During the Twins' recent 11-game homestand, every player in Minnesota's lineup contributed as the Twins averaged 6.6 runs per game.
As Minnesota hit the road Friday, one player provided nearly half of the Twins' offense.
That would be Torii Hunter, Minnesota's veteran right fielder, who had the hot bat in the Twins' 9-3 win against Cleveland. Hunter had a season-high four hits, including a solo home run and a three-run double as he drove in four of Minnesota's eight runs.
"I felt good," Hunter said. "I was able to get some rest last night and come into the park with a positive mind. I was able to capitalize on some good pitches, hit the ball hard and come through when the team needed me."
The four RBI by Hunter were also a season-high. He had three games with multiple RBI prior to Friday, including three runs driven in on Monday against Oakland. Hunter now has hits in seven of his last eight games and raised his average to .280, the highest it's been all season.
Hunter's day started with a double, one of his three extra-base hits. He tagged a 2-0 offering from Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer for a one-out double and scored one batter later on an RBI single by Joe Mauer.
In the third inning, Hunter collected his second hit -- but got a bit greedy. With one out, Hunter singled to center field but tried to stretch it to a double. He was thrown out easily at second base, though, by Indians center fielder Michael Bourn.
"I'm not sure every time it's the best thing, but again, he's trying to instill a mindset when he does those kind of things," said Twins manager Paul Molitor. "It doesn't look good when it ends the way that particular play did. I told him he should have called timeout halfway to second. But hey, he more than made up for however you want to term what happened on that particular play."
Hunter didn't have to worry about base running in his third at-bat. Batting once again with one out, Hunter cleared the fence in left-center field for a solo homer. He tagged a 1-1 changeup for his fourth homer of the year, which is the second-most on the Twins roster, to put the Twins up 4-2.
In his fourth at-bat, Hunter picked up another extra-base hit. Hunter stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and delivered a knockout blow with a bases-clearing, three-run double to the gap in left-center field. That put the Twins up 8-2, a lead that was more than plenty for starting pitcher Mike Pelfrey and Minnesota's bullpen. It also gave Hunter 18 RBI this season, which leads all Twins hitters.
Before that double, Hunter needed a triple to get the cycle. After getting thrown out at second earlier in the game, though, Hunter was a bit gun shy to head to third.
"I just took off right away," Hunter said. "Ramirez, the shortstop, had it before I even got to second base and thought about going. But I did earlier and got thrown out right in front of me. I thought I was invisible, why not be invisible on that?"
Hunter did come to the plate for a fifth and final time in the ninth inning but didn't collect a hit. He did, however, draw a walk, reaching base one last time. It marked just the sixth time in Hunter's career that he's reached base five times, and the first since Sept. 20, 2013 when he was with Detroit.
Other Twins players have praised Hunter's leadership, especially when Minnesota was mired in its 1-6 start to the season. Now that the Twins are four games above .500, Hunter is providing leadership on the field, as well as off it.
"I probably need to go to the casino," Hunter said, "because 4 for 4 is pretty good."
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