony on the field.
Lofton played for the Indians in three stints (1992-1996; 1998-2001; 2007). He ranks as the franchise's all-time leader with 452 steals and is third with 975 runs.
The late Cy Slapnicka, former Tribe general manager and super scout, will be inducted in the Indians Distinguished Hall of Fame (for non-uniformed personnel). Slapnicka signed Bob Feller and Bob Lemon.
Feller is among those who will be in attendance Saturday.
Finally: Three terrific right-handers were in the pressbox Friday night: Feller, Bert Blyleven and Jack Morris. Blyleven is a Twins TV analyst; Morris, a Twins radio analyst.
Feller is a National Baseball Hall of Famer. Blyleven and Morris have Hall of Fame resumes.
All three pitched for the Tribe.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: dmanoloff@plaind.com, 216-999-4664
Clubhouse confidential: Indians right-handers Mitch Talbot and Anthony Reyes threw bullpens Friday at Progressive Field.
Talbot, who has been on the disabled list since July 30 because of mid-back strain, is expected to make a rehab appearance at the beginning of next week for short-season Mahoning Valley.
"After that, we'll see if he's going to be ready to take his turn,'' Indians manager Manny Acta said.
Reyes, who had reconstructive elbow surgery in June 2009, experienced back problems in a recent rehab outing for Class AA Akron.
"We had to rein him in a bit,'' Acta said. "He will go out pretty soon to resume rehab.''
Changing addresses: Justin Masterson moved into Jake Westbrook's locker, Joe Smith into Kerry Wood's and Lou Marson into Austin Kearns's. Westbrook, Wood and Kearns were traded since the Indians' previous homestand concluded.
Car parts: Fausto Carmona, the Indians' All-Star representative, bought All-Star T-shirts for his teammates. The shirts were distributed Friday.
Jonesing: The Indians signed shortstop Hunter Jones, their 11th-round pick out of Lakewood (Calif.) High School. Hunter is the son of former major leaguer Tracy Jones.
The Indians have until mid-August to sign their top pick, lefty Drew Pomeranz.
Stat of the day: The Indians have won three series since the All-Star break. They won seven in the first "half.''
Lineups:
Twins (61-48) -- 1. Denard Span cf; 2. Alexi Casilla 2b; 3. Joe Mauer dh; 4. Delmon Young lf; 5. Jason Kubel rf; 6. Michael Cuddyer 1b; 7. Danny Valencia 3b; 8. J.J. Hardy ss; 9. Drew Butera c; and Liriano.
Indians (46-63) -- 1. Michael Brantley cf; 2. Asdrubal Cabrera ss; 3. Shin-Soo Choo rf; 4. Shelley Duncan dh; 5. Matt LaPorta 1b; 6. Jayson Nix 3b; 7. Trevor Crowe lf; 8. Jason Donald 2b; 9. Lou Marson c; and Gomez.