The Twins edged the Guardians 4:3 in an MLB regular-season match on Friday evening at Target Field. It was a tight affair that settled late, and by then the visitors had already taken an early lead that would not last.
The Guardians struck first, taking a 2:0 advantage before Minnesota responded with three unanswered runs to turn the game around. And here's the thing — the visitors never really looked comfortable after the third inning, even when they clawed back one run in the eighth to keep things breathing space.
I had given the away side the edge at 68 per cent confidence, but the match refused to follow that script. The Twins had been inconsistent — four losses in their last five — yet they did not travel to make up the numbers. They came to play, and in the ninth they pushed across the decisive run.
Things came to a head in the final frames. The Guardians had the chance to level, but a routine ground ball to short stopped their momentum. The old head of the Twins' lineup settled them down when it mattered, and the home end never stopped once the winner landed.
The result moves Minnesota off the bottom of their divisional standings, while the Guardians drop further from contention. Both teams have been scoring freely and conceding freely this month — the Twins have been involved in six games with over ten runs between them in their last five outings.