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Costly error breaks open pitcher's duel as Twins drop another to Guardians

Pablo Lopez committed the seventh error by a Minnesota pitcher this season on Wednesday.
Nolan O'Hara|
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on April 30, 2025.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland on April 30, 2025. | David Richard / Imagn Images

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Pablo Lopez was nearly unhittable through six innings, but his throwing error in the seventh inning helped the Cleveland Guardians break open a pitcher's duel and pull away for a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday in Cleveland.

At one point, Lopez had sent 13 batters in a row down in order, and he had only allowed two hits all night through six scoreless innings. But Jose Ramirez led off the seventh inning with a single, and a couple at-bats later, former Twin Carlos Santana reached on an infield single, and Ramirez scored on a throwing error from Lopez for a 1-0 Guardians advantage.

That marked the end of Lopez's day as Brock Stewart came on in relief with one on and one out, and Stewart walked Gabriel Arias before giving up a three-run homer to Bo Naylor a couple at-bats later that made it 4-0. That broke the game wide open as Lopez and Luis Ortiz had been pitching shutouts. Lopez gave up just four hits and two runs while fanning six across 6 1/3 innings, while Ortiz allowed just three hits and two walks while fanning five across 6 1/3 scoreless innings.

The error on Lopez was the seventh from a Twins pitcher this season in a continuation of a troubling trend. Lopez previously had another when he overthrew a pickoff attempt, and several others have come on throws to first base. This time, it proved particularly costly as it sparked the Guardians (17-13) to a four-run inning, and ultimately, a victory.

The Twins (13-18) did get one back when Brooks Lee led off the eighth with a 374-foot solo homer, and made a late push as Trevor Larnach and Ryan Jeffers singled off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning. Larnach even came around to score on a wild pitch from Clase during Kody Clemens' at-bat, but Clase struck out Clemens for the final out.

The Twins and Guardians meet for their series finale at 12:10 p.m. CT on Thursday.

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Nolan O'Hara
NOLAN O'HARA

Nolan O'Hara covers all things Minnesota sports, primarily the Timberwolves, for Bring Me The News and Sports Illustrated's On SI network. He previously worked as a copy editor at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Hubbard School of Journalism. His work has appeared in the Pioneer Press, Ratchet & Wrench magazine, the Minnesota Daily and a number of local newspapers in Minnesota, among other publications.

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