Anderson's effort can't keep Indians from elimination
CLEVELAND (AP) - Rookie Cody Anderson bought the Indians a few extra hours of relevancy Wednesday night.
Now, all that's left for Cleveland is to finish out the regular season.
Anderson briefly kept his team's playoff hopes alive by pitching the Indians to a 10-2 win over the Minnesota Twins in Game 2 of a doubleheader, but the Houston Astros' late win over the Seattle Mariners then eliminated Cleveland from postseason contention.
In the first game, Torii Hunter drove in three runs off Carlos Carrasco in leading the Twins to a 7-1 victory at Progressive Field.
Minnesota is 1 1/2 games behind Houston for the second AL wild-card spot.
Anderson (7-3) allowed two hits in seven scoreless innings. He made his big-league debut on June 21 and became the first Indians rookie to win seven games since Mitch Talbot in 2010. The right-hander went unbeaten in his last seven starts, posting a 5-0 record with a 1.66 ERA.
"You saw it again tonight, the way Cody acted and competed is far beyond his years," Cleveland manager Terry Francona said. "He's done a really good job since he came up, and he's got a really bright future here."
Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor hit a two-run homer and second baseman Jose Ramirez had a three-run shot and four RBIs in the nightcap.
"I've played with those guys throughout the system, so it's been really nice watching them come up and do that," Anderson said. "For me, hopefully, I can carry what I've done well into the offseason and spring training."
Lindor, who leads AL rookies with a .323 batting average, collected two hits and two stolen bases in the opener. He went 4 for 8 with two runs on the day.
Carrasco (14-12) allowed five runs in three-plus innings in his 30th and final start of the year. The right-hander struck out five to finish with a career-high 216 in a professional-best 183 2-3 innings.
"What happened today, it's baseball, something you can't control," Carrasco said. "The whole year was great for me from the beginning to the end. I learned something every time that I pitched to take into next year."
Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis went 3 for 7 and notched his 100th career stolen base in the twinbill. Center fielder Abraham Almonte had three hits, including two doubles, in the second game.
"We can only do what we can do," Francona said. "If you get eliminated, it doesn't give you the right to not show up for the rest of your games."
TESTY TEAMS
Ramirez angered the Twins by flipping his bat after hitting his homer in the eighth off Ricky Nolasco. Manager Paul Molitor, along with several players, came to the top step of the dugout and yelled at Ramirez as he crossed home plate.
Nolasco was watching the ball clear the fence and didn't see what Ramirez did until viewing it in the clubhouse. He was displeased when he saw it.
"He'll get his, don't worry," Nolasco said.
"It's part of the game that's grown a lot," Molitor said. "Players get comfortable with doing things that are, some people might interpret as disrespectful, so we reacted a little bit."
Francona wasn't happy with Ramirez.
"Nice good swing, poor judgment," Francona said. "He'll learn, hopefully not the hard way."
Ramirez, speaking with pitcher Danny Salazar serving as interpreter said, "Sometimes the emotion possesses you, but I wasn't trying to show them up."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Twins: RHP Phil Hughes (virus), who was scratched from his Monday start, pitched one scoreless inning of relief in the nightcap.
Indians: 3B Giovanny Urshela (right shoulder) could return to the lineup Thursday. The rookie has not played in a game since Sept. 17.
UP NEXT
Twins: RHP Tyler Duffey has not lost in his last eight starts, going 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA. He went six shutout innings in a 4-1 win over the Indians on Aug. 15.
Indians: RHP Trevor Bauer returns to the rotation in order to give RHP Josh Tomlin an extra day between starts. Bauer only made one appearance in relief.