Kenta Maeda struck out seven over five innings on Monday and picked up his fourth win of the season as the Minnesota Twins captured a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Cleveland Indians.
Maeda (4-0) yielded a homer to Cesar Hernandez, the first batter he faced at Progressive Field, but turned out another solid performance on the mound to help the American League Central-leading Twins claim their third straight win.
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The Japanese right-hander, who nearly threw a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, scattered five hits while walking one in his sixth start of the coronavirus-shortened season.
"I was able to pitch solidly," Maeda said. "I threw a few more balls (in eight-plus innings during his last start) and was still a little tired, so I wasn't in the same condition as last time, but I was able to hold them down and keep runs to a minimum. Winning was the biggest thing."
Nelson Cruz hit a game-tying solo home run in fourth, and the Twins took the lead with Miguel Sano's two-run blast in the sixth.
Maeda, who has 40 strikeouts with a 2.21 ERA in his first year with Minnesota, set a Twins' record by striking out eight consecutive batters in his previous start.
At Tropicana Field, Yoshitomo Tsutsugo broke a four-game hitless streak and put the Tampa Bay Rays on the board with a solo homer in the second before the club fell 6-4 to the Toronto Blue Jays. He also drew three walks and scored a run.
The former DeNA BayStars slugger is batting .178 in his major league rookie season, with four home runs, 15 RBIs and 13 hits in 73 at-bats.
