Guardians boost playoff hopes with 3-run ninth vs. Twins

Angel Martinez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, and the Cleveland Guardians scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to secure a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night in Minneapolis.

Brayan Rocchio finished 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs for Cleveland (75-73) in the opener of the three-game series. Travis Bazzana went 2-for-2 and scored twice for the Guardians, who hold a two-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays for the American League's third and final wild-card spot.

Royce Lewis and Kaelen Culpepper tallied one RBI apiece for Minnesota (69-78), which trails Cleveland by 5 1/2 games for the final AL wild-card spot.

Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis (4-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.

Twins reliever Yoendrys Gomez (2-3) gave up three runs on two hits in one-third of an inning.

Cade Smith earned his 36th save for the Guardians with a scoreless ninth.

The score was 2-all when Cleveland broke through in the ninth. Bazzana walked, moved to third on Martinez's double scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Gomez. Rocchio increased the lead to 5-2 moments later with a two-run double to center.

The Twins opened the scoring in the second. Kody Clemens hit a one-out single to center, and Lewis delivered in the next at-bat with an RBI double to left.

The sequence marked Lewis' 52nd RBI of the season, matching a career high that he set in 2023 and equaled in 2025.

Twins starter Taj Bradley delivered a strong performance with six scoreless innings, but the Guardians wasted no time taking advantage of the bullpen in the top of the seventh.

Bazzana led off the inning with a hard-hit single to center. Martinez stepped to the plate two batters later, swung at a low first-pitch fastball and crushed a two-run homer 445 feet over the wall in left-center field.

The monster blast gave the Guardians a 2-1 lead and marked the 15th home run of the season for Martinez.

Minnesota evened the score in the bottom of the seventh. Culpepper lifted a two-out single just above a leaping Jose Ramirez at third base, and Austin Martin sprinted from second base to score with a headfirst slide.

--Field Level Media

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This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 8:27 PM.