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CLE@DET: Kluber earns his first Major League win

The Indians and Twins don't have much left to play for this season other than pride and the battle to stay out of the basement in the American League Central.

After Minnesota's victory Saturday, in the second of a four-game set at Target Field, the club moved within two games of Cleveland for fourth place in the Central with one more series remaining between the two teams.

On Sunday, Cleveland will be facing a Twins pitcher with whom it is unfamiliar -- right-hander Esmerling Vasquez -- for the third consecutive game, something manger Manny Acta said is difficult on hitters.

"Advanced scouting, and video. That's what we got. We have to trust that," Acta said about how his club prepares for it. "[Some of our] guys have seen these guys in the Minor Leagues, too. We have a lot of data and information, too.

"But other than that, you have to go by that and trust your scouts."

Vasquez, who spent three seasons with Arizona before joining Minnesota, made his first Major League start in his first appearance with the Twins in a loss to the Royals last Sunday. He pitched into the sixth inning, allowing five runs in the loss.

"Vasquez was good, for his first outing out there," Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire said. "He was misfiring a little bit early, but he settled in pretty decent."

The Indians will counter with rookie right-hander Corey Kluber, who will be making his eighth career start.

Kluber has allowed two runs or less in four of his seven starts, and no more than three in all but two of them. He picked up his first career victory by posting his second straight quality start against the Tigers in his last outing.

Minnesota has won eight of its last 10 games against Cleveland, outscoring the Tribe 73-34 during that stretch.

Twins: Span nearing return
• Center fielder Denard Span could rejoin the Twins as early as Wednesday, the day he is eligible to return from the 15-day disabled list.

Span, who has been on the DL retroactive to Aug. 28 with a sprained joint in his shoulder, took batting practice Saturday without any reported issues after hitting in the cages Friday.

Span is batting .286 with 14 stolen bases and a team-leading 32 doubles in 108 games this season.

• After allowing 22 runs over their previous three games, the Twins recorded their sixth shutout of the season, and fourth since the All-Star break, in Saturday's 3-0 victory.

Indians: Canzler making positive impression
• Rookie Russ Canzler is doing his best to get noticed since joining the Indians as a September callup.

The 26-year-old has hit safely in all six games in which he has played, including a pair of multi hit efforts. Canzler is batting .391 with a homer and three RBIs over 23 at-bats.

In 130 games at Triple-A Columbus prior to his promotion, Canzler hit .265 with a team-leading 22 home runs and 79 RBIs.

• Shin-Soo Choo has been on a tear to start September, putting a rough August behind him.

Choo hit just .243 with a .695 OPS -- his lowest monthly totals since April -- in 107 August at-bats, but has three multi hit games in September, and has hit in five of six contests overall.

After collecting a pair of hits in Saturday's losing effort, Choo is batting .391 with a .481 on-base percentage and .916 OPS over 27 plate appearances for the month.

Worth noting:
• Of the eight Twins that have faced Kluber before, Ryan Doumit is the only one that has collected multiple hits against him.

• Brent Lillibridge is the only Indians player that has seen Vasquez before, and hit an RBI single against him in his only at-bat.

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