Twins split a unique 'doubleheader' with Guardians on a rainy day at Target Field

Phil Miller, Star Tribune on May 21, 2025

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins managed only three hits in Wednesday’s second game against the Guardians, and lost at Target Field for the first time all month.

Ryan Jeffers singled home Willi Castro in the third inning, but the Twins could not muster another run, falling, 4-1, in the regularly scheduled finale of what was supposed to be a three-game series.

The loss broke the Twins’ 10-game home winning streak, their longest in Target Field’s 16-year history.

The teams completed a suspended game earlier in the day, and the Twins won, 6-5, after giving up a three-run lead in the ninth inning.

A steady drizzle fell throughout the 5 1/2 day at the ballpark.

In the second game Gavin Williams, who allowed four runs on seven hits when the teams met in Cleveland late last month, this time was in control all afternoon. Over six innings, Williams gave up two singles and a pair of walks, but struck out six.

Chris Paddack matched him for most of his start, played amid occasional rain showers, holding the Guardians scoreless through the first five innings despite giving up six hits. But Paddack lost that shutdown ability in the sixth, after José Ramírez led off the inning with a single. After a pop-up, Paddack walked Carlos Santana and Daniel Schneemann to load the bases.

He was removed in favor of Louie Varland, who immediately walked Gabriel Arias to force in the tying run. Nolan Jones followed with a sacrifice fly to deep center field, and the Guardians had all the runs they needed.

They did add one more, courtesy of a former Twin making his first trip back to Minnesota. Santana hit a Cole Sands fastball into the right-field seats, giving Cleveland an insurance run. Santana homered in both games, and now ranks 14th in Target Field history with 29 career home runs.

The suspended game ended with Kody Clemens providing a walk-off single in the ninth inning. The game started on Monday night, and the Tuesday resumption was rained out.

Clemens gave the Twins the fourth-inning lead with a liner that Jones turned into an RBI triple, then lined one past Angel Martínez in the ninth, leading the Twins to their 14th win in 15 games. Clemens was on the bench for Monday’s portion; the Twins were fortunate to use him in the conclusion. In four plate appearances, Clemens tripled, laid down a sacrifice bunt that set up an eighth-inning run, then contributed the third walk-off hit of his career in the ninth.

With one out in the ninth, Ty France was hit by a pitch from Guardians reliever Cade Smith. It was the seventh time France has been hit this season, tying him for the AL lead.

Jonah Bride, like Clemens a midseason emergency acquisition, then contributed his third hit of the game, a single that moved France to second base. After getting ahead 3-0, Clemens fouled off a fastball, then drilled the next one from Smith over Martínez’s glove for the game-winner.

The Twins only needed Clemens’ heroics because their starter-turned-reliever turned in a better “relief” appearance than the team’s actual closer.

Joe Ryan allowed three runs over five-plus innings, technically the first relief appearance of his major league career. He surrendered a solo home run to Santana two batters into his day, then shut down the Guardians on only one more hit, an infield single, until the ninth.

But a long eighth inning by the Twins — they sent seven batters to the plate, scoring one run on Harrison Bader’s single — might have affected Ryan in the ninth. José Ramirez led off the ninth with a double off the wall, and Ryan walked Kyle Manzado on four pitches. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli summoned closer Jhoan Duran to finish off the Guardians. But for the first time in a save situation all year, he couldn’t.

Duran got Santana to hit into a forceout, but Jones singled Ramirez home. After Arias struck out, Duran worked the count to 3-2 on Bo Naylor. But his next pitch was across the middle, and Naylor bashed it off the right-field wall, just inside the foul pole. Two runs scored, tying the game at 5-5.

All that just to set up Clemens’ latest heroics, which were much needed for the Twins: They improved to just 5-13 against the Central Division’s defending champs over the past two seasons. Clemens owns an OPS of over 1.000 and three home runs since joining the team about one month ago.

The Twins have Thursday off before opening a three-game series with the Royals on Friday.