SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A home run, at his homecoming.
Say this for Francisco Lindor: He clearly has a flair for the dramatic.
Playing as a big leaguer in his native Puerto Rico for the first time, Lindor connected on a two-run home run to open the scoring and help spark the Cleveland Indians to a 6-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
And yes, the moment was just as the All-Star shortstop imagined.
"I love the Cleveland Indians fans. I love them. They're supporters, big-time," Lindor said. "But this is where I grew up. These are my people. It's extremely special."
He seemed to skip around the bases, crossed home plate and threw his arms into the air, enticing the already-screaming crowd to go even louder. They obliged, and eventually Lindor emerged from the dugout for a curtain call -- in what technically was a road game, no less. The Indians were the visitors in this one.
No matter. Lindor seemed more at home than anyone else.
"Our goal was to win, but it was pretty cool to see Frankie come through like that," Indians Manager Terry Francona said. "To see the way the fans responded, and then to see how genuinely excited he was about it, it was pretty cool."
So, too, was Indians ace Corey Kluber, who allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings. He gave up five hits and struck out six, lowering his ERA to 1.52.
Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez each had three hits for Cleveland in the first regular-season game on the island commonwealth since 2010. Brantley and Ramirez hit consecutive home runs in the sixth, and Yonder Alonso added a home run in the eighth for Cleveland.
Brian Dozier had two hits for the Twins, including an RBI double in the seventh that chased a sweat-drenched Kluber after 104 pitches. Minnesota starter Jake Odorizzi (1-1) gave up six hits and four runs, all of them coming across on home runs, in five-plus innings.
"I'm pleased that my country came out to support us," said Minnesota's Eddie Rosario, like Lindor a native Puerto Rican -- and on this night, a co-favorite of the sold-out crowd of 19,516 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, "Great emotions to be here. Happy that we're here."
Lindor and Rosario will have more Puerto Ricans on the field with them in tonight's series finale, with the Twins sending right-hander Jose Berrios to the mound and the Indians set to start Roberto Perez at catcher.
Lindor finished 1 for 5, the home run flanked by a pair of warning-track flyouts. Rosario was 1 for 4.
The series was scheduled before Hurricane Maria hit last September. The recovery from the catastrophic storm has been the focus of this trip for the Twins and Indians.
"These people need to cheer," Lindor said.
So in the fifth, he made it happen.
No. 9 hitter Bradley Zimmer hit a two-out double and Lindor worked the count full. As horns blared, inflatable thundersticks clanged and fans -- including his mom -- screamed, Lindor turned on an offering from Odorizzi and lofted a long fly to right.
It barely cleared the wall, but it was enough.
"Quality pitch," Odorizzi said. "Same pitch I've gotten outs on in the game. Different result."
Lindor waved both arms at the crowd after crossing the plate, then came out for a curtain call as delirious fans shouted his name. That started the undoing for Odorizzi, who was cruising before giving up three homers in a span of 10 pitches -- the last two by Ramirez and Brantley ending his night and giving the Indians a 4-0 lead.
"Most importantly, we got the win," Lindor said. "That's all that matters."
BLUE JAYS 11-5, ROYALS 3-4 Luke Maile singled down the right-field line with the bases loaded in the 10th inning, and host Toronto walked off with a victory over Kansas City to sweep a rare doubleheader at Rogers Centre. Toronto won the opener 11-3 and has swept all three doubleheaders at its retractable-roof stadium, which opened in 1989.
RANGERS 7, RAYS 2 Matt Moore allowed an unearned run over seven innings in his first start against his former team, and Texas defeated host Tampa Bay. Moore (1-3), who went 39-28 with Tampa Bay before being dealt to San Francisco in 2016, struck out 6 and allowed 5 hits and 2 walks. The Rangers acquired the left-hander from the Giants in December.
TIGERS 4, ORIOLES 2 Victor Martinez homered for the first time since August, and host Detroit snapped a five-game losing streak with a victory over Baltimore.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CARDINALS 5, CUBS 3 Adam Wainwright outpitched Tyler Chatwood in frigid conditions at Wrigley Field, helping visiting St. Louis beat Chicago for its fifth consecutive victory. The gametime temperature was 35 degrees, and a 10 mph wind made it feel like 29. There were heaters on in each dugout, and the announced crowd of 35,103 at Wrigley Field bundled up in winter coats, hats and blankets. Matt Carpenter had two hits and three RBI for St. Louis in the first meeting of the season between the longtime rivals. The Cardinals went 5-14 against the NL Central champion Cubs last year, including just one victory in nine games at Wrigley.
NATIONALS 5, METS 2 Gio Gonzalez (2-1) allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings for visiting Washington and improved to 11-1 at Citi Field. The Mets, whose 12-3 start had matched the best in team history, lost back-to-back games for the first time under new manager Mickey Callaway.
BREWERS 2, REDS 0 Eric Thames hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning off Sal Romano (0-2) to give host Milwaukee a victory over Cincinnati.
PHILLIES 5, BRAVES 1 Rhys Hoskins hit a tiebreaking, two-out, two-run double off Jose Ramirez (0-2) in the 10th and Maikel Franco added another two-run double for visiting Philadelphia.
ROCKIES 2, PIRATES 0 Chad Bettis pitched into the eighth inning and combined with three relievers on a five-hitter, and visiting Colorado beat Pittsburgh on a snowy Tuesday night.
INTERLEAGUE
MARLINS 9, YANKEES 1 J.T. Realmuto homered and drove in four runs in his season debut after coming off the disabled list, leading Jarlin Garcia and visiting Miami past New York.
Sports on 04/18/2018