The Cleveland Guardians fell to the Minnesota Twins on the road on Thursday night by a final score of 7-6 to begin the four-game road series.
For Cleveland (25-31), outfielder Will Brennan got the Guardians on the board in the 2nd inning with an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead. The 6th inning was a big one for Cleveland for scoring five runs, beginning with an RBI single by third baseman Jose Ramirez to cut the Minnesota lead to 3-2. That same inning, second baseman Andres Gimenez grounded out to score a run and tie the game at 3-3. Cleveland took a 4-3 lead when designated hitter Josh Bell hit an RBI single, then extended the lead to 6-3 when catcher Mike Zunino hit a two-run single in the 6th inning.
Starting pitcher Tanner Bibee went 5.0 innings, struck out six batters and allowed six hits and a walk for three earned runs. Relief pitcher Eli Morgan suffered his first loss of the season for going 0.1 inning in the 9th and allowing a hit and two walks for an earned run that was the game-winning run for Minnesota.
For Minnesota (30-27), outfielder Max Kepler hit an RBI single in the 4th inning to tie the game at 1-1. Later in the 5th inning, outfielder Michael Taylor hit a solo homerun and first baseman Alex Kirilloff hit an RBI single to give Minnesota a 3-1 lead. After Cleveland took a 6-3 lead, pinch hitter Donovan Solano hit an RBI double and third baseman Royce Lewis hit a two-run homerun in the 8th inning to tie the game at 6-6. The following 9th inning and with the bases loaded, outfielder Willi Castro hit a walk-off sacrifice fly to win the game for Minnesota 7-6.
Starting pitcher Pablo Lopez went 5.2 innings, struck out five batters and allowed eight hits and a walk for six earned runs. Relief pitcher Griffin Jax got his third win of the season for not allowing a hit in the 9th inning and striking out a batter.
The Guardians will continue their road series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday, June 2nd, with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m.