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CLEVELAND — By the end of the fifth inning, Bailey Ober had given up only a two-out walk and a harmless double to the Cleveland Guardians, putting up five straight zeros on the scoreboard.
And he was the less effective starter in the game.
But Guardians rookie Peyton Battenfield, who retired the first 17 Twins he faced with alarming ease, finally was less than perfect in the sixth inning, and the Twins took advantage of the brief opportunity to earn a 2-0 victory at Progressive Field.
Minnesota managed only three hits all night, the first time since 2019 the Twins won a game with so little offense. And they likely felt lucky to get that much against Battenfield, who doesn’t throw hard, but features a cutter that produces little but soft contact.
With two outs in the sixth, Christian Vázquez lined a first-pitch fastball into left field to break up the rookie’s perfect game, triggering an appreciative ovation from the 17,849 at Progressive Field. Perhaps the mistake rattled Battenfield, because he immediately threw a wild pitch that moved Vázquez to second base — then made a far bigger mistake.
After building a 3-2 count to Max Kepler by working the edges of the plate, Battenfield left his next cutter right in the center of the strike zone. Kepler’s swing drove it a dozen rows into the right-field seats, a place where Kepler has deposited several baseballs during his career.
In fact, the home run moved the Twins’ right fielder into a tie for fifth-most homers by a visiting player in Progressive Field’s 30-year history.
It turned out to be the only run-producing moment of the night, in part because of the strong pitching, particularly by Ober, who finished with seven shutout innings — but also because of baserunning mistakes by both teams.
The Guardians’ best chance to score against Ober, whose ERA after three major-league starts this year dropped to 0.98, came in his final inning, when José Ramirez led off with a line drive that glanced off of Carlos Correa’s glove as he leapt for it. After a fly out, Ramirez moved to second base on a grounder that Ober fielded.
Then came Oscar Gonzalez, who hit a high chopper to Ober’s right. The 6-foot-9 pitcher reached high to field it, but his throw to first base pulled Donovan Solano off the bag.
Ramirez, however, rounded third and never stopped. Solano fired the ball to Vázquez, who applied the inning-ending tag.
The Twins’ attempt to pad their lead against Guardians reliever Enyel De Los Santos didn’t go much better. Solano drew a leadoff walk, and was replaced by pinch-runner Michael A. Taylor, who immediately stole second base and took third when Cleveland catcher Mike Zunino allowed the pitch to get past him.
But with a runner on third and nobody out, the Twins couldn’t get Taylor home. He held third when Nick Gordon’s fly to left field wasn’t deep enough. And when Jose Miranda hit a chopper toward shortstop, Taylor took off for the plate without realizing that third baseman Ramirez would reach the ball and get it to Zunino. Taylor was caught in a rundown, and the threat was over.
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