Guardians 5, Twins 2: So Close to .500, Yet So Far Away

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K (74 pitches, 48 strikes (65% strikes))
Home Runs: Royce Lewis
Bottom 3 WPA: Kendry Rojas (-0.29), Trevor Larnach (-0.18), Alex Jackson (-0.15)
Win Probability Chart

The Twins entered Thursday afternoon's series finale against the Guardians with a chance to complete a three-game sweep and climb back to .500 for the first time since April 22. A victory also would have pulled Minnesota even with Cleveland in the AL Central standings.

Instead, the Guardians spoiled the opportunity. Despite a strong return from Bailey Ober and a brief fifth-inning rally, Cleveland used three home runs and a pair of late insurance runs to hand the Twins a 5-2 loss. Minnesota saw its four-game winning streak come to an end, but still walked away with a successful series after taking two of three from its division rival.

BAILEY OBER RETURNS WITH A STRONG FIVE INNINGS
Making his first start since May 30, Ober looked sharp from the opening pitch. The right-hander retired the Guardians in order in the first inning and needed just 15 pitches to navigate the frame. Outside of one mistake in the second, he consistently worked ahead in counts and generated plenty of weak contact. That lone mistake came against Gabriel Arias, who jumped on a first-pitch fastball and launched it into the bullpen for a solo homer, giving Cleveland an early 1-0 lead. Other than that swing, Ober was in complete control.

He struck out four batters over five innings while allowing just three hits and one walk, throwing 51 of his 74 pitches for strikes. Through four innings, he had needed only 51 pitches, and even after working around a two-on jam in the fifth, he exited having allowed just the lone run. With Ober making his first appearance since returning from the injured list, the Twins elected to lift him after five innings despite the modest pitch count. It was exactly the kind of outing Minnesota hoped to see from one of its key starters.

GAVIN WILLIAMS DOMINATES THE TWINS' OFFENSE
Unfortunately for the Twins, Cleveland starter Gavin Williams was just as impressive. Williams retired the first 12 Minnesota hitters he faced, striking out six over the first four innings while keeping the Twins completely off balance. Through four innings, Minnesota had yet to put a runner on base and had little answer for his upper-90s fastball and sharp breaking ball.

The perfect game finally disappeared in the fifth, when Royce Lewis dumped a two-strike bloop single into shallow right-center. That proved to be the spark the Twins desperately needed. Alan Roden followed with a walk, and then Williams plunked Luke Keaschall, suddenly loading the bases with one out. Tristan Gray came through, shooting a ground ball past Travis Bazzana at second base to score Lewis and tie the game at 1-1.

The Twins had a chance for much more. With the bases still loaded, Alex Jackson hit a ground ball that resulted in Roden being thrown out at the plate, and Trevor Larnach struck out to end the inning. Minnesota managed to erase the deficit, but leaving additional runs on the table would prove costly.

CLEVELAND RESPONDS IMMEDIATELY
The tie lasted less than one half-inning. Kendry Rojas, who had been recalled earlier in the day, entered in relief of Ober to begin the sixth. After recording the first out, Chase DeLauter turned on a fastball up in the zone and pulled it into the right-field seats for a go-ahead solo homer, putting the Guardians back in front 2-1.

An inning later, Cleveland created more separation. Rojas issued back-to-back one-out walks to Patrick Bailey and Steven Kwan before Rocchio lined a ball over Brooks Lee's head into left field. Both runners scored easily, stretching the Guardians' lead to three.

Lewis answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. The third baseman crushed a 2-0 sweeper into the seats for his ninth home run of the season, cutting the deficit to 4-2 and briefly giving the Twins some life. But Minnesota's offense was unable to build on the momentum, managing just one baserunner over the final two innings.

GO MAKES HIS MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT
Minnesota also received a memorable moment in the ninth inning when Woo-Suk Go made both his Twins and major league debut.

The outing began on a sour note as Patrick Bailey connected on a solo home run to push Cleveland's lead to 5-2. However, Go settled in nicely afterward, winning a 10-pitch battle against Steven Kwan for his first career major league strikeout before retiring Bazzana to end the inning. It wasn't the debut he'd envisioned, but finishing the inning with his first big-league strikeout gave the rookie something positive to build on.

Cade Smith then closed the door in the ninth, retiring the Twins in order to secure the victory for Cleveland. Minnesota's offense never found much consistency against Williams and the Guardians' bullpen, finishing with just four hits while striking out 13 times. Lewis accounted for half of those hits with a single and a solo homer, while Gray drove in the Twins' other run.

The loss prevented Minnesota from reaching .500 and drawing even with Cleveland in the division standings, but after winning the first two games of the series and extending its recent stretch of strong baseball, the Twins still leave the matchup with momentum as they head into their next series.

What’s Next?
The Twins continue their homestand tomorrow with the start of a three-game weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels. Zebby Matthews will take the mound for the good guys, and the Angels have not yet announced who he’ll be facing off against. First pitch is set for 7:10 PM.

Postgame Interviews
Coming Soon!

Bullpen Availability Chart