After rain delay, Twins walked off by Guardians again in series finale

Progressive Field continues to be a house of horrors for the Minnesota Twins.

The Guardians' Angel Martinez delivered another gut punch with a walk-off single off of Justin Topa in the tenth inning of Thursday's series finale, driving in Jose Ramirez and sending the Twins home disappointed once again. The Twins are now 2-9 in Cleveland since the start of last season, with five of those losses coming in walk-off fashion (and two others coming by a single run). It's their tenth walk-off loss at this ballpark in the last five seasons.

The victory secured a 3-1 series win for the Guardians (18-13). The Twins won the opener 11-1 on Monday, then lost the next three games by a combined four runs, including a pair of one-run, walk-off defeats. They desperately needed to at least salvage a series split. Instead, they're 13-19 on the season as they head to Boston for a three-game weekend series against the Red Sox.

A game that began at 12:10 p.m. central didn't finish until 5:48. There was a quick 17-minute rain delay in the seventh inning, followed by a two-hour, six-minute delay in the eighth. Eventually, the teams were able to finish the game. And predictably, it ended in more heartbreak for Minnesota.

The Twins out-hit the Guardians 13 to 6, but it wasn't enough. They were 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base, stranding the bases loaded on two different occasions. One of those came after the second rain delay ended, when Carlos Correa popped out with three runners on to end the top of the eighth inning.

Minnesota closer Jhoan Duran managed to escape a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the bottom of the ninth with a pair of strikeouts. The Twins then drove in the automatic runner in the top of the tenth on a Jonah Bride sacrifice fly, but it didn't hold up. Ramirez tied the game with a single, stole second base, and was in the process of stealing third when Martinez singled through the right side of the infield to end it.

Ballgame!

José Ramírez’s 250th career stolen base sets him up to score the winning run for the @CleGuardians! pic.twitter.com/ijPHlql5QA
— MLB (@MLB) May 1, 2025

Before rain interrupted the proceedings, the Guardians held a 2-0 lead after four innings. They got an RBI single from Kyle Manzardo to open the scoring in the first, then tacked on a run on a 450-foot moonshot by Jhonkensy Noel in the fourth. Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson went 4.2 innings, allowing two hits, two runs, and a career-high five walks.

The Twins burned a golden scoring opportunity against Cleveland starter Ben Lively in the second inning. They had runners on second and third with no outs after a Ty France single and a Brooks Lee double and couldn't capitalize. France, Correa, Harrison Bader, and Byron Buxton had multi-hit games for the Twins.

Minnesota never scratched across a run against Lively, but their bats woke up a bit in the seventh inning, following the initial 17-minute delay. Christian Vazquez drove in Bader with an RBI single off of Jakob Junis, and Correa tied it with a base hit against Hunter Gaddis that drove in Vazquez. It was a much-needed pair of runs for the Twins, who had scored just three runs in their previous 24 innings after an offensive explosion in the series opener. But with a chance to jump out in front, Buxton struck out with runners on the corners and only one out, and France lined out to right field with the bases juiced.

Cole Sands, Louis Varland, Griffin Jax, and Duran admirably combined for 4.1 scoreless innings out of the Twins' bullpen to send the game to extras. But once again, the Guardians simply found a way to win a close game against Minnesota. Incredibly, the Twins have now lost 11 consecutive one-run games in Cleveland.