CLEVELAND -Travis Hafner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to force in the go-ahead run and the Cleveland Indians rallied to beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 yesterday.
Ronnie Belliard hit a one-out single off J.C. Romero (0-1). One out later, Jose Hernandez got credit for an infield single and Belliard advanced to third when Twins third baseman Michael Cuddyer threw wildly trying for a force play at second.
Victor Martinez drew a walk to load the bases and Romero then hit Hafner on the right elbow with a 1-1 pitch to send Belliard home with the tiebreaking run.
It was the first run allowed by the Twins' trio of Romero, Juan Rincon and closer Joe Nathan in 17 1-3 innings spanning 18 appearances.
The Twins had their six-game winning streak snapped and failed to get their first three-game sweep in Cleveland since June 14-16, 1991.
Bob Howry (1-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Bob Wickman worked the ninth for his fourth save.
Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia was sharp in his first start. The left-hander, activated from the disabled list Saturday after straining an abdominal muscle before a spring start March 6, worked 5 2-3 strong innings and left with the score tied 1-1.
Twins starter Joe Mays, who missed all of 2004 after having elbow surgery, was even better. The right-hander allowed just one run and five hits over seven innings. He struck out two without a walk in his longest outing since going eight innings at Kansas City on June 19, 2003.
The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the third on consecutive one-out singles by Luis Rivas, Shannon Stewart and Juan Castro.
Belliard tied it by leading off the bottom half with his second homer, snapping an 0-for-16 streak.
Sabathia gave up one run on five hits, walked one and struck out seven. He threw 94 pitches, 60 for strikes.
Sabathia caused a stir earlier in the week by stating that he was eager to open his season against Minnesota because, I hate the Twins. They know it.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who has guided the team to three straight AL Central Division titles, took it as a compliment, and said that division rivals should hate the Twins and try to beat them.
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