The Cleveland Guardians have been doing their best 2024 Detroit Tigers impression, going on a late-season heater to push themselves squarely into the playoff picture. The Guardians had just a 10% chance to make the playoffs on August 31. Now with an MLB-best 16 wins in September, combined with the Tigers tying the Twins for the second-fewest wins this month, the Guardians sit just one game out of the AL Central title and half a game out of the Wild Card before their head-to-head matchup on Tuesday
to decide the division.
In the meantime, the Twins were able to put a damper on Cleveland’s postseason hopes with a resilient win, avoiding a four game sweep. Simeon Woods Richardson took the mound and wasn’t quite as sharp as his last start against the Yankees. SWR allowed a homer to Steven Kwan to start the game and one more run came in later in the inning to put the Guardians up 2-0 in the first. That would, however, be the only runs Cleveland scratched across all afternoon.
The Guardians still hit the ball hard, but conveniently did it directly in the direction of Twins fielders more often than not. The offense, meanwhile, was a bit of a no-show for the first half of the game. The Twins’ first hit came off the bat of Byron Buxton, a bloop double into right field in the third inning, eventually scoring on a Kody Clemens RBI single.
The Twins had a chance in the fifth with the bases loaded and just one out, but Clemens and Austin Martin saw a total of five combined pitches and both popped out, a fitting metaphor for these Twins hitters in 2025. Luckily, Brooks Lee came up with a man on in the fifth and crushed his 16th homer of the season to put the Twins up 3-2.
Minnesota also had a two-out rally in the seventh. Clemens and Martin both reached base on infield hits to put two men on for pinch-hitter Royce Lewis, who decided to show us he still has a little magic left in the tank. His three-run dong gave a struggling Twins bullpen the breathing room they needed to close out the win and keep hope alive for the Detroit Tigers.
In a season full of disappointment and struggle, it’s nice to give fans a W on their final home game of the season.
STUDS
- Bullpen (Funderburk, Ohl, Sands, Adams): 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 K
- Royce Lewis: 1-1, 1 HR, 3 RBI
- Brooks Lee: 2-4, 1 HR, 2 RBI
DUDS
- No duds Twins win!!!
Two series to go before we shift into offseason mode. First up, the Rangers on Tuesday who are all but eliminated from postseason contention despite their own second half surge.
