Twins 5, Guardians 4: Wait, the Twins Are Allowed to Win Series in Cleveland?

Box Score:
Bulk Pitcher: Kendry Rojas: 3 1/3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K (60 Pitches, 34 Strikes, 56.6%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Kody Clemens (0.23), Brooks Lee (0.18), Anthony Banda (0.11)
Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant):

Well, the Twins won a close game in extra innings in Cleveland yesterday. That, alone, was a revelation, given the past four or five years of results. It also gave them a chance to take a series at Progressive Field for the first time since the 1990s (or so it's felt).

The starter would be Andrew Morris, but the bulk assignment fell on rookie Kendry Rojas. Morris, for his part, pitched an easy six-pitch scoreless first, with Rojas coming in to face the lefty-heavy Guardians lineup to start the second. Rojas has trouble throwing strikes, and that trend continued today, but he did show some reasons for optimism, including a nice changeup to strike out Angel Martínez in the second. His slider was sliding, and his sinker has some pop to it, so he has the makings of an effective major-league pitcher, but can he deliver on that promise in his rookie year?

The Twins lineup had to deal with big Gavin Williams, who has built upon his 2025 breakout. Hes always looked the part of a big-time prospect, but injuries and some poor luck delayed his takeoff for a couple of years. Last year', he was able to make 31 starts, and while he led the league in walks, he was extremely hard to hit, posting a 129 OPS+ with a .211 batting average against.

His heavy sinker/four-seam combo kept the Twins off-balance early, but Kody Clemens dunked a ball down the third-base line in the second for a Guardians Double™ and scored on a wild pitch for the game's first run. Ryan Jeffers scalded a ball through the middle that ended up getting all the way to the warning track for a leadoff double. Unfortunately, the Twins now employ Cold Josh Bell™ (not to be confused with the legendary Cool Papa Bell), who struck out in his sixth straight plate appearance to derail that potential rally.

Meanwhile, Rojas gave up three singles and a walk in the third, but managed to give up just a single run on a José Ramírez tapper up the middle. He was wobbly with his command, but showed some composure pitching in a tough environment, including striking out All-Star Steven Kwan with two men on to end the third. It was probably the worst swing I've seen Kwan take.

The fifth inning was the pivot point. Clemens led off with a more legitimate double, to the gap in right-center field at 105 MPH. Brooks Lee singled to bring home Clemens, and Royce Lewis showed some life by roping a double down the left-field line. Byron Buxton legged out a tapper to third base, and Bell broke out of his slump with a single up the middle to make the score 4-1. Austin Martin then continued his hot streak by staying with a fastball and flipping it to the opposite field to make it a four-run lead. 

Travis Adams took over for Rojas with one out in the fifth and got the second out pretty quickly. But he walked Kyle Manzardo, fell behind hitters, and allowed two more hits and a walk before striking out new catcher acquisition Patrick Bailey (who looked rough in his Guardians debut) with the bases full. Those bad Giants vibes will follow you, I guess.

Adams allowed another run in the sixth, but got Ramírez to pop out as the tying run before giving way to Anthony Banda, who was able to retire pinch-hitter Rhys Hoskins on a fly ball.

There was some Guardians Ball in the eighth, with David Fry singling and Bryan Rocchio dumping a broken-bat single into center off of righty Luis García. Kwan then bunted them over (on a 3-1 count, ouch) before Chase DeLauter grounded out to trim the lead to one. García was able to get Hoskins to ground out to preserve the lead.

Clemens led off the ninth inning with an opposite-field single, and was bunted to second by Lee (somewhat surprisingly). Clemens then stole third, but was left stranded with Lewis striking out and pinch-hitter Victor Caratini flying out to deep right field.

Yoendrys Gómez got the ninth, which speaks to some level of concern for Justin Topa, who hasn't pitched since Wednesday. Gómez, who has not had any sustained major-league success, threw strikes and looked good, working a 1-2-3 inning to secure the victory.

Things I'm Tracking:

-Brooks Lee looks like he may truly be part of the solution, delivering a couple hits with runners in scoring position. He even stole a base, despite looking like he was pumping his legs through molasses.

-Travis Adams made his debut and threw some good changeups, but was largely ineffective in allowing four hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings.

-Jeffers is setting himself up for a big payday this offseason, with his OPS now over .900 and having built a reputation as an elite ABS challenger.

-The Guardians may have found yet another demon in their relief corps, with Franco Aleman making his debut and pumping 99 MPH with deception. He allowed two singles but also went two scoreless in relief of Williams.

-The Twins' bullpen hierarchy is a mess, with two recent waiver claims taking the eighth and ninth innings protecting a slim lead. The options Derek Shelton has late in games are pretty brutal right now.

What’s Next: The Miami Marlins are in town, with electric young righty Eury Perez (2-4, 5.01 ERA) taking the mound against Bailey Ober (3-2, 4.19 ERA). It might be one of the tallest combined pitching matchups ever, with Perez standing 6'8", an inch shorter than Ober. The Marlins are league average on both sides of the ball in contrast to their recent past of being dependent on dominant pitching to sustain a nothing offense. They also are feisty, leading baseball in steals, so it will be an interesting test for the Twins at home.
Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart: