(Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- The Cleveland Indians looked a bit sluggish following a stressful day in Minneapolis. The tribe and Twins were unsure if they were going to have a game throughout the day following a Covid-19 breakout in the away clubhouse of the Minnesota Twins, after two players on the St Louis Cardinals tested positive for Covid-19. Minnesota jumped out to an early 3-run lead and never looked back, cruising to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Indians.
Mike Clevinger's first inning struggles from his first start carried over to tonight's game. Sunshine gave up a leadoff blast to Max kepler, followed by a two-RBI double by Eddie Rosario. Looking to find his rhythm, Clevinger tossed a high and inside fastball to Alex Avila, who turned on the pitch and sent it over the right field wall. Indians reliever Phil Maton stepped on the hill to relieve Clevinger in the 5th inning andd appeared to be in immediate trouble with runners on the corners and no outs, but tiptoed out of the inning with no damage done. The Indians bullpen shut down Minnesota for the remainder of the game but the bats fell short.
Cleveland's lone run came one a weakly hit ground ball off the bat of Franmil Reyes, that trickled past the Twins middle infield into center field for an RBI double.
Former Uber driver Randy Dobnak earns his first win of the 2020 campaign, tossing 5.0 innings giving up three hits on four strikeouts and two walks. Minnesota left hander Taylor Rogers shut down the tribe for his second save. Mike Clevinger was hit with the loss, moving to 0-1 on the season. The Cleveland Indians move to a record of 5-3 and are a half game back from the first place Twins.
Game three of the four-game series will take place on Saturday evening. Carlos Carrasco will face off against Minnesota hurler Kenta Maeda, first pitch set for 7:10 pm ET at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota.