MINNEAPOLIS — Danny Valencia thinks of himself as one of the big hitters in the Minnesota Twins lineup.

Cleveland Indians left fielder Luis Velbuena, left, and center fielder Ezequiel Carrera miss the ball on Alexi Casilla’s ground-rule double in the eighth inning Wednesday in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Twins defeated the Indians 7-5. (AP photo.)

If he keeps coming up with clutch hits like he did against the Cleveland Indians, there will be no doubting his importance.

Valencia singled home the go-ahead run for the second straight day, this time in the eighth inning, and Minnesota beat Cleveland 7-5 in a sloppy game played on another sweltering day at Target Field.

“You know, hitting behind Jim Thome, obviously you know they are going to pitch around him to get to me,” Valencia said. “To be able to come into those situations and capitalize, and for our team to win is all I care about.”

Minnesota salvaged a split in the four-game series with the AL Central-leading Indians that was played in extreme heat and humidity. Temperatures were in the mid- to high-90s for each game.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire left the stadium during the game and was replaced by bench coach Scott Ullger. Gardenhire has been dealing with a viral infection and has had trouble dealing with the heat.

Matt Capps (3-5) earned the win in relief of Nick Blackburn, who gave up four runs — one earned — in six innings. Joe Nathan gave up a solo homer to Lonnie Chisenhall, but earned his sixth save.

Valencia, who won Tuesday night’s game with an RBI single in the ninth, lined a ball to right field, which just eluded the glove of second baseman Orlando Cabrera, to score Alexi Casilla, who had three hits, two runs and an RBI. Tsuyoshi Nishioka added a two-run single to cap the Twins’ rally.

“I like being in those situations,” Valencia said. “Anybody on this team wants to be in that position. Fortunately it’s been coming up in my hands and I’ve been able to take it and run with it, and come through. It was a huge team win. We needed this. We’re within striking distance of getting back on top of this division.”

Casilla had reached off Cleveland reliever Tony Sipp (4-2) after his long fly ball to the warning track fell between left fielder Luis Valbuena and center fielder Ezequiel Carrera. The ball bounced off the warning track and into the bullpen for a ground-rule double.

“Nobody called the ball,” Valbuena said. “I tried to catch, but I feel he’s right there next to me and I was scared I was going to run into him.”

Sipp allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in just a third of an inning. Indians starter Josh Tomlin pitched six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits.

The misplay between Valbuena — playing just his third major league game in the outfield — and Carrera was just one of several defensive miscues by both teams.

“If you have an everyday outfielder, I’m sure that it probably could have been caught,” Cleveland manager Manny Acta said about Casilla’s double. “But we know what we’re dealing with. Luis is playing out of position he played a lot of left field in Triple-A but it’s a different ballgame up here.”

Carrera and Valbuena were part of a depleted outfield for the Indians, who were missing center fielder Michael Brantley and Travis Buck.

Acta said Brantley — the team’s leadoff hitter — was diagnosed with heat exhaustion after playing in both games of Monday’s doubleheader and was still having stomach issues on Wednesday.

With the Twins leading 4-3 in the sixth, the Indians tied it on a passed ball by Twins catcher Drew Butera that allowed Travis Hafner to score from third.

Butera was catching with Joe Mauer playing first base for the second straight game. Mauer was given the choice of where to play by Gardenhire.

Mauer had two hits and is hitting .563 (9 for 16) as a first baseman. His defense at first has been sparkling and he scooped a short-hop throw by Casilla to end the seventh inning, stranding two runners in scoring position.

“He looks pretty good,” Ullger said. “He looks like he’s been there awhile. He’s just a natural athlete. I think he could probably play any position. He could probably play shortstop if he wanted to play shortstop. He’s just that kind of athlete.”

Notes

• Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson said RH Scott Baker felt “great” throwing his bullpen session and will come off the DL to start Saturday’s game against the Tigers.
• Buck was still experiencing headaches before the game and was unavailable. Buck was hit in the head by a pitch from Francisco Liriano on Tuesday, but hasn’t shown signs of a concussion. Acta said Buck is not subject to the MLB concussion testing.
• Valencia’s is now 10 for 18 with the bases-loaded in his career, with 22 RBIs. He also has 21 RBIs this season in the seventh inning or later, which is tied for fifth in the league.

Next up

• Who: Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox
• When: Friday, 7:05 p.m.
• Where: Progressive Field
• Pitchers: Carrasco (8-7, 4.25 ERA) vs. Floyd (7-9, 4.37)
• TV/radio: STO; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

AKRON — You’ve heard the name, you’ve read the reviews … now you can see him for yourself.

Pomeranz

Drew Pomeranz — the 2010 first-round and fifth-overall draft pick of the Cleveland Indians — made his Canal Park debut for the Akron Aeros on Wednesday in a 4-0 loss to Altoona.

On a day when the temperatures reached 90 degrees, Pomeranz added some heat of his own. He struck out six Altoona hitters in five innings.

There are no visible radar readings at Canal Park, but Pomeranz said after the game he was told his fastballs were in the 91-93 mph range. And despite having a curveball that has been rated by Baseball America as the best in the Indians farm system, on this day the left-hander let his fastball do most of the work.

“There was no reason to throw many curveballs today,” the 22-year-old said. “They were struggling to hit the fastball. I was able to keep the ball moving around today.”

In his second start at the Double-A level, Pomeranz faced 19 hitters and gave up just three hits and a pair of walks. In addition to the six strikeouts, he had six fly outs and two groundouts. Four of his six strikeouts came against left-handed hitters.

The only run he allowed, on a third-inning sacrifice fly by Curve centerfielder Starling Marte, was enough to tag him with his first Double-A loss.

Pomeranz said the midday heat did not affect him on the mound.

“I just spent three months pitching in Kinston, N.C. … now there’s a place that’s hot,” he said. “I probably pitched five or six day games there, so this didn’t feel (bad) to me at all.”

Over his first two starts with Akron, Eastern League hitters are batting .178 (6-for-34) against Pomeranz.
“The adjustment from Single-A to Double-A has not been bad,” he said. “In Double-A, the batters like to swing at more pitches. I like that.”

Pomeranz began his first season in professional baseball at Class A Kinston. There he went 3-2 with a 1.87 ERA while striking out 95 hitters in 77 innings. He also earned a spot on the Carolina League All-Star team and represented the Cleveland Indians in the All-Star Futures game held July 10 in Phoenix.

Pomeranz has been kept on a strict pitch count of around 85 pitches per start this season. On Wednesday, he threw 84 pitches before turning the game over to the Aeros bullpen in the sixth inning.

“I think the pitch count has been good for me,” Pomeranz said. “It keeps me focused on conserving pitches and throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters.”

The most innings Pomeranz threw in college was 100 2/3, in 2010 while leading the University of Mississippi to the NCAA regional tournament. That same season, he was named Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year after going 9-2 with a 2.24 ERA.

After Wednesday’s start, Pomeranz has pitched 86 2/3 innings in 2011.

“I kind of expected that I might be starting to get tired, but honestly this is the best I’ve felt all year,” he said.

Pomeranz, who grew up in Collierville, Tenn. — just outside Memphis — said he doesn’t think he ever pitched in Ohio prior to Wednesday.

“After I signed with the Indians last year I spent about 10 to 20 days at Mahoning Valley, but all I did was chart pitches every day, I didn’t do any pitching,” he said.

With a career path that projects a brief stay in Akron, followed by a short trip to Columbus before finally landing at Progressive Field, Pomeranz should expect to do a lot of pitching in the Buckeye State.

Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Cleveland Indians got some good news about Grady Sizemore on Tuesday, with an MRI showing nothing more than a bone bruise on his injured right knee.

There is no timetable for Sizemore’s return, and with fellow outfielder Shin-Soo Choo still out another month with a broken left thumb, manager Manny Acta said the need for his team to make a trade to bolster the club is “an understatement.”

The Indians expect to have a more detailed plan for Sizemore’s recovery by the time they return home Thursday, but they’re on top of the AL Central and could use some help to stay there.

“How can you substitute the absence of Choo and Grady Sizemore?” Acta said before the Indians played the Minnesota Twins. “I don’t think that’s a secret. We know that from top to bottom and we’re working on it.

“People need to understand, too, that it takes two to tango. You can have all the Christmas lists and wishes, but you need to have somebody that you can engage with that’s also going to work, at least for both sides.”

Sizemore was injured Sunday while running the bases against Baltimore and was placed on the disabled list Monday. He is hitting .237 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in 61 games this season.

“It doesn’t appear to be anything as serious as we might fear,” Acta said of the injury.

Still, the surprising Indians began the day with a one-game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the division. They swept a doubleheader against the Twins on Monday.

One thing Acta made clear is the team is building for the long haul and won’t sacrifice that plan for a short-term fix. Prized young players like infielder Lonnie Chisenhall won’t be surrendered by general manager Chris Antonetti to bring in an established veteran.

“It’s not because of a lack of diligence or trying. He’s in conversation with a number of teams,” Acta said. “But it’s going to have to be something that makes sense for us. And we have made it clear that we’re not going to mortgage our future.”

MINNEAPOLIS — Chris Perez dreamed of this scenario many times while living with Danny Valencia at the University of Miami.

Travis Buck takes a Francisco Liriano pitch off the helmet Tuesday in Minneapolis. Buck was forced to leave the game. (AP photo.)

Bottom of the ninth. Bases loaded. Game on the line. Perez on the mound and Valencia in the box.

The outcome wasn’t quite what he had in mind.

Valencia hit a two-run single off Perez in the ninth inning, sending the Minnesota Twins to a 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night.

Perez’s pitch on the inside corner broke Valencia’s bat, but the third baseman had just enough on it to bloop it into left field, scoring Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer and giving the Twins a much-needed bounce-back victory.

“Of course,” said Perez, who lived with Valencia for two years in college and has known him since they were 17-year-old high schoolers in South Florida. “At least I got the bat. You can’t be too happy about that hit. He’s happy because they won, but I’ll take that swing every time. It just fell in there.”

The Indians were looking to take an eight-game lead over the fourth-place Twins in the AL Central when Perez (2-5), the All-Star closer with 22 saves in 23 chances, took the mound.

But the right-hander was a little off from the start, walking Mauer with one out and giving up a bloop hit that Cuddyer stretched into a double. Jim Thome was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Valencia came to the plate for the long-awaited showdown.

.

“I thought I made some good pitches to Mauer,” Perez said. “One of the four that he called balls, are strikes to 90 percent of the league. But that’s baseball, too. So, I didn’t make pitches when I needed to.”

Valencia was in Perez’s wedding, and said he was waiting for a slider.

“I’m sure he wants to throw a slider because he’s always said that’s what he’s going to strike me out with,” Valencia said. “Luckily enough he couldn’t get ahead and he gave me a pitch I could hit good enough to get to the outfield and it fell in there.”

It was a huge emotional lift for Minnesota, which was swept in a day-night doubleheader to start the series Monday.

“He’s a guy who’s been pretty much money for us since last year, especially in one-run situations,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “So, they just got to him with those couple of well-placed singles.”

Cleveland fell into a tie with Detroit for the division lead. The Tigers rallied to beat Oakland 8-3 at Comerica Park.

The Twins were dominated for most of Tuesday’s game by Justin Masterson, who allowed four hits and struck out six in 7 2/3 innings. With a fastball that hit 97 mph and a heavy sinker that routinely was clocked between 93 and 94, the right-hander with the big, looping delivery mowed through Minnesota’s struggling lineup.

He retired 13 straight hitters before running into trouble in the seventh when Mauer reached on an error and Cuddyer singled to put two on with nobody out. But the big righty fanned Thome and got Valencia to ground into an inning-ending double play to preserve the lead.

A scary moment happened in the fifth inning when a 91 mph fastball got away from Francisco Liriano and hit Travis Buck in the helmet. The ball smacked just above Buck’s ear flap and ricocheted into the stands as a sellout crowd held its breath.

A dazed Buck sat down in the dirt, but was able to get up and walk off the field under his own power a few moments later.

“I hope he’s OK,” Liriano said.

The Indians announced that Buck left with a head contusion and said there were no immediate signs or symptoms of a concussion.

Luis Valbuena came in to run for Buck and stayed in the game in left field, just the second time in his career he’s played in the outfield. The other came on Aug. 19, 2010, at Kansas City. Michael Brantley was sick, so Valbuena was an emergency fill-in.

Looking a little rattled, Liriano gave up a single to Ezequiel Carrera to load the bases with nobody out. But he wiggled out of the jam, only allowing a sacrifice fly to Asdrubal Cabrera.

Perez’s night didn’t figure to get any easier when he left the ballpark. He planned to spend the night at Valencia’s place in Minneapolis.

“I will be tweeting a picture of me and him,” Valencia said. “We’re just going to be watching the highlight over and over again.”

Perez figured he at least deserved something out of the deal.

“He’s buying dinner,” Perez said.