MINNEAPOLIS -- During his career with the Marlins, Twins veteran catcher Mike Redmond has seen many a gem pitched by top-level guys like Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis and Carl Pavano.

On Thursday against the Indians, Redmond was behind the plate and had the view of a pitcher he felt was even better.

Brad Radke.

In one of the more commanding performances of his career, Radke threw a three-hit shutout and struck out a season-high eight batters as Minnesota blanked Cleveland, 9-0, before 18,265 at the Metrodome. It salvaged the final game of a three-game series.

"He was lights out," Redmond said. "The best I've ever caught in my career."

The three hits allowed by Radke (3-3), which tied a career low achieved five times before but not since 2001, accounted for all of Cleveland's baserunners in the game. The right-hander retired 27 of the 30 batters he faced.

"I felt like I had pretty good arm strength out there today," Radke said. "The ball was just coming out of my hand pretty good."

That's two superlative outings in a row for Radke. He also won his previous game Saturday vs. the Angels, while allowing one earned run in 7 1/3 strong innings. Like that performance, he avoided his trademark first-inning trouble.

"My last two starts have been right where I want to be," said Radke, who has 10 career shutouts and two complete games this season. "I have command of everything. I felt real strong out there. I kept the ball down and threw a lot of strikes."

But unlike any game he's pitched this season, Radke retired the side in order in the first ... and the second, and the third.

"A lot has been written about his troubles in the first inning," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I think Rad is trying to make a statement. He pitched as good as I've ever seen him pitch last year. I don't think he's going to tail off this year."

Radke followed an attack plan he had vs. the Angels, which called for mixing breaking and offspeed pitches instead of establishing his location with all fastballs. The aggressive-hitting Indians were no match and the pitcher kept building momentum throughout the game.

"It's easy to play [defense] when the pitcher is hitting his spots every time," shortstop Jason Bartlett said. "You know where the ball is going to go."

A shot at a potential perfect game faded with two outs in the fourth. Victor Martinez hit a ball to center field that Torii Hunter had trouble reading. It fell in front of him for a single, but skipped under his glove for a two-base error.

"It was a knuckleball," Hunter said. "Only an outfielder understands what I went through there. I knew Radke had a no-hitter going and I said, 'I'm going to go for this ball no matter what.' It knuckled and went straight down."

Meanwhile, the Twins exploded for a five-run fifth inning against Indians lefty C.C. Sabathia (2-1). Bartlett's leadoff home run to left field started it off before they added four-more runs -- all while capitalizing with the bases loaded.

The long inning did not affect Radke. He retired 10 more in a row and let Hunter off the hook for spoiling perfection. Cleveland's Ben Broussard led off the eighth with a double. Coco Crisp's infield hit in the ninth was the final hit allowed.

"You couldn't get him today," said Hunter, who was 3-for-5. "He had you off-balance -- in and out. He never threw a ball down the middle."

That's just how Radke and Redmond drew it up. The catcher was used to having his former Florida battery mates succeed with mid-to-high 90s heat. Now he saw how the other half can live. Radke rarely tops 90 mph and relies purely on control.

"You can dominate a game and not throw 98 mph," Redmond said. "I call a fastball in and I know it's going to be in. If I want a changeup, it's going to be there. If I want a curveball backdoor, it's going to be a curveball backdoor.

"It's fun to catch a guy like that. This is great."