​Joey Cantillo matched up against the Minnesota Twins’ lineup and, for a brief stretch, faced the Cleveland Guardians’ defense during his start today. Cantillo worked five innings, surrendering two unearned runs on six hits and three walks while punching out seven batters. After pitching around a single and a walk in the bottom of the second, Cantillo faced the 6-7-8 hitters to begin the frame. The inning quickly spiraled as the Guardians loaded the bases with a fielding error, a fielder’s choice, and a single before they could record an out. The first hitter, down 0-2, smoked a ball directly to Travis Bazzana between first and second. Bazzana mishandled the ball, allowing Kody Clemens to reach first base. The second batter reached when Brayan Rocchio mishandled a throw to Bazzana, and it didn’t reach the second baseman in time for an out. The third hitter, stationed off of first base, hit to Kyle Manzardo, who constrained himself to a throw to second due to the detoured runner; Cantillo couldn’t reach first in time to complete the out at first, leaving the bases loaded. The very next batter popped a foul ball behind first base. Manzardo appeared to catch it, but he tripped over the covering Bazzana and dropped the ball in foul territory. In the end, the Twins pushed across two runs in the second inning, culminating in Cantillo taking the loss in a bizarre sequence. Cantillo fell to 7-4 on the year.
Franco Aleman stepped in during the sixth, delivering a scoreless frame while permitting only a single hit. Eric Sabrowski followed with the seventh, allowing two hits and an earned run. A leadoff single and a two-out triple produced the insurance run for Minnesota, with the triple occurring on a rare misplay by Steven Kwan. Kwan got a glove on the ball and likely would have made another Gold Glove catch, but it caromed off his glove and caromed away from him at the warning track, allowing Josh Bell to score from first. Matt Festa closed the eighth, permitting just a single hit in a scoreless inning.
On the Guardians’ side, Rhys Hoskins carried the offense, belting a solo home run in the first inning for Cleveland’s lone run of the game. The contest also featured a controversial moment in the ninth, when Gabriel Arias was pinch-hit for Kyle Manzardo with a runner on and two outs in a bid to spark another rally—a strategic move that drew attention for its timing and potential impact on the lineup and late-game opportunities.
Overall, Cantillo faced a tough run of play in the second inning, and despite a solid five-inning effort, he took the loss as Cleveland’s offense was stymied for most of the game beyond Hoskins’s early solo shot. The Guardians will look to rebound as they wrap up the series, while Cantillo and the bullpen will aim to tighten ownership of late-inning pressure scenarios going forward.