​The Minnesota Twins aimed to sweep the Cleveland Guardians out of Minneapolis today, a bid that would lift them into a share of second place in the American League Central, return them to the .500 mark for the first time since mid-April, and extend their winning streak to five games. The early portion of the game was quiet, with the lone blemish coming from a solo homer by Guardians third baseman Gabriel Arias off Bailey Ober, who had just come off the injured list. That was the only run Ober allowed in five solid innings, as he yielded two additional hits, a walk, and five strikeouts. Derek Shelton pulled Ober after 74 pitches.
On the other side, Guardians starter Gavin Williams carried a perfect game into the fifth inning before encountering trouble. With one out in the frame, Royce Lewis singled, Alan Roden walked, and Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Tristan Gray. Gray, who has been slumping recently, laced a single through the infield to drive in a run and tie the game at one. Minnesota couldn’t do more damage, as Alex Jackson grounded into a fielder’s choice at home and Trevor Larnach struck out to end the threat.
Ober was relieved by left-hander Kendrys Rojas, who was summoned to fill the roster spot created by Connor Prielipp landing on the injured list with a finger blister. Rojas’ two innings did not help the cause for Minnesota; the Twins have a peculiar 2026 bullpen habit of surrendering the tie or a lead in these later frames. In the top of the sixth, Chase DeLauter connected for a homer to right field, and in the seventh, Rojas walked the eighth and ninth hitters, setting the stage for trouble. Brayan Rocchio capitalized on the moment with a double to left, scoring two, and Cleveland moved in front 4-1.
Lucas Lewis gave Minnesota faint hope by hitting a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, but Williams shut down the Twins the rest of the way, allowing only three hits, two runs, a walk, and 11 strikeouts across his outing. After Rojas, Kody Funderburk hurled a scoreless eighth, and Woo-Sok Go made his major-league debut in the ninth, surrendering a Patrick Bailey moonshot and recording his first big-league strikeout in the same frame, closing the gap to 5-2.
Cleveland turned to Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith to close things out, and they delivered, preserving a 5-2 Guardians victory. Minnesota remains two games behind both the second-place Guardians and the .500 mark, while their streak of wins ends here. It was a disappointing day for a team that had hoped to push up in the standings, but the loss left the Twins with more work to do as they continue their chase.
Key players and notes:
– Royce Lewis went 2-4 with two runs and an RBI, while also fanning twice.
– Ober pitched five innings of three-hit ball with an earned run, a walk, and five strikeouts, an encouraging performance given his return from the IL.
– Gavin Williams carved into the Twins’ lineup, delivering a strong start before the late-inning twists.
– Kendrys Rojas’ two innings on the mound did not go as hoped, contributing to the Guardians’ lead.
– Brayan Rocchio provided the decisive hit for Cleveland, driving in two with a double in the seventh.
Bottom line: the Twins fell 5-2 to the Guardians, snapping Minnesota’s five-game run and keeping them two games back of both the division-leading Guardians and the .500 threshold. The result stung, but the series will continue as Minnesota looks to rebound and climb back toward contention.