Gardenhire: 'We don't need a stadium? C'mon'

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Turns out there is a clock in baseball.

The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians were tied at 5-all

after 11 innings Saturday when the game was suspended because the

Metrodome field needed to be changed over for the later Penn

State-Minnesota football game.

"I didn't even know anything about it," Minnesota outfielder

Lew Ford said. "When everyone started walking off the field I

thought they were kidding at first."

"I guess the crowd knew, though, because they all left

immediately," he added.

The Twins posted a message on the big screen when the game went

to extra innings that no inning could start after 2:30 p.m. As soon

as Justin Morneau grounded out to end the 11th inning at 2:33, the

seats emptied and the makeover began.

Many of the Twins didn't like it.

"We battle our butts off and then it's over," exclaimed Torii

Hunter. "That's terrible."

"We're in the middle of a mess now," said manager Ron

Gardenhire, who couldn't contain his anger. "We don't need a

stadium? C'mon."

Penn State and 18th-ranked Minnesota were to start at 7 p.m. and

stadium workers immediately began to the cover the dirt, paint the

field lines and color in logos.

"I'm not saying anything about the college, I respect them and

all sports, but we're trying to clinch home field here," reliever

Juan Rincon said. "It doesn't make it any easier for us at home

where we should be at home."

The Twins and Indians will resume at 1:10 p.m. Sunday, followed

by the regularly scheduled season finale between the two teams.

The AL Central champion Twins can still begin the playoffs at

home if they beat the Indians twice on Sunday and Oakland beats

Anaheim on Sunday. In that case Minnesota would

host Boston in Game 1 of the division series on Tuesday; otherwise

the Twins would open at the New York Yankees.

Cleveland's Grady Sizemore will enter the resumption just a

double shy of the cycle. After three at-bats Sizemore was on the

brink of the cycle, but he walked to lead off the seventh and

grounded out in the ninth. Josh Phelps also homered for the

Indians.

Indians manager Eric Wedge was aware the game could come to a

quick halt.

"I knew we were in trouble when they came up to us and said,

'Not to worry, in 11 years it's never happened," he said.

"This gives new meaning to a 'no-decision," added starter

Jake Westbrook.

Lew Ford was a season-high 4-for-6 with three runs scored for

Minnesota.

Sizemore led off the game with his first career triple and

scored on Coco Crisp's RBI single. Casey Blake made it 2-0 with an

RBI groundout.

Minnesota got one run back in the bottom of the inning on Torii

Hunter's RBI single. Sizemore hit his fifth homer, off Carlos Silva

with one out in the fifth, to make it 3-1.

The Twins came back to tie it in the bottom half. Henry Blanco

led off with a double, moved to third on Ford's single and scored

on Jason Kubel's sacrifice fly. Ford also moved up on the sacrifice

fly and scored from second on Justin Morneau's two-out single to

make it 3-all.

Phelps hit a 412-foot shot off Silva with one out in the fifth

as Cleveland regained the lead 4-3. It was Phelps' 17th homer of

the year.

Again the Twins came back, with a run on Luis Rivas' sacrifice

fly off Westbrook.

With the game tied 4-4, Cleveland scored a run against the Twins

bullpen in the seventh to take the lead. J.C. Romero walked

Sizemore and, two outs later, Blake hit an RBI single off Grant

Balfour.

The Twins tied the game for the third time with a run off

Westbrook in the bottom of the inning. Ford led off with his fourth

hit, and third infield single, and moved to third on Kubel's single

to right. Ford scored when Hunter grounded into a double play.

Game notes
Johan Santana was picked as AL Pitcher of the Month for the

third straight month -- the first time that has happened since Pedro

Martinez won the award from April-June of 1999. ... Jacque Jones

pinch-hit in the eighth and was hit by a pitch. He is scheduled to

fly to California this weekend for the funeral of his father, Hardy

Jones, who died of cancer on Thursday. Jones is expected to be back

with the Twins for the start of playoffs. ... Hunter was hit on his

left hand by a pitch in the third inning and stayed in the game

wearing a padded brace. ... Crisp has 71 RBI and the Indians have

seven players with at least 70 RBI. Last year Jody Gerut was the

only Cleveland player to eclipse 70.