MINNEAPOLIS -- Phil Hughes has been pitching with a cracked nail on his right index finger, a common side effect of the sharp curveball he throws. Cheap Ducks Jerseys . Hes kept the nail intact with super glue. The big righty has done a nice job of holding the Minnesota Twins rotation together, too. Kennys Vargas homered and sparked rallies with two other hits, leading Hughes and the Twins past Corey Kluber and the Cleveland Indians 4-1 Thursday. Hughes (14-8) struck out eight over seven innings to forge a four-way tie for the American League lead in victories, with Rick Porcello, Max Scherzer and Scott Kazmir, and improved to 4-0 with a 1.32 ERA in four August starts. "When you get on good stretches, everythings kind of working for you mechanically and your game plan, everything, just kind of falls into place," Hughes said. Including that pesky finger nail. "As long as it stays where its at, Ill be fine," Hughes said. Zach Walters, who has four home runs and six RBIs in nine games since joining the Indians, took Hughes deep in the fifth to tie the game. But Trevor Plouffe put the Twins back in front with a two-run double in the sixth inning after Vargas hit a one-out double. Vargas singled in the eighth, and pinch-runner Eduardo Nunez scored on a double by Oswaldo Arcia. Then Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth for his 32nd save in 36 attempts for the Twins, denying the Indians their first sweep of a road series this season. Kluber (13-7) had his winning streak stopped at six, despite eight strikeouts over seven innings, and the Indians fell six games behind Kansas City in the AL Central. They also dropped into sixth place in the AL wild-card race, still 4 1-2 games out of the second spot. "Anytime you lose a ballgame its disappointing, whether it be going for the sweep or the first game of the series. They all count the same in the long run," Kluber said. Hughes avoided a walk for the 14th time in his 26 turns for the Twins and gave up just five hits. "Hes got one of those sneaky fastballs," Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis said. Hughes has 148 strikeouts in 165 innings, putting him on pace to sail past his career high of 165 Ks with the New York Yankees in 2012. "Change of scenery, whatever you want to call it, hes throwing the ball great," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. STREAK SNAPPED The home run by Vargas ended a scoreless streak of 20-plus innings and 64 outs for the Twins since they tallied five runs with their first five at-bats to start the series Tuesday. Kluber tried to throw a cut fastball outside that hit too much of the plate. "I dont want to say he got beat by it, but it looked like he was a little late on it, but hes just big enough and strong enough that he lifted it out of the park," Kluber said. TRAINERS ROOM Indians: C Yan Gomes was replaced in the sixth inning by Roberto Perez because of illness. ... RF David Murphy, who was placed on the disabled list Aug. 10 due to abdominal muscle tightness on his right side, has resumed core workouts but still feels discomfort. Twins: RHP Alex Meyer, the top pitching prospect in the organization, has been handled carefully with Triple-A Rochester because of shoulder trouble last season. Meyer has logged more than 123 innings already, but when asked if he could get a September call-up general manager Terry Ryan did not rule that out. UP NEXT Indians: RHP Carlos Carrasco (5-4, 3.27 ERA) starts Friday to open a three-game home series against Houston. RHP Brad Peacock (3-8, 5.47 ERA) pitches for the Astros. Carrasco takes his third turn since rejoining the rotation, following three months in the bullpen. Hes pitched 12 scoreless innings, with five hits and no walks allowed over the last two starts. Twins: Host Detroit this weekend for four games in three days, including a doubleheader. RHP Tommy Milone (6-4, 3.99 ERA) starts following the shortest outing (only four outs, seven run) of his career. LHP Robbie Ray (1-3, 5.33 ERA) pitches for the Tigers. Josh Manson Jersey . The 19-year-old Swiss centre back will initially have to impress in Uniteds reserve side to earn a spot in the first team. Veseli says "Manchester United has a long history of younger players coming through and hopefully I can follow and do the same. Sam Steel Jersey . Winning more at home probably should be on the list. The Flames look to avoid a fifth defeat in six home games by winning a sixth straight meeting with the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. https://www.cheapducks.com/ .com) - Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.SEATTLE -- Steve Ballmers departure from the group looking to bring the NBA back to Seattle isnt derailing lead investor Chris Hansens hopes of getting a team back in the region. Hansen told The Associated Press on Monday that he is confident hell be able to find investors to take Ballmers place in his group that is trying to build a new arena and last year nearly bought and moved the Sacramento Kings to Seattle. Hansen is the majority investor in the project, but said it would likely take more than one person to replace Ballmers investment. Other than Hansen, the only other known partners in the investment group are members of the Nordstrom department store family. Hansen said he wont put a limit on the number of investors at this time. "I think we want to have a reasonable group of partners," Hansen said. "That will be the thing that is probably most missed from Steves involvement. One, hes a great guy and very successful in his career and would have added a lot of insights and value in operating the team. Thats probably the first thing that will be missed from having him as a partner and the second thing, given his net worth, (he) had the ability to be really the only other partner that we needed. In all likelihood there are not a lot of Steve Ballmers in the world with his financial well-being, so in all likelihood I think its reasonable to assume we have a few more partners rather than just one." Seattles hopes seemed to take a blow last week when Ballmer agreed to buy the Los Angeles Clippers for $2 billion. Among other things, it raised questions about whether Ballmers decision should be taken as a sign that Seattles hopes of getting a franchise are dwindling. Hansen tried to calm those concerns, noting the environmental reviews on the proposed arena site are ongoing aand that he remains committed to continuing the process both with the arena and a team. Troy Terry Jersey. . Hansens memorandum of understanding with the city of Seattle and King County on the arena goes through November 2017. "Everybody is very interested in what that means for right now. In six to nine months this will pass and well still be here trying to get our arena built and still be here trying to pursue a franchise and I think that is what is most important," Hansen said. "There is nothing we have to do. We own the land outright. There is no immediate time pressure that we have to do something and thats been very well received by the NBA as well -- the fact were willing to be patient and endure through this." Because of a lack of buzz about the NBA prior to Ballmer agreeing to purchase the Clippers, questions about whether the NHL could be first to land in Seattle have increased. It peaked recently when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman flew to Seattle during the NHL playoffs to meet with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and King County executive Dow Constantine. Hansen reiterated he does not have an interest in being the majority owner of an NHL franchise. But hes willing to partner with another investor who has that passion for the NHL. That would require a restructuring of the memorandum of understanding and Hansen said any re-writing of the deal would have to be initiated by the city and county. "We would like to be accommodative to get the NHL here. There should be no question about that. Were building this arena as a two-sport building. It has the larger footprint for hockey. Weve worked hard to do that. We would like to do everything in our power to allow hockey to come here in a way that makes sense for the NHL and for a prospective partner," Hansen said. ' ' '