Austin Hedges and Petey Halpin hit sacrifice flies in the sixth inning as the Cleveland Guardians used small ball to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Tuesday for a third straight victory.
The Guardians' win marked their third consecutive victory, a testament to their growing momentum in the league. Cleveland starter Parker Messick allowed two runs – one earned – on four hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out six and not walking a single batter before leaving with a runner on second.
Colin Holderman got the final out in the inning to qualify for the win, while Hunter Gaddis pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings before Cade Smith closed it out in the ninth for his 29th save – tops in the majors.
Ryan Jeffers hit his ninth homer, a two-out shot off Messick in the first for a 1-0 lead. However, the Guardians tied the game in the third after Austin Hedges walked leading off the inning and scored on a double by Steven Kwan.
Mike Paredes replaced Kendry Rojas and surrendered an RBI single to Brayan Rocchio to put Cleveland up 2-1. Josh Bell doubled and scored when Messick mishandled a comebacker from Royce Lewis to tie it 2-all in the fourth.
The game turned in favor of the Guardians in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases and Paredes yielded a go-ahead sac fly to Hedges. Taylor Rogers entered and surrendered a sac fly to Halpin after Travis Bazzana and Arias pulled off a double steal for a 4-2 lead.
Rogers also gave up a two-out RBI single to Bazzana in the seventh. The Twins' struggles continued as they have now lost four straight games.
The Guardians will look to continue their winning streak as they face the Twins again on Wednesday. Twins RHP Bailey Ober (7-3, 4.32) will start opposite Guardians RHP Slade Cecconi (4-6, 4.55) in a matchup that could be crucial for both teams' playoff hopes.
Source: Yahoo Sports