MINNEAPOLIS - Corey Kluber continues to dominate hitters when the Cleveland Indians need him most. Kluber struck out a career-high 14 hitters for the second straight start and the Indians didnt lose any ground in the playoff chase Sunday with a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. Michael Bourn and Michael Brantley each had three hits for the Indians, who have won five of six. Cleveland is 3 1-2 games behind the second Wild Card spot, and is home to the Royals for three-plus games beginning Monday. In addition to Mondays regularly scheduled game, the teams must complete the Aug. 31 game in Kansas City that was suspended in the middle of the 10th inning due to rain with Cleveland up 4-2. "We know whats at stake," Bourn said. Chris Herrmann and Danny Santana drove in the Minnesota runs. The chance to score was rare against Kluber (17-9), who allowed seven hits in eight innings to win his fourth straight start. "Hes got electric stuff," said Twins second baseman Brian Dozier. "Hes a big swing-and-miss type guy, pretty much all cutters and sliders the whole time. When hes got that working, its pretty good." Kluber, who set his career high by striking out 14 Astros in seven innings Tuesday, struck out at least two batters in each of the first six innings Sunday — and 13 straight innings overall. The major league leader with 258 strikeouts, Kluber now has 10 outings of at least 10 strikeouts this season, the most for Cleveland since Sam McDowell in 1970. "Being a horse out there, throwing eight strong, throwing 120 pitches, thats the type of stuff you look for from the ace of your staff," Bourn said. The back-to-back 14-strikeout performances by Kluber are the first in baseball since Randy Johnson did it for Arizona on Aug. 15 and 20, 2004. "When the years over thats the kind of stuff that youll take a second to look at and appreciate, but the important thing right now is that we got the win," Kluber said. Manager Terry Francona was most impressed that Kluber understood the need to go deep into the game to ensure relievers like Scott Atchison and Bryan Shaw and closer Cody Allen had another day of rest. "That helps us; that gives us a better chance," Francona said. A trio of Twins miscues helped give the Indians a 5-1 lead in the fifth. With runners on first and second, Brantley hit a potential inning-ending double play ball to Dozier. His throw to shortstop Danny Santana at second was off the mark for an error and Santanas relay to first ended up the Twins dugout for another error, allowing Bourn to score. Jose Ramirez scored on a balk by Anthony Swarzak (3-2) before Brantley scored on a sacrifice fly. Making his second straight start in place of the injured Tommy Milone, Swarzak allowed five runs — three earned — 4 1-3 innings. Down 1-0 in the third, Ramirez singled home a run and Brantley doubled in another for a 2-1 Cleveland lead. RECORD NUMBER OF KS Cleveland pitchers have struck out 1,391 hitters this year, breaking the mark of 1,379 set last season. TRAINERS ROOM Indians: 2B Jason Kipnis was the teams designated hitter Sunday — batting a season-low seventh in the order — after missing two games with a sore right hamstring. Twins: Team trainers said SS Eduardo Escobar, out since jamming his right shoulder last Tuesday, was available to pinch run, but manager Ron Gardenhire was leery of having Escobar sliding. Escobar slides head first. ... CF Aaron Hicks missed his second straight game with a stiff back and upset Gardenhire by not reporting to the ballpark until about two hours before game time. UP NEXT Indians: After the teams finish their Aug. 31 suspended game, Carlos Carrasco (8-5, 2.65) is to start Mondays full game at home against Kansas Citys Danny Duffy (8-11, 2.42). Twins: Ricky Nolasco (5-11, 5.34) gets the ball Monday when the Twins open a three-game home series with Arizona. Hes scheduled to face Josh Collmenter (10-8, 3.60). Air Max 720 Blanche Sortie . While he was away, it was the division-rival Baltimore Orioles conducting a little business of their own, scooping up Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday evening to a reported four-year, $50-million contract. Air Max 270 France Pas Cher . According to TSNs Farhan Lalji, Richardson is heading to Toronto for a physical and is expected to sign with the Argonauts. http://www.nike720pascher.fr/. Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. Air Vapormax Pas Cher .In the Football Money League compiled by accountancy firm Deloitte, German champion Bayern Munich remained third but Barcelona dropped from second to fourth during its trophyless 2014.In the 2013-2014 financial year, Real generated 549. Vente Nike Air Max 270 . Appearing on TSN 690 Monday afternoon, Mike Babcock said he had conversations with both P.K. Subban and Carey Price about those on-ice traits during Hockey Canadas summer orientation camp. Mike Babcock: McGill experience, P.The Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and St. Louis Blues all augmented their free agent classes by signing some European free agents. Numbers Game examines the signings of Petri Kontiola, Leo Komarov, Jiri Sekac and Jori Lehtera. The Maple Leafs Sign: C Petri Kontiola and LW Leo Komarov. Komarov is a familiar face for the Maple Leafs, a 27-year-old winger who was a regular in the Leafs lineup in 2012-2013 before returning to the KHL for a nice payday last season. Komarov had a strong year in the KHL, with Moscow Dynamo, leading the team with 34 points in 52 games, and he played for Finland in both the Olympics and the World Championships. Komarov didnt score much in his first go-round with the Leafs, tallying nine points in 42 games, but there may be more offence to his game than that. Usage would play a big part in whether or not Komarov is ever a factor offensively, but hes being brought back to Toronto more for his attitude than production. Komarov is a relentless pest, who hits a lot and gets under opponents skin. To his credit, he did have solid relative possession stats for the Leafs a couple of years ago. Heres the issue with Komarov, though. If he is capable of contributing offensively, and could fill a top-nine role, then it could justify the four-year, $11.8-million contract he received. If hes the same energetic fourth-liner that he was a couple of years ago -- a distinct possibility -- then hes vastly overpaid. Kontiola is a 29-year-old who was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2004 and played a dozen games with the Blackhawks in 2007-2008, registering five assists and, in that small sample, putting up great possession stats. In two AHL seasons, Kontiola scored 140 points in 159 (regular season plus playoff) games, before heading to the KHL, where he has scored 152 points in 204 games over the past four seasons, the last three with Chelyabinsk Traktor. He had 14 points in 16 games playing for Finland at the Olympics and in the World Championships. With that track record, its possible that Kontiola could contribute some offence for the Maple Leafs but, as a 29-year-old who has barely seen NHL action, he could also be a spare part. The good news is that, signed to a contract for $1.1-million for one season, hes a low-risk investment. If he wins a spot in the lineup and contributes, they can work on an extension; if he doesnt, no big deal. The Canadiens Sign: RW Jiri Sekac. 22-year-old Jiri Sekac was suddenly a hot name on the free agent market this spring after a nice season in the KHL, scoring 11 goals and 28 pointss in 47 games for Prague Lev, leading his team in points per game (0.dddddddddddd.60). As a junior, Sekac played a little in North America, earning zero points in eight games with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL as a 17-year-old before joining Youngstown of the USHL, where he scored 56 points in 96 games. Understandably, with that production, he wasnt considered a hot NHL prospect and went to the KHL, where he scored 21 points in 83 games over two seasons before breaking out last season. Signed for two years, at an entry-level of max of $925,000 per season (plus bonuses), Sekac is rapidly-improving and his potential drew lots of interest throughout the league, but it would be premature -- considering hes had basically one productive scoring season in three years -- to put big expectations on his scoring significantly for Montreal next season. However, if Sekac found a spot in Montreals top nine, maybe he could contribute some offence as a rookie. The Blues Sign: C Jori Lehtera. Lehtera, 26, was a third-round pick of the Blues in 2008 and has played all of 14 (regular season plus playoff games) in North America since, managing three points with Peoria in the 2008-2009 season. Since then, however, Lehtera has been very productive as a playmaking centre. In the past three seasons, playing for Novosibirsk Sibir in the KHL, Lehtera has tallied 39 goals and 118 points in 125 games (with zero goals and eight points in 13 playoff games). The 6-foot-2 centre had 12 points in 10 games at the World Championships this year, as well as four points in six games at the Olympics, not looking the least bit out of place against high-level competition. Coming to North America may require some adjustment, but Lehtera is going to have an opportunity to put up points right out of the game, slated to skate on the Blues second line with Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko on his wings. With quality playing time on a strong team, Lehtera could make an impact right away. 50 points seems a reasonable expectation, but theres upside beyond that if he can make a smooth transition. Lehtera is signed for two years, at a total cost of $5.5-million, a very reasonable price if he ends up fulfilling a top-six role for the Blues. His presence, along with Paul Stastny, allows the Blues to move David Backes and Patrik Berglund to the wing, giving the team outstanding depth up front. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '