Major League Baseball

Twins lose rubber game, key series to Tribe

Published Aug. 6, 2009 10:36 p.m. ET

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Rookie Trevor Crowe and the new-look Cleveland Indians made a small stir in the AL Central.

Crowe hit a tiebreaking double in the seventh inning, helping the Indians beat Minnesota 2-1 Thursday to drop the third-place Twins 4 1/2 games behind first-place Detroit.

"We wanted to win two of three here," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said after losing twice. "We can't fault anybody but ourselves."

Crowe's line drive into the left-center gap off Nick Blackburn (8-6) scored Travis Hafner from second as Cleveland won for the ninth time in 13 games. The switch-hitting Crowe has batted .375 (9-for-24) with six runs and four RBIs in six games since his recall from Triple-A Columbus on Friday.

"It helps a lot mentally to get a big hit," said Crowe, a first-round pick in 2005. "I know I can play at this level."

Orlando Cabrera had two hits, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games for Minnesota, which has lost five of six after a four-game winning streak. Cabrera is 10 for 20 since being acquired from Oakland on Friday.

The Twins went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position and fell two games under .500.

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