twins/mlb

Final Score: Minnesota 12, Cleveland 5

Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Alexi Casilla had two hits and drove in four runs to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 12-5 win over the Cleveland Indians in the middle tilt of a three-game set at Target Field.

Josh Willingham hit a two-run homer and Denard Span and Ben Revere both knocked in a pair of runs for the Twins, who won for the second straight game after dropping four of five.

Samuel Deduno (2-0) earned the win after giving up one run on two hits and five walks with six strikeouts over seven innings.

"(Deduno) has a lot of movement on his pitches, with him I just kind of sit in the middle and just tell him to aim down," Twins catcher Joe Mauer said. "He gave us a good start tonight, and that first inning he was kind of all over the place but he settled down and we played good (defense) behind him."

Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer and finished with three RBI for the Tribe, who have lost three of their last four.

Justin Masterson (7-9) was pegged with the loss after giving up 10 runs -- eight earned -- on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings. Masterson retired the first 11 batters he faced, but struggled from that point until he was pulled in the sixth.

"They ate us up again offensively. Masterson started the game really good with a really good sinker, retiring the first 11 guys. After that he just struggled closing innings out," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "Eight of those 10 runs came with two outs, and a couple bad calls went against him, but still you have to close the inning out and he couldn't make pitches when he had to."

The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the first. Shin-Shoo Choo singled, stole second then moved to third when Jason Kipnis grounded out. Santana followed with a single to push Choo across.

Willingham's two-run homer in the fourth put the Twins up 2-1. Joe Mauer reached on a walk before Willingham clobbered his 27th homer of the season.

Minnesota added three in the fifth and five in the sixth and one in the seventh to go up 11-1.

In the fifth Danny Valencia reached on a throwing error and Brian Dozier singled before Casilla ripped a triple off the wall in right to clear the bases. Revere followed with a single to plate Casilla.

With the bases loaded in the sixth Casilla doubled to knock in two runs. Span followed with a two-run double of his own and Revere added an RBI base hit.

Valencia's double in the seventh scored Willingham and put the Twins up 11-1.

Santana hit a two-run homer in the eighth to make it 11-3.

But Minnesota got the run back in the home half on Mauer's RBI single.

The Indians were able to add two in the ninth, and had the bases loaded with two outs but Casey Fien struck out Santana to end the threat. Santana narrowly missed a grand slam that would have made it 12-9 but the ball curved foul.

Following the game the Twins dealt pitcher Francisco Liriano to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder Eduardo Escobar and pitcher Pedro Hernandez.

Liriano is 3-10 with a 5.31 ERA in 22 games (17 starts) this season. The 28- year-old threw a no-hitter against the White Sox on May 3, 2011.

Escobar, 23, who is hitting .207 in 36 games this season, was traded only moments after the White Sox beat the Rangers, 5-2, Saturday night. Escobar went 2-for-5 with an RBI in that game.

Hernandez, a 23-year-old lefty, made a spot start for the White Sox on July 18 at Boston and allowed 12 hits and eight runs over four-plus innings in a 10-1 loss. He has also combined to go 8-2 with a 2.94 ERA in 15 appearances (14 starts) this season between Double-A Birmingham and Triple-A Charlotte this season.

Game Notes

Valencia snapped an 0-for-28 slump with his double in the seventh...The Twins have outscored the Indians 23-5 in the first two games of the series...Revere extended his hitting-streak to 11 games...Masterson is 1-5 in 12 career starts against Minnesota...The Indians are 7-42 when they are out-hit this season.