CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Twins 4-1 win over the Guardians marked Minnesota’s first victory at Progressive Field in 378 days. The Guardians are still 4-1 at home this season against the Twins, and they’re 8-3 against Minnesota this year.
Twins outfielder Matt Wallner snapped an 0-for-17 skid with a two-out, RBI single in the third inning to put Minnesota on the board. Wallner hit another RBI single to right field with two outs to score Byron Buxton in the fifth inning.
Those were the only two runs allowed by Guardians starter Gavin Williams. He pitched five innings, allowed two walks, and struck out seven batters on 89 pitches.
“I was putting the ball really where I wanted to,” Williams said. “I just had a few bad pitches here and there that they hit.”
Williams suffered his first career loss to the Minnesota Twins. He falls to 3-10 on the season and hasn’t been credited with a win at Progressive Field since September 17th, 2023 (exactly one year ago).
“I thought Gavin threw the ball pretty well,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “He looked a lot smoother. He was in the zone a lot more. I couldn’t have been more thrilled with the way he bounced back from his last two [starts].”
Another outing by Williams, another poor showing by Cleveland’s offense that produced only one run. Williams has received 17 total runs of support across his 15 starts in 2024. His 2.81 run support average per nine innings is the lowest in baseball this season.
The lone run of support in Williams’ 15th start of the year came courtesy of Lane Thomas. He smashed his 13th homer of the season 424 feet to center field in the fourth inning. Thomas leads Cleveland with a .317 average, five home runs, and 16 RBI in September.
The only other extra-base hit by the Guardians came in the ninth inning on a leadoff double by Jose Ramirez. He’s now tallied a hit in eight straight games he’s played on his birthday, as the six-time All-Star turned 32 years old on Tuesday.
Cleveland threatened in the ninth inning by loading the bases with two outs. Bo Naylor grounded out to the pitcher to end the game.
Minnesota added two runs of insurance to their 2-1 lead in the eighth inning. With two outs, Willi Castro hit a two-run homer to right field on a fastball delivered by Nick Sandlin.
“It’s frustrating no matter how they score,” Vogt said about all four Minnesota runs coming with two outs. “We’ve done that to a lot of teams and it can happen. At the end of the day, this is a loss and we’ll get ready to go tomorrow.”
Myles Straw made his first appearance with the Guardians this season as a pinch runner in the seventh inning. Straw was called up from Triple-A Columbus hours before first pitch after All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan landed on the injured list.
Straw wasn’t on the field very long in his Guardians season debut, as he was picked off at first base. He was caught stealing only once at Triple-A Columbus this season in 31 attempts.
“I talked with Chris and some of the guys about my role,” Straw said. “Baseruning and playing defense late and unfortunately that happened tonight. That’s just part of being aggressive. I’ve had those talks and hopefully it’s the last time that happens.”
The Guardians and Twins play game three of their four-game series on Wednesday. Tanner Bibee (11-8, 3.60 ERA) will lead the way for the Guardians. Bibee’s 2-0 in six career appearances against the Twins. Bailey Ober (12-7, 3.90) will pitch for Minnesota.
