MINNEAPOLIS -- When Jose Ramirez is making hard contact and running the bases at full go, the Indians can be a handful.
Ramirez swung the bat well Wednesday night and the Indians, with just 19 games left on the schedule, shook off their September funk to pound the Twins, 12-3, in the season finale between the teams.
In the first inning, Ramirez lined a single off the wall in right field. He tried to stretch it into a double and was thrown out by Max Kepler despite a face-first slide. But instead of deflating Ramirez and his teammates, it seemed to inspire them.
Ramirez, who entered the game hitting .195 (8-for-41) in September, went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs as the Indians ended the night with 14 hits. Ramirez’s teammates followed his lead, reaching double digits in runs for just the second time this month.
“Jose is trying to make things happen all the time,” said Oscar Mercado, whose three-run homer in the fifth gave the Indians a 4-0 lead. “It carries from one guy to the other. He does an incredible job of always hustling out of the box. He’s always trying to make the defense stop him.”
But before the runs arrived, there was right-hander Cal Quantrill. Facing the Twins in consecutive starts, Quantrill held them scoreless through six innings before Miguel Sano hit a three-run homer in the seventh. Quantrill should have been out of the inning with no damage, but Kepler’s two-out foul pop, caught in the winds above Target Field, turned first baseman Bobby Bradley inside out as it fell to the ground in front of first base to extend the inning.
Quantrill (6-3, 3.09) walked Kepler and allowed Sano’s 28th homer on a 2-0 pitch. When he walked Nick Gordon, he was done for the night. Bradley was charged with an error, which made all three runs against Quantrill unearned.
Asked if the error effected him, Quantrill said, “It shouldn’t. If I let it, that’s on me. Our guys are out there grinding. Bobby drove in three runs tonight. You can’t complain about some things and not complain about others. He’s a great athlete and he’s been playing good all year for us at first base. Good pitchers move on. I needed to settle down and make a quality pitch.”
In the consecutive starts against the Twins, Quantrill went 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA (one run in 14 1/3 innings). Quantrill is 6-1 in his last 13 starts.
“What stands out about Cal is he’s able to attack hitters in a couple of different ways,” said acting manager DeMarlo Hale. “I thought his fastball was good tonight. He mixed in his cutter. I may have counted 10 or 11 fly balls out. They got under the ball and I think that’s a tribute to the life on his fastball.
“Just a great effort by him. He’s pitching with confidence, but also conviction. He knows what he wants to do.”
The Indians started scoring in the fourth and didn’t stop for the rest of the night. Ramirez doubled with one out off rookie Griffin Jax (3-4, 6.65). Bradley doubled him home with two out for a 1-0 lead.
Mercado’s three-run homer in the fifth made it 4-0. Myles Straw kept that inning going with a one-out double. He went to third on Bradley Zimmer’s ground out and scored on Ramirez’s sacrifice fly to make it 5-0.
The homer was Mercado’s fifth of the season and second against the Twins. He homered off Andrew Albers on Sept. 9 at Progressive Field. He started the at-bat trying to advance Austin Hedges and Andres Gimenez with a bunt, but couldn’t get it down.
“I remember I faced him before,” said Mercado. “He bombarded me with multiple sliders. So I had a plan going into the game today. I was frustrated with my first at-bat (strikeout third inning). I didn’t get the job done trying to get those bunts down at first. I was just happy I was able to do it another way.”
The Indians pushed the lead to 10-0 with a five-run seventh. Bradley’s two-run homer, his 13th of the season and first since Aug. 31, provided the final two runs of the inning. Zimmer, Ramirez and Franmil Reyes drove in runs as well.
Reyes tied a bow around the game with a leadoff homer in the ninth. He reached the second deck in left with his 29th homer of the season.
Straw, Ramirez and Reyes ended the night with three hits each. Yu Chang was the only starter without a hit.
“I just thought they grinded their at-bats,” said Hale. “The first few innings there were zeroes up on the board. Josie had some good swings. He was aggressive trying to go to second. I know he got thrown out, but we were in an aggressive mode.”
The Indians finished the season series against the Twins at 8-11. They have lost consecutive season series against Minnesota for the first time since losing three straight from 2008-10.
The win gave them a 6-9 record in September.
Next: The Indians are off Thursday before opening a three-game homestand against the Yankees in the Bronx. Zach Plesac (10-5, 4.45) is scheduled to pitch the opener on Friday at 7:05 p.m. The Yankees have not named a starter. Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM, WMMS and the Indians radio network will carry the game.
Indians merchandise for sale: Here’s where you can order Cleveland Indians gear online before the team becomes the Guardians, including jerseys, T-shirts, hoodies, hats and much more.
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