News
Twins' Baker runs unbeaten streak to 11
Punto's clutch double all the support right-hander needs
By Matt O'Donnell / MLB.com
09/05/09 9:50 PM ET
CLEVELAND -- The Twins needed a win in the worst way Saturday. And Scott Baker gave them just that. Seeing his team's playoff hopes slipping further away by the day, Baker supplied the Twins with a much-needed 4-1 victory over the Indians at Progressive Field. Baker was able to outduel Cleveland starter Justin Masterson despite not having his best stuff. "He wasn't as sharp as he's been," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You want to see him out there. He's been our hottest pitcher." After seeing its 3 1/2-game deficit at the beginning of the week turn into a six-game hole by Friday, Minnesota needed to stop the bleeding in the worst way. And the team turned to its ace to do it. Baker, who has not lost in his past 11 games, was the perfect candidate to accomplish the task. He not only owns baseball's best winning percentage since June, he's also dominated the Indians this season, going 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA in three starts against them coming into the game. "He's been a tough matchup for us," Cleveland manager Eric Wedge said. "For whatever reason, we just haven't been seeing him very well." At least on this day, they might not have been seeing Baker very well, because 4 o'clock shadows were wreaking havoc on hitters of both teams -- an odd game time cast long shadows over the infield that made it almost impossible for either team to pick up pitches. "It was tough," Twins second baseman Nick Punto said. "But both teams had to deal with it." Baker certainly took advantage of it. He gave up just one run in six innings, a home run by Andy Marte, despite not having the best control of his pitches. "I was kind of fighting a bit," Baker said. "Any time you have shadows like that, you want to take advantage of them. They weren't used to it." The Twins were trailing the Indians, 1-0, when they mounted their comeback attempt. Jason Kubel walked and then moved to third on Jose Morales' two-out single. Punto then hit a double into the left-field corner to score Kubel and tie the game. Morales was able to come all the way around from first on the hit because Jamey Carroll was unable to field the ball cleanly, giving the Twins a 2-1 lead. But once the shadows went away, Baker had to work his way out of some tough jams to hold onto that lead. Baker walked the No. 9 hitter, Wyatt Toregas, to start the fifth inning. He appeared to be out of the inning when Michael Brantley hit a comebacker to him. But reminiscent of Friday night's loss, when the Twins committed four errors, Baker threw to shortstop Orlando Cabrera for one out, but Cabrera threw a one-hopper to first that Justin Morneau couldn't handle for an error. This time, the Twins escaped when Baker got Carroll to fly out and strand the runner at second. The Indians would threaten again in the sixth when they put runners on second and third with two outs. But Baker got Luis Valbuena to fly out to Cabrera to end the inning. Baker's day was done and the Indians wouldn't pose a threat the rest of the way. The Twins tacked on runs in the eighth and ninth innings, and Joe Nathan came on to secure his 36th save of the season. The Twins have now won 10 of their past 14 and at least kept pace with the Tigers, who had a night game with the Rays. "We didn't get many big hits," Punto said. "Baker kept us in that ballgame. "It's going to be an uphill battle to catch the Tigers, but we're up for it."Matt O'Donnell is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
