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It wasn’t pretty but the Indians took game one of their four-game series with the Twins Monday night, 2-1. The struggling Scott Elarton shut the Twins out on four hits in his 5.1 innings of work but the offense very nearly gave this one away too. Tied 1-1 with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, Victor Martinez hit a shot to straight-away center that resulted in the game-winning sacrifice fly. Bob Wickman did his best to blow the game in the ninth, putting runners on second and third before getting a groundout to end the game.

They’ve still got a ton of work to do, but tonight’s win was the Tribe’s third in a row and sent their record to 20-23. The White Sox have a hefty lead over the rest of the division but there’s still plenty of baseball to be played.

One day after flipping off Reds fan in the ninth inning against the Indians, former Cleveland pitcher Danny Graves has been designated for assignment by Cincinnati. Graves, the Reds’ full-time closer for six of the past seven years, allowed five runs in one-third of an inning Sunday and, after getting pulled by manager Dave Miley and walking off the field Sunday, he yelled at and flipped off a Reds fan sitting next to the dugout who’d started heckling him.

Graves has been awful this year (10 saves with a 7.36 ERA and a .357 BAA), but the Indians should be the first team looking to sign him. I wouldn’t let him close — we’ve already got a shaky closer — but I think he’d be a great middle/late inning guy to add, someone who could go from the fifth to the eigth if you needed him to, or someone who could give you one good inning. Let’s not forget that he used to be a starter for the Reds, albeit not a terribly good one, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if Wedge needed to stretch him out to three or four innings every once in a while.

Graves is an experienced arm who can help in several different roles and, with his Cleveland connection, you’ve got to think he’d at least be mildly interested in joining the Indians’ bullpen.

With today’s 9-2 victory over the slumping Reds, the Tribe was able to win the series and get back on track. Cliff Lee was solid again today, and following C.C.’s big day yesterday, the pitching continues to keep the Tribe competitive. The bullpen has been nothing short of brilliant. Let’s hope the offense can become more consistent.

The PD reports that injured outfielder Juan Gonzalez will start his rehab assignment in Buffalo Monday, with the Indians looking at activating him within two weeks. Let’s see what he’s got left.

The question is, who goes down? Coco Crisp’s injury made Jody Gerut’s return a much easier move but now Shapiro needs to figure out who’s getting bumped for Gonzalez. The longer Aaron Boone struggles, the louder the argument becomes to send him down.

Also, in case you missed it, the Indians shuttled Jason Davis back to Triple-A and called up reliever Matt Miller. The club wants Davis to get some time as a starter and, if he strings together a couple good outings, don’t be surprised to see Davis come back up and take Scott Elarton’s job. Elarton’s been awful and his days in the rotation have to be numbered.

My opinion’s a little divided on Davis. On the one hand, he’s got a great arm, without question, and you’d love to see him turn that potential into consistent production as a starter. On the other hand, though, he has all the tools to be an excellent closer, and lord knows Bob Wickman ain’t going to be around much longer. Whatever they ultimately decide, the Indians need to leave Davis alone, in one role or another.