MINNEAPOLIS — The ball just didn’t bounce Michael Brantley’s way Sunday.

Brantley’s three-run homer in the fourth inning was taken off the board upon replay review, a ruling that wound up playing a pivotal role in Cleveland’s 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Brantley’s shot to right field hit the limestone facing and was initially ruled a home run. He rounded the bases for a 4-2 lead, but Twins manager Ron Gardenhire convinced the umpires to review the call. They did, and summoned Brantley out of the dugout and credited him with a two-run double.

More photos below.

Twins starter Carl Pavano stranded him on second base, and the Indians faltered in the seventh when Jason Kubel hit a two-run double off of Rafael Perez (2-1) to lift the Twins to the win.

If umpires had ruled that the ball caromed off the top of the wall, it would have remained a home run. But replays showed it hit the corner, and all Brantley and the Indians could do was shrug at their misfortune, a game of inches lost by the narrowest of margins.

.

“They made the right call,” Brantley said. “I watched the replay two innings later and it definitely wasn’t a home run. It hit the corner of the wall and came back. It was unlucky for us, but that’s the way the game goes.”

Right fielder Shin-Soo Choo threw out two runners at home in the third inning to keep the Indians in it, but starter Carlos Carrasco left with tightness in his right elbow after just three innings. He will be re-evaluated in Cleveland.

“He felt from the beginning he couldn’t get loose pretty good and just went out there and said he couldn’t get it loose at all,” Indians manager Manny Acta said.

“We kind of sensed some of that because his velocity wasn’t where he was in the past. He just couldn’t get it loose.”
Travis Hafner and Orlando Cabrera had two hits a piece, but a Cabrera error at second base in the seventh inning set up Kubel’s go-ahead hit.

The Indians led 3-2 in the seventh when Alexi Casilla singled and Denard Span reached on Cabrera’s error. Jason Repko bunted them up a base and Kubel hit a changeup high off the wall in right-center field for the lead.

“Obviously, they took advantage of the extra out and their big hitters came through,” Acta said.

Grady Sizemore doubled in the ninth to put the tying run on second base, but Matt Capps got Asdrubal Cabrera to fly out to the warning track in left field to end the game.

Kubel and Justin Morneau had two hits for the Twins, who took both games of the rain-shortened series. They have won three in a row and five of seven after a miserable 4-10 start.

“We needed some wins, absolutely,” manager Ron Gardenhire said. “You still try to stay on an even keel as much as you possibly can, figure out what’s right and wrong and try to work your way through it.”

The Indians stayed in it thanks to Choo’s cannon left arm in the third inning. With one out and runners on first and second, Kubel came through with a hard-hit single to right field. Casilla ran right through third-base coach Steve Liddle’s stop sign and Choo, who led the league in outfield assists last year, threw him out by 5 feet.

Morneau followed with a two-run double, and Carrasco was again on his heels. Michael Cuddyer then delivered a soft single to shallow right and Liddle first waved Morneau home before putting up a stop sign when Morneau was halfway down the line. Choo’s throw easily beat Morneau to the plate to end the inning.

“If he wins a Gold Glove, we’ll probably have Steve hand it out,” Gardenhire quipped.

Choo nearly had a third assist in the fourth inning, but Thome just beat his throw into second base for a double.

“The good thing is he never gets caught by surprise,” Acta said of Choo. “He throws the ball on a line, makes a good throw. Whether people run on him or not he makes the throw, which is to his credit because they’re on line and good throws.”

Notes

• The Indians now head home, where they have won seven in a row for the first time since 2007. They’re off today and open a series against Kansas City on Tuesday.
• Choo’s two assists give him four for the season.
• Indians right-handed pitcher Vinnie Pestano threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings. He has allowed one run in eight innings this season (1.12 ERA).

MINNEAPOLIS – With runners at the corners and one out in the fifth inning, Indians manager Manny Acta decided to have Fausto Carmona intentionally walk .319-hitting Jason Kubel to face Justin Morneau, who was playing for the first time in six games after a nasty bout with the flu.

Acta expected his big right-hander to lean on his heavy sinker against Morneau, hopefully inducing an inning-ending double play.

What he got was an entirely different approach.

Morneau lined a change-up into center field for a big two-run single to help the Minnesota Twins break out of a season-long offensive slump in a 10-3 victory over Cleveland on Saturday.

Morneau had been sidelined for the last week and was relieved when Friday night’s series opener was rained out to give him an extra day of rest. Then Carmona took it easy on him in the most important at-bat of the game.

“If I’m in bed for four days, I think I’d rather see an 86 mph change-up than 92 mph sinker,” Acta said. “Those are lessons to be learned.”

Carmona (1-3) gave up six runs on seven hits and walked four in five innings. Grady Sizemore hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Dusty Hughes, but the game was already out of reach by then.

Brian Duensing (2-0) gave up one run on five hits in seven innings. The Twins scored more than five runs in a game for the first time this season.

Danny Valencia hit a two-run homer and Jason Kubel had two hits and three RBIs for the Twins, who entered the day with the fewest runs scored in the majors.

“Right now, a couple of (Twins) aren’t on top of their game and we were pitching them like they were in midseason form and they’re hot,” Acta said. “I just felt that we didn’t attack them properly.”

Morneau, who had two hits, had missed the previous five games because of an illness that has been circulating through the Twins clubhouse.

He was hitting just .208 on the season in his first action since July because of a concussion, one of many Twins struggling at the plate.

So it was no surprise when the Indians walked Kubel to load the bases with one out for Morneau. But he made them pay with a single to center field that scored Denard Span and Alexi Casilla to give the Twins a 5-1 lead. He picked up his fourth and fifth RBIs of the season and the Twins took a 6-1 lead after five.

“I was trying to throw first-pitch strikes,” Carmona said. “I thought I was aggressive enough.”

It was no surprise when this series opened that it featured the first-place and last-place teams in the AL Central. But most figured when the season started that the Twins would be on top of the division, with the Indians fighting the Royals for a place in the Central basement again.

But the Indians have been one of the pleasant surprises of the first month. Sizemore is back from a serious knee injury, Travis Hafner is swinging the bat much better and the bullpen has shut things down to help the Indians (13-7) to the best record in the AL.

Injuries and illness have gutted the Twins, causing Joe Mauer, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Morneau and Delmon Young all to miss big chunks of time. One of the preseason favorites to win the division, they started the day with the worst record in the American League at 7-12.

Carmona gave up 10 runs in three innings in his first start of the season, but had only given up three earned runs over 21 2-3 innings in his previous three outings. But the Indians’ difficulties with the Twins continued, and they dropped their sixth straight to Minnesota.

“We come out and we respect everybody, but we don’t fear anybody,” Acta said. “You have to respect people. We know they are good, but these kids they go after it. We beat a couple of good teams last week.”

NOTES: Indians reliever Chad Durbin gave up four runs on four hits – including a two-run homer to Valencia in the seventh – in two innings. … Young missed his fourth straight game because of a rib injury and an illness. … Twins bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek was back at work after missing the start of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a detached retina. … Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said they will likely make up the game with the Indians when they visit in the second series after the All-Star break.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As baseball games go, this was a dandy.

There was outstanding pitching, great defense and clutch hitting — especially Melky Cabrera’s walkoff single in the ninth that lifted Kansas City past the Cleveland Indians 3-2.

Cabrera rifled a bases-loaded, two-run base hit into left field with one out off closer Chris Perez, who had been 6-for-6 in save opportunities and unscored-upon for the season.

The fourth walkoff victory of the year gave the second-place Royals a 2-2 split of the four-game series with the AL-Central leading Indians.

More photos below.

“That was as great a game as was played in baseball today,” said Royals manager Ned Yost. “Both teams played great baseball.”

Perez (0-1) started the ninth and got in immediate trouble when Kila Ka’aihue doubled leading off.

Pinch runner Mike Aviles went to third when Mitch Maier hit a pinch single. Alcides Escobar grounded to third baseman Jack Hannahan, who threw out Aviles at home for the first out. Chris Getz walked, loading the bases and Cabrera delivered.

It was the fourth walkoff and the fifth time the Royals have won in their final at-bat.

“This team does not give up. It just does not give up,” said Royals starter Sean O’Sullivan, who went six innings as a light-to-moderate mist dampened everything and everybody in the park. “The mound got kind of slippery after a while, but it was OK,” said O’Sullivan.

Rookie Aaron Crow (2-0) pitched one inning. Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin pitched seven strong innings while going for his fourth victory in four decisions. Grady Sizemore had three hits and an RBI for the Indians, who will host the Royals for three games next week.

“It was a well played series by both clubs,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “You’ve got to give credit to those guys. They came against our bullpen yesterday and today again. They played very good defense. It was very wet out there. It never stopped.”

Tomlin gave up one run on five hits, with a walk and four strikeouts. He lowered his ERA from 2.75 to 2.33.

“Tomlin was dynamic. O’Sullivan was very, very good,” said Yost. “Tomlin was dynamic with his stuff. Changing speeds, had a great curveball, was painting the corners, kept the ball down. He was as good as you’re going to see. I was very impressed with his outing.”

Tony Sipp came out of the bullpen after Tomlin walked Getz leading off the eighth. He stole second and third, raising the Royals’ league-leading total to 26 stolen bases. When Sipp walked Alex Gordon with two out and Vinnie Pestano relieved, Jeff Francoeur grounded an RBI single up the middle that shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera stopped from going through, possibly preventing the tying run from scoring.

Cabrera also saved a run for the Royals when he threw out Carlos Santana at the plate in the Cleveland eighth.
“With the wet grass, it was just a great throw by Melky,” said Acta.

The Indians scored both runs off O’Sullivan in the fifth. Matt LaPorta singled leading off and Hannahan walked and both were sacrificed up a base before Sizemore lifted a bloop RBI single that dropped at Cabrera’s shoes in shallow center.

After O’Sullivan walked Cabrera, loading the bases, Shin-Soo Choo hit a sinking liner to left field. Alex Gordon scooped the ball off the grass and jumped to his feet and threw out Sizemore trying for third as Hannahan scored the second run.
Perez said it was not just the law of averages that caught up with him.

“Bad pitches,” he said. “There’s no such thing as law of averages. I fell behind Ka’aihue and he put a pretty good swing on it. I just left it out over the plate. Maier hit a first-pitch fastball. I couldn’t bounce a slider to Cabrera with the bases loaded. He probably would have gone for it with that swing he took. I just couldn’t bounce it. It’s just one of those things.

O’Sullivan went six-plus innings and was charged with two runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out six, tying his career high. He was relieved in the seventh by right-hander Louis Coleman, who made his major league debut after being called up from Triple-A Omaha.

“You think about your major league debut on a bright, sunny day,” Coleman said. “But still it was a dream come true.”

Notes

• Neither team hit a home run in the four-game series.
• Kansas City has played 14 of its first 19 games at home.
• The Indians lead the AL with 99 runs scored.

Tonight

• Who: Cleveland at Minnesota
• Time: 8:10
• Where: Target Field, Minneapolis
• Pitchers: Carmona (1-2, 4.74 ERA) vs. Duensing (1-0, 3.60)
• TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If anybody wonders whether the first-place Cleveland Indians are for real, Justin Masterson suggests they take a close look at Wednesday night’s 7-5 victory over Kansas City.

Royals starter Luke Hochevar was perfect through five innings. Masterson, the Indians’ starter, had a shaky first. But Hochevar broke down and Masterson held up and the Indians, who were 8-10 after 18 games last year, improved to 13-5.

“A game like today kind of shows you when things are going right,” said Masterson (4-0). “The hitters sticking in with a guy who’s throwing no-hit stuff. A pitcher struggling a little bit but really fighting and keeping us in the game. When you can win games like that, that’s what good teams do. and we were able to win this game tonight.”

More photos below.

Hochevar (2-2) retired the first 15 batters, allowing only three balls to be hit hard, and ran his string of retired batters over two starts to 31 straight. But he lost his no-hitter, his shutout, his composure and his lead in a messy sixth that included two balks and saw the Indians send nine men to the plate.

Hochevar was as confused as anyone by his sudden descent from perfect to putrid.

“I don’t know if I really have an answer,” he said. “I felt like I was throwing the ball well. The two balks was my fault. There’s really no excuse for it. It all lies on me. I’ve got to make better pitches and get out of that.”

Masterson, 6-13 a year ago, allowed six hits and five walks and struck out three in six innings.

“We definitely have the talent,” said Masterson. “We’re going to keep fighting. It’s a long season but I think we’ve got a lot going for us.”

Michael Brantley’s leadoff single in the sixth broke up Hochevar’s perfect game, then the pitcher balked him to second and surrendered an RBI double to Matt LaPorta. After LaPorta went to third on an infield out, Hochevar balked him home, tying it 2-all.

Before Orlando Cabrera struck out on the 36th pitch of the inning, the Indians had taken a 4-2 lead on two-out RBI doubles by Shin-Soo Choo and Travis Hafner.

After Hochevar walked the first two batters in the seventh, Tim Collins relieved and No. 9 hitter Jack Hannahan, after failing to sacrifice, pulled a two-run double into the right-field corner.

“What we were trying to do was get him (to pitch) from the stretch,” said Cleveland manager Manny Acta. “Since he was pitching a no-hitter, he hadn’t been in the stretch at all. That was the main thing. Hey, let’s try to get him from the stretch. Maybe for the first time, he was a little uncomfortable. Then when Brantley got on, things went from there.”

Melky Cabrera’s RBI double in the ninth off Tony Sipp ended a string of 9 1/3 scoreless innings for the Cleveland bullpen and Jeff Francoeur, on an 0-2 pitch with two out, followed with a two-run home run. Francoeur, running his hitting streak to 10 in a row, had three RBIs.

Chris Perez came in to get the last out and earn his sixth save in six opportunities.

With two out in the seventh, Collins walked Carlos Santana, loading the bases, but Travis Hafner took a called third strike.
Hochevar wound up getting charged with six runs on five hits, with four strikeouts, three walks and two balks as the Indians widened their lead in the AL Central to two games over the Royals.

“Hochevar’s stuff for the first five innings was as good as I’ve ever seen it,” said Royals manager Ned Yost. “Brantley led off the sixth with a hit and he just unraveled. The two balks hurt him. He hung a breaking ball to LaPorta that hurt him. He just could never reel it back in.”

Going back to his previous start when he held Seattle to one hit in seven innings, Hochevar had retired 31 in a row, two short of the team record Steve Busby set in 1974.

“It’s frustrating, no doubt about it,” said Hochevar. “You move on and get ready for your next start. It’s not what you want to have happen or plan to have happened, but it happened. You flush it and move on.”

The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the first on Francoeur’s RBI single and an RBI triple by Alex Gordon, who stretched his hitting streak to 14 games, best in the American League.

Carlos Santana had an RBI single off Kanekoa Texeira in the ninth.

Notes

• With Gordon having a 14-game hitting streak and Wilson Betemit hitting in 11 straight and Francoeur in 10, the Royals have three players with double-digit streaks for the first time since May 22, 2001. Mike Sweeney on that day had a 13-gamer and Joe Randa and Rey Sanchez had each hit in 10 straight.
• Masterson was only 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in six spring starts after going 6-13 with a 4.70 the year before.
• The Cleveland bullpen started the night with the best ERA (2.47) in the AL.