CLEVELAND – It was bound to happen. Cleveland's hitters were not going to sputter through three games against the Twins.
And when Hector Santiago teed up a few pitches for the Indians on Sunday, they pounced.
Cleveland knocked out Santiago in the third inning while handing the Twins an 8-3 loss to salvage the final game of a three-game series at Progressive Field.
While the Twins eyed a series sweep and a 5-0 road trip Sunday, a revised Indians lineup with Jason Kipnis as the new leadoff hitter produced an 8-0 lead through three innings.
Kipnis led off the bottom of the first with the first of his two home runs of the season and finished the game 4-for-5 with four RBI.
"It's hard for me to think about the trip on the whole right after a game like that," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "I'll give our guys credit. It could have gotten real ugly after an 8-0 deficit early."
Cleveland is one game back of the Twins in the American League Central without playing the caliber of baseball that propelled the Indians to last year's World Series. The Twins haven't even faced Cleveland's top pitchers, Carlos Carrasco and Corey Kluber, yet this season.
They did face Trevor Bauer (3-4) on Sunday, and the righthander shut out the Twins until Kennys Vargas hit a two-run double in the sixth.
Bauer, perhaps the Indians' fourth-best pitcher, was handed a nice cushion by Kipnis and Co.
Kipnis blasted Santiago's fourth pitch of the game over the center field wall. In the second, Daniel Robertson hit an RBI single and Lonnie Chisenhall hit a two-run homer to make it 3-0. Carlos Santana led off the third with a solo homer. Three batters later, Santiago was out of the game.
Santiago is lefthanded, but lefthanded hitters entered Sunday 6-for-16 against him. On cue, lefthanded hitters Kipnis, Chisenhall and Michael Brantley were in the starting lineup and went 3-for-5 with two home runs off Santiago, making that 6-for-16 a 9-for-21 (.429).
Santiago likes to use his changeup against them but said he couldn't find the right arm slot for the pitch on Sunday.
"I think this year it has been a little struggle for him," Molitor said. "His last outing, he had trouble throwing strikes to a lefty and, this one, he missed his spot on his fastball. He doesn't see them a lot, and it is a different look for him. But it is something that you are aware of when you watch the game, that they are giving him a lot of trouble."
It wasn't only the lefties. Santiago (4-2) threw slump-busting pitches to most of Cleveland's lineup.
Kipnis was in an 0-for-11 skid when he homered in the first.
Francisco Lindor was in an 0-for-10 slump when he followed Kipnis with a bunt single.
Chisenhall was 0-for-8 before his two-run homer in the second.
Carlos Santana was in a 1-for-9 funk when he led off the third with a home run to left.
In 2 ⅔ innings, Santiago gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks — and an estimated 1,230 feet in home runs. He struck out one and was charged with a balk.
Being erratic against a team hungry break out led an insurmountable deficit.
"They were aggressive on me, there's no doubt about that," Santiago said. "When I was behind in the count, they swung 1-0, 2-1, 2-0. I think that was the difference."
