A night of two pitchers

Wednesday's events may signal a bit of a turning point in the nascent AL Central race.

In Minnesota, Martin Perez dominated the powerful Astros lineup with eight scoreless innings. (Reliever Trevor Hildenberger allowed two runs in the ninth but the Twins won 6-2.) Perez allowed four hits and struck out seven.

Perez was so good he had ESPN analyst Rick Sutcliffe babbling about him as a top-of-the-rotation arm. That might be premature, but he was impressive -- and I am quite certain now that I was absolutely wrong this offseason when evaluating the signing. But in my defense, Perez is not the pitcher now that he was in Texas. He and the Twins have adjusted his delivery and changed his repertoire.

In Miami, Cleveland ace Corey Kluber was hit in his right forearm/elbow by a 102-mph liner. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has a non-displaced fracture of the ulna and his pitching arm is in a cast. He's to be evaluated today back in Cleveland, but it's safe to assume that he's going to be out of action for a good while.

Kluber's pitching in April wasn't up to his usual standard, but this is still a significant blow to the Indians. I don't root for injuries. I root for greatness, and "the Klubot" has been just that for five years.

The starting rotation was perceived to be Cleveland's big advantage over the Twins. But even that advantage may now be gone. It has certainly faded.