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CLEVELAND – For the second night in a row, the Twins eked out a bare minimum of offense, then watched a dramatic eighth-inning home run provide the game-winning cushion.
Instead of Griffin Jax surrendering the big blast, this time it was Cleveland righthander Nick Sandlin who left a belt-high fastball over the middle of the plate to Willi Castro. The ball landed five rows deep in the right-field seats, and the Twins won in the offensive desert known as Progressive Field for the first time this season, 4-1 over the Guardians.
And for Jax? This time, he saved the game, even getting the final out by himself when, with the bases loaded and the crowd of 17,391 roaring, Bo Naylor chopped a high bouncer up the first base line.
“I was just ready to get the ball and get the game over with,” Jax said after he fielded the ball and kept on running to first base. “I didn’t want to leave it up to chance.”
By now, the Twins know the drill when playing the Guardians, especially in Cleveland. They have met 11 times this year, and the Twins have scored a mere 32 runs in those games, more than four only once.
The solution? No choice but to make do with less.
“Everyone’s going to have to elevate their play at this point to get where we want to be. We still control everything. We still control our own destiny,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “To be at this point of the year, having struggled a little over the last month, and still be able to say ‘Hey, if we go out there and play well from here on out, we’re going to be pretty pleased with where we’re sitting at the end of the season.’ We just have to prove it.”
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