CLEVELAND — After a month of miserable baseball, the objects in the Twins’ mirror are both huge and accurately proportioned.
The Twins not only let an important, winnable game slip away Monday night, but they also saw their advantage in the American League wild-card race shrink again. Pablo López lost the momentum late, Griffin Jax faltered in a key spot after earlier succeeding in an improbable one and the Cleveland Guardians took advantage of an offense that stalled out, rallying for a 4-3 victory over the Twins at Progressive Field.
Losers in 18 of 27 contests, the Twins’ lead over Detroit and Seattle dwindled after they again experienced a type of loss that is becoming all too common, one in which players and staffers are left dazed.
After stranding 10 base runners and blowing a 3-0 advantage, the Twins only lead Detroit, which rallied from a four-run deficit to beat Kansas City, by 1 1/2 games. Their advantage over Seattle slipped to two games.
“Our margin of error keeps shrinking and shrinking,” López said. “Now, it’s to the point where you’ve got to take it one day at a time, one pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time. (Monday) will be a tough pill to swallow.”
With three rookies in their starting rotation, the Twins understand the importance of winning games started by López and Bailey Ober. Following Joe Ryan’s injury nearly six weeks ago, López and Ober are the team’s only stable forces in a group of five that features three talented youngsters who’ve never pitched more than they have this season, and, as expected, are struggling down the stretch.
When Byron Buxton hit a two-out, two-run single in the third inning to extend the lead to three runs, the Twins found themselves in an optimal position. Not only did their offense get into Cleveland’s bullpen before the third inning was complete, López was in control.
Working with a three-run lead, López retired eight in a row starting in the second inning, giving the Twins ample opportunities to pull away. But after stranding five runners, the Twins weren’t up to the task against the Guardians bullpen.
Pedro Avila retired Carlos Santana and Royce Lewis with two on in the fourth inning to prevent the Twins from extending their lead. After surrendering a two-out infield single to Santana that loaded the bases, Eli Morgan got Lewis to fly out to right to end the sixth inning.
Cleveland relievers retired the last 10 batters they faced.
“We have to do more than that,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We extend that lead, we’re very likely not having this conversation.”
Despite sitting around forever while the Twins worked long plate appearances, López worked efficiently. He worked around two singles in the opening inning and another in the second, but set down the side in order in the next two innings.
Cleveland finally broke through against López in the fifth inning with a two-out rally. López hit Brayan Rocchio and Angel Martínez doubled. Andrés Giménez followed with an infield chopper that Lewis misplayed, allowing a run to score. But Martínez overran third on the play to end the inning.
Two innings later, López struggled and Cleveland pounced. López issued a pair of walks around a bloop single to load the bases with no outs. Though he struck out Daniel Schneemann, Martínez followed with an RBI single to make it a 3-2 game. Baldelli called on Jax, who struck out Giménez and escaped the jam by getting José Ramírez to ground out.
López allowed two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings.
But Jax wasn’t as effective when he pitched in the eighth. Josh Naylor doubled and one out later, Kyle Manzardo ripped a first-pitch fastball for a two-run homer to put Cleveland in front.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking,” Jax said. “To come out there in a big spot in the bottom of the seventh and help out Pablo, I was happy to do that for him. … We’re kind of running on fumes as a staff. There’s not a whole lot of options other than me to get back out there. So I’m going to do whatever the manager asks me to do.”
With a dozen games left on the schedule, a team that’s won its division three times in five seasons knows exactly what it must do to reach the postseason again.
Carlos Correa reacts after hitting a double against the Guardians. Correa remains positive about the Twins’ postseason chances: “I feel like we’re in a good spot, and we’ve just got to go out there and perform.” (Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)
Buxton and Carlos Correa returned over the weekend to try and boost a lineup that continues to struggle.
Since the Twins improved to 70-53 on Aug. 17, the offense was averaging 3.8 runs per contest entering Monday’s series opener. Much improved but still needing to build his strength after missing more than two months with right plantar fasciitis, Correa said before the game the Twins have plenty of time to turn around their fortunes.
“We’ve got to find a way to turn it up quick, turn it up fast, and just these two weeks, make it worth our while,” Correa said. “We still have a chance to do special things. I feel like we’re in a good spot, and we’ve just got to go out there and perform.”
And just like that, the @CleGuardians are in the lead!
Kyle Manzardo jumps on the first pitch he sees in the eighth inning and smashes a go-ahead two-run home run to right field to give the Guardians a 4-3 lead over the Twins.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/qIQHdvHFXb
— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) September 17, 2024
Though they couldn’t pull away, the Twins offense put on a good showing early against Cleveland starter Matthew Boyd. The Twins fouled off pitch after pitch and ran up Boyd’s pitch count, knocking him out after 2 2/3 innings.
But Boyd and the five relievers who followed him made big pitches when it counted all night. The Twins’ inability to stretch the lead left them vulnerable to an outcome they’ve experienced far too often over the past month.
Beginning with a five-run outburst by the Texas Rangers on Aug. 18 against Jorge Alcala, the Twins bullpen started to falter in key spots. Earlier this month in Kansas City, Jax and Jhoan Duran were dinked and dunked into a loss after Ober produced seven outstanding innings.
The constant losses are allowing the Tigers and Mariners to find their way back into contention.
“We have to extend the lead,” Baldelli said. “If we’re able to do what we need to do on the offensive end, we win. … We don’t get the win and no one’s happy here.”
Twins claim Irvin, demote Alcala
Before Monday’s game, the Twins claimed left-handed pitcher Cole Irvin off waivers from Baltimore. The team is expected to option Alcala on Tuesday to make space for Irvin, whose role with the team is to be determined.
Of Irvin’s 130 major-league appearances, 93 have come as a starting pitcher. But Irvin hasn’t started a game since Aug. 27 and the Twins still need to figure out how built up his arm strength is before they figure out which role they’ll use him in once he joins the team.
Irvin went 6-5 with a 4.86 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 107 1/3 innings this season.
Alcala’s demotion is a bit of a surprise given the role he’s handled for the Twins this season. Alcala carried a 1.56 ERA into the All-Star break but has struggled since. Dating to Aug. 4, he has an 8.22 ERA in 15 1/3 innings.
(Top photo of Royce Lewis misplaying an infield chopper that allowed a run to score: Ken Blaze / Imagn Images)
