Two days after the Twins looked like they were headed for trouble, they left Cleveland with something much better: a split and a little breathing room.
Minnesota beat the Guardians 3-1 in 12 innings at Progressive Field, getting a three-hitter from Taj Bradley and five relievers while Trevor Larnach and Luke Keaschall delivered the two-out RBI singles that finally broke the deadlock. The win left the Twins two games under .500 as they head home for six games against the Athletics and Kansas City Royals.
“On Tuesday night our world was crashing in, apparently, and now we’re all feeling good again,” reliever Taylor Rogers said. “This is the natural ebbs and flows of a baseball season.
As long as we collectively stay even-keel, that’s where we’re going to be. … We knew (Thursday) was a big win and those are nice to get, but nobody is over the moon right now, either.
I really think we’re a day-to-day team and that’s why it’s been so fun.”
The Twins had to survive plenty before they could celebrate. Cleveland’s Gavin Williams was dominant, and Minnesota also wasted chances in extra innings before its bullpen finally slammed the door.
The game was tied 1-1 after Alan Roden came through with a pinch-hit single off Guardians closer Cade Smith in the eighth. From there, the Twins’ relievers kept stacking zeroes.
Andrew Morris opened the late-inning run by retiring José Ramírez on a popout to end the eighth. Yoendrys Gómez worked around two two-out walks in the ninth by striking out Kyle Manzardo.
Tommy Nance threw a perfect 10th to keep an inherited runner from scoring. Rogers handled the 11th by getting through the middle of Cleveland’s order and stranding two.
Then Jack Anderson, promoted Tuesday after being claimed off waivers from Boston on July 11, navigated a replay challenge and left two more runners aboard to earn his first big-league save.
“Stressful,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “You don’t see extra-inning games where neither team scores for multiple innings.”
Offense was hard to find for both clubs, and Bradley and Williams made sure of that with seven strong innings apiece. Neither lineup ever looked settled.
The breakthrough finally came in the 12th. Larnach lined an 0-1 curveball from lefty Erik Sabrowski into left field, scoring Royce Lewis, who had been intentionally walked. Keaschall followed with another single, bringing home Larnach and giving Minnesota the cushion it needed.
“I have had some bad experiences here,” Larnach said. “It’s definitely one of my least favorite places to play and maybe that has something to do with it.
But there is a respect for them because they’re a gritty and grindy club. They never go away.
To not get walked off is amazing, but to come out with a win is even better.”
Bradley’s outing stood out as well. He attacked the zone, worked with stuff that was ticking above his season averages and leaned heavily on his four-seam fastball. He didn’t pile up the usual swings and misses, but he still controlled Cleveland for seven innings.
“It felt like he left off the gas for one pitch and it was the 95-mph fastball,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “Other than that, he was absolute nails.”
Patrick Bailey got to Bradley’s one real mistake, but that was all the Guardians managed. For the Twins, it was the kind of start that hints at a frontline arm capable of changing a short series.
Jeffers, meanwhile, continues to be managed carefully as he returns from a broken left hamate bone suffered in May. Since coming back on July 10, he has shown power at the plate, and his defense has been ahead of his bat. Shelton said the hand still won’t be fully healed for several more months, which means the Twins will keep monitoring his workload.
“There’s going to be days he feels good,” Shelton said. “There’s going to be days he feels bad.
It could be weather dependent. There’s so many factors that come into play.
But the aggressiveness of the swings we’ve seen him take, it doesn’t seem like it’s bothering him. … It’s just pure volume that we have to monitor.”
Victor Caratini’s right knee contusion complicates that plan. He fouled a pitch off the knee Wednesday night, and while X-rays were negative and the condition has improved, Shelton said Caratini is unlikely to catch until at least Saturday.
There was also a possible rotation opening on the horizon. Connor Prielipp felt good after a bullpen Thursday and could be in line to fill Saturday’s start against the Athletics. He had already come through a Triple-A rehab start on Sunday, and the Twins brought him to Cleveland so they could check his blister and keep tabs on his next bullpen.
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