CLEVELAND -- Don't accuse the Indians of being camera shy, because they strutted and primped like men at the Mr. Universe contest. The Tribe showed the same kind of muscle as well.

Flexing that muscle for a national TV audience Sunday night, the Tribe buried any flickering Wild Card hopes the Twins might still harbor under the kind of offensive display that had the look of an Indians team of the 1990s.

In a 12-4 destruction of the Twins, the Indians administered a pounding that seemed to knock the life out of the reigning AL Central champions.

"They have a good team," said Coco Crisp, whose 4-for-5 performance at the plate helped ignite the Tribe's offense, which rapped out 17 hits. "With the injuries that they have, it's kind of tough to drop one of your top hitters (Torii Hunter) and try to make up for that.

"It always feels good to win, no matter who you're playing really."

It had to be an especially good feeling in such a showcase game. For baseball fans got to see the Indians, 1 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees in the Wild Card race and now 5 1/2 behind the White Sox in the AL Central, unleash an offense that rekindled memories of their powerhouse teams of the 1990s. But no Albert Belles, Jim Thomes, Manny Ramirezes or Roberto or Sandy Alomars dotted this lineup, though.

It was a new crew of Indians, ballplayers named Crisp, Grady Sizemore, Jhonny Peralta, Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez.

"I think anybody who's come out and watched these guys play, it's something to be proud of," manager Eric Wedge said. "These guys bring it every night, and they've been doing it all year.

"Some days are better than others, but it's a long season."

The long season Wedge spoke of got decidedly shorter for the Twins, who came into The Jake just a good series away from staying in the playoff hunt. They threw two of their best pitchers at the Indians, including Cy Young winner Johan Santana.

Not even Santana was good enough to carve out a win in this three-game weekend series. And if he wasn't able to do so, what chance did right-hander Carlos Silva have of stopping the Indians, perhaps the hottest team in baseball?

Silva was running headfirst into a runaway 18-wheeler or a freight train. Either prospect was grim.

His outing started with the triple he gave up to Sizemore, whom Crisp knocked in with a double for the game's first run. Peralta's single moved Crisp to third base, and Hafner's sacrifice fly gave the Tribe a 2-0 lead.

The lead grew to 4-0 when Martinez drove Silva's 1-1 pitch over the wall in center field. The Indians, who have now won seven in a row and 18 of their last 23, had piled up a handful of runs on less than a dozen pitches from Silva.

They were attacking his offerings early in the count, although Crisp said it wasn't part of any grand strategy.

"It just happened that way," Crisp said. "I don't think, collectively, we came together and said that. Grady did a good job again of starting us off, and that darn Coco Crisp -- that pesky little so-and-so -- didn't hit a triple, but I was able to get [Sizemore] in.

"It was a good start to a needed victory right there."

These four runs were certainly a good start, and a blessing if you happened to be named Cliff Lee. Four runs in the first inning, then six more runs in the second, and Lee found himself looking at a 10-0 lead.

His job became a bit simpler.

"Just throw strikes," Lee said, "when you get a lead like that early."

Throw strikes he did, too. Lee made 91 pitches over his six innings, and 63 of them were strikes. He allowed two runs on four hits before giving way to the bullpen, which continued to throw strikes in keeping the Twins in check.

"Minnesota's a very good team," Wedge said. "You know me, I don't talk about other teams a great deal unless it's in respect to us and who we're playing tonight. But Minnesota's still the reigning divisional champions.

"We've had a strong rivalry with them this year, and I suspect it'll continue to be that way."