MINNEAPOLIS -- Francisco Lindor hoisted the Indians' offense on his shoulders on Thursday night, accomplishing something that has only been done four times in more than a century's worth of recorded baseball. And that is what it took to avoid having another bullpen meltdown send Cleveland to the loss column.
In a 9-8 victory over the Twins, Lindor launched a pair of home runs, including a go-ahead shot in the eighth, collected two doubles and drove in four runs to power the Cleveland lineup. He had help from his friends -- specifically, Jose Ramirez belted his 18th homer of the season to pull into a tie for the Major League lead -- to guide the Indians to a win in the opener of this four-game series at Target Field.