MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins have struggled to fire on all cylinders for the majority of the 2014 season. When the offense is clicking, the starting pitching falters. Sometimes the bullpen lets down the rotation. Other times, the lineup can't hit.
While starting pitcher Yohan Pino was far from perfect Tuesday against Cleveland, the Twins' clutch hitting -- or lack thereof -- was an even bigger problem. Minnesota finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position Tuesday and left 10 runners on base as the Indians ran away with an 8-2 win at Target Field.
"To be a good offensive team, you've got to have the total package," said Twins second baseman Brian Dozier. "That's getting on base and driving people in. . . . We haven't been doing a good job of putting two and two together. That's the key."
Though Pino gave up three runs in the top of the second inning to put Minnesota's offense in an early 3-0 hole, the Twins had plenty of chances to climb back. That included the first inning when Dozier hit a one-out double but was stranded on second base. One inning later, Minnesota loaded the bases on three straight one-out walks by Indians starter Danny Salazar.
Yet Sam Fuld struck out swinging for the second out, and shortstop Danny Santana did the same to leave the bases full of Twins.
"Sammy got behind really quick 0-2 in his at-bat, which should have been 2-0 in my humble opinion," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "They were two bad pitches. Both of them were high, one in the strike zone. . . . You go from there, who knows what happens. That's baseball. That's the way it happens. We had our chances. We load them up and the guy made some pitches when he had to."
Minnesota had more chances to drive in runs but failed to capitalize. Dozier led off the third inning with a bunt single but didn't advance any further. The Twins finally got a run on the board in the fourth when Fuld grounded into a fielder's choice. Santana then singled to put two runners on and two outs, setting up Dozier to strike out looking.
Pinch hitter Eduardo Nunez hit a two-out triple off the right-field wall in the bottom of the eighth inning as Minnesota looked to cut into what at that point was a 4-2 Indians lead. Yet pinch hitter Chris Parmelee followed up Nunez's triple with a strikeout, effectively ending yet another threat.
Aside from Monday's 4-3 win, the Twins have struggled to swing the bats since the All-Star break. In the five games since the break, Minnesota is 4-for-41 (.098) with runners in scoring position.
"It's one of those things that snowballs when you start doing it well and you start hitting," Gardenhire said. "And then you go into a funk and keep misfiring. Maybe they're trying a little too hard, trying to do a little too much. It's been in baseball as long as I can remember. . . . You go through those stretches. Right now we've come back out of this thing and we're just misfiring a little bit in those situations. We've got to come up with some hits."
Swarzak to make spot start: Gardenhire announced after Tuesday's game that reliever Anthony Swarzak will start Wednesday's series finale in place of right-hander Kyle Gibson. According to Gardenhire, Gibson has lower back stiffness that will cause him to miss his turn in the rotation.
Swarzak began his career with the Twins as a starter before transitioning to the bullpen. His last start came in 2012, and he has 28 career starts to go along with his 133 relief appearances. Swarzak said he found out shortly after Tuesday's game ended that he would be pitching Wednesday.
"I'm going to prepare for the start tomorrow the way I prepare for any outing," Swarzak said. "Obviously my warmup will be a little shorter than back in my starting days, but I'm just going to go about it as the first inning is like an appearance for me and take it one batter at a time and see how far I can go."
In his 28 career starts, Swarzak is 6-17 with a 5.79 ERA. He had pitched in 30 games out of the bullpen this season and has a 4.34 ERA in 47 2/3 innings. Swarzak's last outing came on Friday against Tampa Bay when he threw 1 2/3 innings of relief.
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