The Indians are basically playing without a closer. In some games, it shows. On Friday night, it showed. Masa Kobayashi nearly blew a 5-2 lead in the ninth inning before Rafael Perez relieved him to get the last three outs of a 5-4 win over Minnesota.

Since the release of closer Joe Borowski just prior to the All-Star break, the Indians haven't had a designated closer, although manager Eric Wedge has said Kobayashi will get the bulk of the save situations.

Thus it was Kobayashi who came in to start the ninth inning Friday night, with the Indians leading 5-2. Kobayashi gave up a single, home run, and double to the three batters he faced, and the Indians were in danger of losing the lead, until Perez came in to retire three batters in a row to record his first save of the season.

Although he is one of the most prolific closers in Japanese baseball history, Kobayashi, who signed a two-year, $6.2 million contract with the Indians last winter, had been used in a setup role with the Indians, prior to the release of Borowski.

Since getting a chance to close games, Kobayashi has been very inconsistent. In his last save situation prior to Friday, he struck out the side. On Friday, he nearly blew a save in spectacular fashion.

Indians officials are on record as saying that one of the priorities for the coming offseason is to acquire a closer, an indication that the front office feels that the best spot for Kobayashi is in a setup role.

INDIANS 5, TWINS 4: LHP Cliff Lee pitched eight strong innings, allowing two runs while striking out 10 and not walking a batter to improve his record to 14-2. C Kelly Shoppach had a two-run double in the first inning and OF Franklin Gutierrez a solo home run in the second to lead the offense.

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