intact with super glue.

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. Dwyane Wade Jersey . 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. Barry Bonds Jersey . With the Canadiens leading by one to start the third period, Price turned away 16 shots by the Panthers in the final frame to give Montreal a 2-1 victory over Florida on Monday night. The Panthers (16-21-6) outshot Montreal 16-10 in the final frame, but were repeatedly frustrated by Price, who made 26 saves on the night. James Conner Jersey . The senior threw for 319 yards and no interceptions in his final college game, leading No.ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS, TPC Louisiana, Avondale, Louisiana The PGA Tour moves further south to Louisiana this week for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Last year, Billy Horschel birdied the 72nd hole of the tournament to hold off D.A. Points and claim his first PGA Tour victory. Horschel entered the final hole tied with Points, but the duo would have to wait a little while to figure out the final result as play was halted for weather concerns moments after they hit their tee shots. It was the second weather delay of the afternoon. After the threatening weather moved out, Horschel hit his third shot to 26 feet and watched as Points blasted his fourth from a greenside bunker to within five feet. Points wouldnt get a chance to force the playoff as Horschel drained his putt for birdie and the win. Horschel will retuurn to defend his title against a field that includes seven winners from this season. Michael Jordan Jersey Nike. The defending champion will try to become the first player to win back-to-back in New Orleans since Carlos Franco turned the trick in 1999 and 2000. Horschel will also try to become the first person to earn his first two wins on tour at the same event since Boo Weekley won the Heritage in 2007 and 2008. This will be the last chance for players who are not already qualified to earn a spot in The Players Championship by moving into the top 10 in the FedExCup standings or top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking. The PGA Tour moves to North Carolina next week for the Wells Fargo Championship, where Derek Ernst parred the first playoff hole last year to defeat David Lynn and collect his first career win. ' ' '