The Cleveland Indians (9-6) won the first of two games against the Minnesota Twins (7-5) in Puerto Rico 6-1. Especially a homerun by Local Hero Francisco Lindor caused ecstasy in the stands.
At 0:0, Lindor stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning and had a runner on base. The native Puerto Rican then beat a 2-Run-Homerun and the 19,516 spectators at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan cheered fervently.
“I’m in Puerto Rico playing in front of my family,” Lindor told reporters: “In front of my friends and this beautiful Puerto Rican audience, and I’m just excited. I touched second base and looked into the dugout. Everybody had their hands up, so I put my hands up too. I looked out at the bleachers and all my hands were up, so I kept running. I was celebrating. It was extremely emotional.”
Afterwards, Jose Ramirez and Michael Brantley also beat home runs for the Indians. Enough for Corey Kluber to control the game. The “Klubot” dominated over 6 2/3 innings and only made one run.
“He was fantastic,” Manager Terry Francona praises his pitching ace. “He was Kluber-esque. You expect it the same way. He set the bar high for himself, but it’s fun to watch him roll.”
Meanwhile Max Kepler provided the only run for the Twins. After a double by Brian Dozier, the German crossed the Home Plate in the seventh inning.
This article was published without previous view by the Major League Baseball.