Inside The Twins

'It's amazing:' Twins announcer calls latest walk-off loss in Cleveland

The Twins just cannot seem to win a close game at Progressive Field. Their late-game woes continued on Thursday.
Will Ragatz|
Twins announcers Cory Provus and Denard Span after Minnesota's 4-3 loss in Cleveland.
Twins announcers Cory Provus and Denard Span after Minnesota's 4-3 loss in Cleveland. | Twins.TV

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Minnesota Twins

The Twins simply cannot buy a victory in a close game in Cleveland in recent years.

After a rain delay of more than two hours, they lost 4-3 on a walk-off single by the Guardians' Angel Martinez in the tenth inning of Thursday's series finale. Remarkably, it's Minnesota's second walk-off loss at Progressive Field in the last three days, fifth in the last calendar year, and tenth since the start of the 2021 season. In that five-year span, the Twins have just three walk-off wins over the Guardians at Target Field.

Twins.TV announcer Cory Provus had an understandable hint of exasperation and incredulity in his voice as he called the team's latest crushing defeat in Cleveland.

"The Guardians do it again," Provus said. "4-3, another walk-off win here in Cleveland. It's amazing. Year after year, we see the same finish at this ballpark. Despite the rain delays, it doesn't change. The Guardians walk off the Twins yet again and take three out of four in this series."

The numbers are hard to wrap your head around.

  • The Twins have lost 12 consecutive one-run games in Cleveland, dating back to 2022. The last time they won a one-run game at that ballpark was on August 24, 2020.
  • They're 17-36 in their last 53 games against the Guardians (home and away included).
  • Dating back to last year, the Twins have lost 31 consecutive games in which they score fewer than four runs. They're 0-16 in that department this season (and 13-3 when scoring at least four runs).

"I'm speechless," said analyst Denard Span, a former Twins outfielder. "Like you said, it's amazing, unbelievable, just the way this Cleveland Guardians team has a knack for winning these close ballgames. As much as you don't want to, you gotta give them credit for honing in in tight situations, making pitches and getting big hits and making big-time plays when it matters."

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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