Joe Mauer homered in the 1st inning and Byron Buxton scored from first on a Brian Dozier double in the second. But Minnesota starter Tyler Duffey gave up four hits in the third to erase the Twins lead, and the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians tacked on another in the fifth to take the first game, 5-4.
“He tried to use all his pitches,” Twins manager Paul Molitor told the Star Tribune. “His changeup was little inconsistent. He used the fastball quite a bit. The curveball at times was good for him.”
Buxton’s two-run home run, his sixth this season and fifth in eight games since his recall, tied the game at 4-4 in the forth, but a Mike Napoli blast in the fifth ultimately did the Twins in.
“I should have thrown a chase breaking ball instead of one for a strike,” Duffey told the Star Tribune. “He obviously was sitting on it. ”
The pitch ultimately landed in the third deck of Target Field, an estimated 456 feet from home plate.
“I can’t even hit a golf ball that far,” Cleveland manager Terry Francona told the Associated Press.
[Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, Associated Press]
