Guardians 4, Twins 3: Yet Another Wet Slap

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Simeon Woods Richardson 4.2 IP, 2H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 4 K (98 pitches, 58 strikes (59%))
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Justin Topa -.564, Trevor Larnach -.218, Brooks Lee -.131
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

The Twins wrapped up their four-game set in Cleveland on Thursday in about as gut-wrenching a way as you’ll find—a walk-off loss in extra innings, after missing multiple golden opportunities to flip the script. In a game where multiple rain delays seemed to reshape the flow and momentum, Minnesota simply couldn’t capitalize, dropping their third game of the series and their 11th straight one-run loss at Progressive Field.

Like too many games this season, the Twins fell behind early and looked lifeless at the plate through the first six innings. Cleveland got to Simeon Woods Richardson for two early runs—an RBI single from Kyle Manzardo in the 1st and a solo shot by Jhonkensy Noel in the 4th. Despite only allowing two hits, Woods Richardson struggled with control, walking five and lasting just 4.2 innings.

Then came a short rain delay after the 6th inning, and with it, a spark.

The Twins rallied for four hits in the 7th, including RBI singles by Christian Vázquez and Carlos Correa to tie the game at two. With the bases loaded and a chance to take the lead, they came up empty. Still, the momentum shift was noticeable.

As the Twins stirred up another rally in the 8th, the skies opened again. Another rain delay, this time a prolonged one. Another opportunity iced. When play resumed, Correa popped out with the bases loaded, a frustratingly familiar ending to a promising inning.

Jhoan Duran entered in the 9th and worked his way into and out of danger, stranding the bases loaded by freezing Steven Kwan on a called third strike to send the game to extras.

In the 10th, the Twins finally grabbed a lead on a sacrifice fly from Jonah Bride that scored Mickey Gasper—a duo nobody would’ve predicted contributing in this spot when spring began. But Jose Ramirez had other plans.

The perennial Twins tormentor delivered a signature inning: an RBI single to tie the game, a stolen base, and a heady sprint home on a hit-and-run single by Angel Martinez to walk it off.

The loss marks Minnesota’s 11th consecutive one-run loss in Cleveland and the 10th walk-off loss at Progressive Field in the last five seasons—an unfathomable stretch of heartbreak for Twins fans. After a 5–1 homestand against the Angels and White Sox, the Twins finish the road trip’s first leg with a thud, now sitting at 13–19 and 6.5 games out of the division lead.

 

What's Next?

The Twins will continue their roadtrip with a weekend series in Boston, kicking off with Joe Ryan squaring off against long-time Los Angeles Dodger, Walker Buehler.

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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[AlwaysinModeration]

Buxton gets on base to lead off the 9th and watches at least four pitches go by without moving, and then Larnach grounds into a double play.  He needs to be on second base after one pitch.  And then third base after two pitches.  So what if Herrin is a lefty.  That’s his job—he has to steal.

[Nashvilletwin]

No excuses.  The Guardians just flat out out executed us when it mattered.  Whether it was moving runners over, stealing a base, running the bases, throwing out runners, etc.

Again, it’s not rocket science.  Play a clean game, do the little things better, have strong fundamentals.  The Guardians are just better at those things than the Twins.  Those things matter - a lot! And it’s fairly obvious.  And it’s why they beat us more often (ok, virtually all the time, especially in Cleveland) in close games.  

[mikelink45]

It is the umps, it is the rain, it is bad luck, it is Twins baseball.  So much frustration.  And please tell Duran he does not have to load the bases before getting the last out.  Otherwise I am running out of comments.  Please send me a list I can cut and paste or I won't make it through the season.

[jkcarew]

Sometimes you gotta feel a bit sorry for the lads. Bullpen did their job, a lot of good at-bats…but not enough came with RISP. Got the ground ball that you need in the 10th, and it finds the whole. It was a less hopeless, but more frustrating, way to not score enough. Well, at least the flight to Boston is a short one.

[KirbyDome89]

"An unfathomable stretch of heartbreak..." 

Eh, not really. The Twins needed 3 outs to push a Manfred runner across in the 10th. That included said runner misreading a single up the middle and another runner being thrown out at 2B. Although in fairness, with Vazquez in the box at the time it likely doesn't make a difference.

Cleveland needed 1 out (a productive out that moved the Manfred runner to 3B) to score 2 runs on 2 hits with an intentional BB sprinkled in. They swiped 2 bases in the process. 

That's pretty much all you need to know when wondering why the Twins have such a poor record in these close games. 

I said it in the game thread, the poor showing vs. Cleveland isn't some anomaly. The Twins aren't snakebitten, this isn't "bad luck." Bad teams find ways to lose games, and we've seen this club play a lot of pretty bad baseball over the last few years. 

[JD-TWINS]

Difficult to watch a Team NEVER play for a run and always assume the big inning will prevail. 13 hits for MN & 6 hits for Cleveland …….. how does a team give up 2 runs through 9 innings and not win the ball game with 12 hits through 9 and a handful of them doubles?

Guys at 2B & 3B with no outs and can’t score - pathetic!!

[thelanges5]

Count me in among those that were optimistic about the 2025 Twins. Not sure where I stand right now? Performance is not matching the talent level, especially on offense. What is their identity? Who can they turn to to pick them up and lead them out of this prolonged slump?

[Aggies7]

Don’t forget, the twins almost didn’t even score in the 10th after a baserunning error on one of the rare times they got a hit with RISP 

Once the twins incomprehensibly ran the contact play with slow runner ty France, with nobody out and runners at second and third in the second inning and ran into an out, I knew what kind of day it was going to be.

[LastOnePicked]

I just need to know when I'm supposed to touch grass about Baldelli. I guess they can't play the White Sox and Angels every series.

Kidding, kidding. This team just doesn't have it. It's okay. Part of it is roster construction, part of it is terrible injury luck and part of it - I'm still convinced - is lack of preparation and motivation from the manager.

It's just May. But it's so, so much closer to "over" than it should be.

[Hubie29]

5 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

No excuses.  The Guardians just flat out out executed us when it mattered.  Whether it was moving runners over, stealing a base, running the bases, throwing out runners, etc.

Again, it’s not rocket science.  Play a clean game, do the little things better, have strong fundamentals.  The Guardians are just better at those things than the Twins.  Those things matter - a lot! And it’s fairly obvious.  And it’s why they beat us more often (ok, virtually all the time, especially in Cleveland) in close games.  

Rocco

[CRF]

I want to hear another post game interview session with Rocco...about as much as I want to do another colonoscopy prep. Cleve just owns us...it's as simply as that. 

[Hubie29]

3 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Count me in among those that were optimistic about the 2025 Twins. Not sure where I stand right now? Performance is not matching the talent level, especially on offense. What is their identity? Who can they turn to to pick them up and lead them out of this prolonged slump?

Performance IS matching the talent level. That's why most Twins fans were disappointed in the offseason. This team has minimal talent at best. But I keep reading about how much talent we have. Where is it?

[D.C Twins]

Only 3 runs on 13 hits?!

My expert opinion: Uffff Daaaahhhh

[Peter]

Can’t beat Cleveland if our lives depended on it. Frustrating series as we should’ve taken all 4. Need to bounce back and take series against Red Sox-once Royce/castro/Wallner comeback we should be good. 

[JD-TWINS]

13 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Count me in among those that were optimistic about the 2025 Twins. Not sure where I stand right now? Performance is not matching the talent level, especially on offense. What is their identity? Who can they turn to to pick them up and lead them out of this prolonged slump?

Wallner & Lewis & now Keaschall are all talented guys that haven’t been able to be in the field……greatly missed!!

Bader 3-5 …… Correa 2-5 ……. Buxton 2-5 ……. France 3-5 ……. today, the remaining talent did OK or better, still can’t score.

[Patzky]

5 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Wallner & Lewis & now Keaschall are all talented guys that haven’t been able to be in the field……greatly missed!!

Bader 3-5 …… Correa 2-5 ……. Buxton 2-5 ……. France 3-5 ……. today, the remaining talent did OK or better, still can’t score.

There are always holes in the lineup at inopportune times. Today Larnach has a gaping donut but Lee and Buxton came up short at key times too. Amy time you start off with Kody Clemens it's not going to be a great day.

[JD-TWINS]

1 minute ago, Patzky said:

There are always holes in the lineup at inopportune times. Today Larnach has a gaping donut but Lee and Buxton came up short at key times too. Amy time you start off with Kody Clemens it's not going to be a great day.

Embarrassing he’s in the roster!

[NYCTK]

33 minutes ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

Buxton gets on base to lead off the 9th and watches at least four pitches go by without moving, and then Larnach grounds into a double play.  He needs to be on second base after one pitch.  And then third base after two pitches.  So what if Herrin is a lefty.  That’s his job—he has to steal.

Consider me one of the many that are completely unimpressed by the fact that Buxton has the highest stolen base percentage for this very reason. He's a good baserunner, but how he's never been a SB threat in his career is wild. 

[thelanges5]

3-21 with the bases loaded but we are 15th with RISP. So many fun stats out there 🤮

[Doc Lenz]

SWR needs to head to the bullpen. Will be a good long reliever or mop up man.

[JD-TWINS]

23 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

I just need to know when I'm supposed to touch grass about Baldelli. I guess they can't play the White Sox and Angels every series.

Kidding, kidding. This team just doesn't have it. It's okay. Part of it is roster construction, part of it is terrible injury luck and part of it - I'm still convinced - is lack of preparation and motivation from the manager.

It's just May. But it's so, so much closer to "over" than it should be.

Wallner - best statistical hitter out.

Correa - former #1 overall and offensively absent until last half dozen games

Lewis - former #1 overall and hasn’t played an inning

Keaschall - bright spot played a total of 5 games plus one AB

Castro - nothing special at all from him prior to injury

Get some average production from these guys and Team is above .500 w/o a problem.

Clemons - Gasper - Kiersey………..these guys displaced by the injured guys and there’s instant respectability, IMO.

[JD-TWINS]

6 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Consider me one of the many that are completely unimpressed by the fact that Buxton has the highest stolen base percentage for this very reason. He's a good baserunner, but how he's never been a SB threat in his career is wild. 

Have you missed the perpetual injuries he’s had…….hip - knee - hip - knee - knee - etc. - etc……… it’s not that wild.

[Rhyno006]

 Booo this team. 

[Patzky]

17 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Embarrassing he’s in the roster!

He is likely the first to go when either Willi or Royce is activated. 

[NYCTK]

25 minutes ago, Hubie29 said:

Performance IS matching the talent level. That's why most Twins fans were disappointed in the offseason. This team has minimal talent at best. But I keep reading about how much talent we have. Where is it?

Yeah, how so many fans deluded themselves into thinking this team was a quasi contender. This team never had any positional depth. Even if the roster was fully healthy, they're still rostering, and therefore playing, the likes of Keirsey and Gasper and regularly starting replacement level players like Julien, Miranda, Larnach, and France. 

How the projections didn't see that massive lack of depth and get to 77-78 wins is a puzzle. 

[IndianaTwin]

30 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

Don’t forget, the twins almost didn’t even score in the 10th after a baserunning blunder on one of the rare times they got a hit wit RISP 

Once the twins incomprehensibly ran the contact play with slow runner ty France, with nobody out and runners at second and third in the second inning and ran into an out, I knew what kind of day it was going to be.

@Aggies7, not picking on you, though between the Game Thread and this, I think this is the third post of yours that I've quoted in the last hour or so. You've just initiated some thought-provoking stuff. Take it as compliment, not stalking. I meant to ask the following in the game thread and you reminded me of it.

I was following the radio broadcast and they commented about Lee not advancing to third on the play where France got thrown out at home. To me, that sounds like one of the two missing a sign. Did the TV guys have any commentary on that? 

They've usually run the contact play, but given the nature of who the two runners were and that Lee didn't advance, is there any likelihood they didn't have it on and France either missed a sign or went on his own? It's also plausible that the (almost) rookie either missed the sign or wasn't watching the runner in front of him. Flip side is that they have Clemens and Vazquez coming up, so maybe France has a better chance of scoring than those two do of getting a hit. Was it even close at home?

Any clues from the broadcast?   

[Aggies7]

14 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

@Aggies7, not picking on you, though between the Game Thread and this, I think this is the third post of yours that I've quoted in the last hour or so. You've just initiated some thought-provoking stuff. Take it as compliment, not stalking. I meant to ask the following in the game thread and you reminded me of it.

I was following the radio broadcast and they commented about Lee not advancing to third on the play where France got thrown out at home. To me, that sounds like one of the two missing a sign. Did the TV guys have any commentary on that? 

They've usually run the contact play, but given the nature of who the two runners were and that Lee didn't advance, is there any likelihood they didn't have it on and France either missed a sign or went on his own? It's also plausible that the (almost) rookie either missed the sign or wasn't watching the runner in front of him. Flip side is that they have Clemens and Vazquez coming up, so maybe France has a better chance of scoring than those two do of getting a hit. Was it even close at home?

Any clues from the broadcast?   

Fair questions. The play was not close. And Lee literally did not move at second base, which, either way, was not good baserunning.

Clemens struck out on 3 pitches so I guess it’s pointless to criticize it. But I’d still like the chances of scoring with a runner still at third less than two outs, even if it’s a poor hitter. Certainly seem like a better chance of scoring than sending a slow runner with nobody out. Byron, maybe.

[IndianaTwin]

1 minute ago, Aggies7 said:

Fair questions. The play was not close. And Lee literally did not move at second base, which, either way, was not good baserunning.

Clemens struck out on 3 pitches so I guess it’s pointless to criticize it. But I’d still like the chances of scoring with a runner still at third less than two outs, even if it’s a poor hitter. Certainly seem like a better chance of scoring than sending a slow runner with nobody out. Byron, maybe.

Thanks. That’s helpful. 

[KirbyDome89]

13 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Yeah, how so many fans deluded themselves into thinking this team was a quasi contender. This team never had any positional depth. Even if the roster was fully healthy, they're still rostering, and therefore playing, the likes of Keirsey and Gasper and regularly starting replacement level players like Julien, Miranda, Larnach, and France. 

How the projections didn't see that massive lack of depth and get to 77-78 wins is a puzzle. 

Somebody has to win the ALC. You could realistically make the same quasi contender argument for all 4 of MN, Det, KC, and Cleveland. MN has pretty good SP, and it's been healthy (for the most part) the last few years. Add in Chicago being a lifeless punching back 13x, eh, I can see a mid 80s preseason projection. 

Agreed that the talent level is consistently overrated here. My hopes for the 2025 postseason rested primarily on the rest of the division crashing out a la 2023 rather than the Twins becoming something they aren't.