Cleveland Indians beat Twins, 7-4, as Franmil Reyes closes in on Progressive Field scoreboard – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — One of these days Franmil Reyes really might hit the scoreboard at Progressive Field just like Mark McGwire did in 1997. The big man is getting close.

Reyes has been talking about hitting it since he arrived from San Diego in 2019, and he certainly closed in on his target Tuesday night as the Indians beat the Twins, 7-4. Reyes not only took one shot at the scoreboard, but two with homers No. 6 and No. 7 of the season.

McGwire’s legendary homer traveled an estimated 485 feet, almost dotting the “i” on the Budweiser sign that ran along the bottom of the scoreboard on April 30, 1997. Reyes’ first-pitch homer off Kenta Maeda to start the second inning covered 452 feet and landed six rows from the top of the left field bleachers. His second homer off Maeda’s first pitch with two out in the sixth, landed in the bleachers 434 feet from home plate.

That’s 886 feet worth of homers, according to baseballsavant.com. Who knows what’s next for Reyes? He’s hitting .444 (12-for-27) on this homestand with three homers and nine RBI.

Asked if he can hit the scoreboard with a homer, Reyes said, “Of course. I thought I had it on the first one. That’s what I was thinking about when I was running the bases.”

Reyes’ first homer cut the Twins lead to 2-1. His second gave the Indians a 4-3 lead in the sixth. Josh Naylor and Jake Bauers followed with consecutive doubles to make it 5-3 and give Aaron Civale the elbow room he needed for his fourth win of the season.

As for Reyes hitting the scoreboard, Civale is a believer.

“I think he can do anything in terms of power,” said Civale. “I would not put it past him.”

Reyes, 3-for-4 Tuesday, said when he does hit the scoreboard he wants a gift from reporters covering the Indians.

“I need something,” he said with a laugh. “I need a gift when I hit the scoreboard. I see love and hugs every day from my teammates and my family. So, please, something else.”

Civale worked his way out of a fourth-inning jam after Jake Cave’s double scored Nelson Cruz to pull the Twins into a 3-3 tie. He retired 12 straight until Byron Buxton homered with two out in the eighth to make it 5-4. James Karinchak, who relieved and struck out Nelson Cruz to end the inning, worked the ninth for his second save of the season.

“It seemed when he started the game he was elevating his pitches a little bit,” said manager Terry Francona, “and they were taking some pretty good swings. But to the kid’s credit, you look up and he’s still pitching in the eighth inning.

“I thought he did a great job. He pitched his way into finding his off-speed pitches, got in a groove and stayed out there long enough to get the win.”

The Indians added two critical runs in the eighth without the benefit of a hit. Cesar Hernandez walked and Jordan Luplow was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Josh Naylor was also hit by a high inside pitch from Alex Colome in the same inning. Naylor tried to block the ball with his hands, but it deflected off them and hit him in the helmet.

Last year Maeda went 3-0 with a 0.50 ERA against the Indians. He allowed one run in 18 innings. On Tuesday the Indians scored five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings against Maeda (1-2, 6.56 ERA).

Civale (4-0, 2.94) allowed four runs on eight hits in 7 2/3 innings. In his first win over the Twins, he struck out four and threw 99 pitches.

“My teammates picked me up offensively and defensively,” said Civale. “It’s fun to pitch when that is happening.”

Civale is 10-0 when the Indians score three or more runs in his starts.

“It’s a comforting feeling,” said Civale. “If I’m keeping the game close and doing the best I can out there, they’re going to feel comfortable that at any point we can take the lead or come back and add on to that lead. It’s good to play baseball like that.”

The Indians have won three straight and improved to 3-4 on this homestand. The Twins have lost four straight and 13 of their last 15.

The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the first on Cruz’s RBI triple and Alex Kirilloff’s run-scoring single. Jose Ramirez put the Indians right back into the game with a two-out homer in the first. It was his sixth homer of the season and second in as many games.

Reyes, who has hit in 11 of the Tribe’s 12 home games this season, made it 2-2 with his leadoff homer in the second. The Indians took their first lead in the third when Cesar Hernandez doubled and scored on Ramirez’s two-out double. Ramirez sliced a ball down the left field line. Kirilloff, the Twins’ top prospect, was playing in the gap in left center because Ramirez was batting left-handed. He put a glove the ball after a long run, but couldn’t hold it.

Next: LHP Logan Allen (1-3, 6.28) will face the Twins’ J.A. Happ (1-0, 1.69) in the series finale on Wednesday at 1:10 p.m. Bally Sports Great Lakes and WTAM will carry the game.