MINNEAPOLIS — When Trevor Bauer’s foot slipped on the mound with the bases loaded, causing him to balk in a run, his outing hung in the balance.

The Cleveland Indians right-hander dug in, limited the damage and delivered his best performance of the season.

Bauer struck out seven in 6 1/3 innings and Carlos Santana had two doubles and two RBIs to lead the Indians over the Minnesota Twins 6-2 on Thursday.

Bauer (1-2) gave up two runs, three hits and three walks, lowering his ERA from 8.44 to 6.35. His balk came with one out in the fourth. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Jorge Polanco and then struck out Eddie Rosario to hold down the Twins.

“I seem to have an inning like that every start and the outcome of my start is kind of determined on how well I get through it and limit the damage,” Bauer said.

Andrew Miller pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and the Indians took all three games in a series that included a rainout Wednesday night.

Ervin Santana gave up one run, four hits and three walks over six innings for the Twins, who are 1-5 in a 10-game homestand.

“We had Bauer on the ropes there with the balk and the walks,” Brian Dozier said. “That’s been the thing the past few games, when you’ve got them on the ropes, that inning could be the deciding factor in the outcome of a game.”

Carlos Santana delivered another RBI double off of Taylor Rogers in Cleveland’s three-run seventh inning to jump in front 4-2.

Tyler Duffey (0-1) gave up two runs on two hits for the loss and the Indians tacked on two more in the ninth off of Ryan Pressly.

“I feel great, especially when my team is winning,” Carlos Santana said. “I’m more comfortable now and I love the park. I feel great, so I have to keep it up.”
Trainer’s room

Twins: LHP Ryan O’Rourke, on the DL since March with a strained forearm, flew from Florida to the Twin Cities for an examination. The Twins said there is no structural damage