Twins 6, Indians 3: Minnesota Takes Series As Offense Backs Diamond

This wasn't a perfect game. Brian Dozier may have had a more difficult afternoon than anyone, making a pair of throwing errors and taking an ill-advised chance to score in the sixth. With one away and runners on the corners, Alexi Casilla hit a hard grounder to first base. Dozier attempted to score and was an easy out. Minnesota was leading 3-2 at the time. (We'll talk about that more a bit later tonight.) Trevor Plouffe made a fielding error as well today, although he also bad a nice stop.

For Scott Diamond all it meant was that the three runs he allowed weren't earned. That's the worst thing you can say about him today. He was, once again, exactly what the Twins needed him to be. He made pitches when he had to, and he didn't hurt himself by issuing walks. It's like he's making a habit of going seven innings.

An early lead by the offense and a response to Cleveland's rally kept the Twins above evens, and it wasn't just Diamond that kept the Indians at bay. Matt Capps pitched a solid ninth, and Glen Perkins preceded him with a scoreless eighth.

Two of three means a series win, and that's all we can ask for. We'll take it. Notes, studs, and duds after the jump.

Notes

• In spite of throwing his first pitch of a plate appearance for a strike 62% of the time today, Diamond actually had a tough time getting and staying ahead later in counts. Inside Edge graded him with an 'F' for "2 of first 3 pitches for strikes %", "% of 0-1 counts that become 0-2 counts", and "% of 1-1 counts that become 1-2 counts".
• Diamond also received an 'F' for garnering chase swings and swings and misses. But those things shouldn't be surprises by now.
• Where Diamond was great today: efficiency, turning hitters' counts into outs, and not allowing Cleveland hitters to square up on the ball.
• Mauer left the game early with a thumb sprain, but it sounds like it'll be a day-to-day situation.
• In his last nine games, Trevor Plouffe is 11-for-31 with three home runs. No walks in that frame, but we like positivity around here.