Twins’ Slide Reaches Four Games After Offense Stalls in Cleveland

Ryan Jeffers supplied an early home run, but Minnesota went quiet again as Cleveland pulled away for a 5-2 victory.

Ryan Jeffers strikes out during the sixth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Minnesota Twins received another early spark Tuesday, but it was not enough to stop their post-All-Star break slide.

Ryan Jeffers opened the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning before the Cleveland Guardians responded and pulled away for a 5-2 victory at Progressive Field. The loss was Minnesota’s fourth straight and dropped the club to 49-53.

Cleveland erased the early deficit in the third. Kendry Rojas issued a leadoff walk before Steven Kwan drove an RBI double into center field. Brayan Rocchio followed with a run-scoring single against Mike Paredes, giving the Guardians a 2-1 advantage.

The Twins tied the game in the fourth when Josh Bell scored on a ground ball from Royce Lewis that resulted in two Cleveland errors. Minnesota could not create another scoring opportunity from there.

The Guardians loaded the bases without an out against Paredes in the sixth. Austin Hedges delivered the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly before Petey Halpin brought home Travis Bazzana on another sacrifice fly. Bazzana was initially ruled out, but a replay review showed he beat the throw from Byron Buxton.

Bazzana added an RBI single in the seventh to round off the scoring for the night.

Buxton’s Return Cannot Fix the Lineup

Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton runs out a single in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tuesday was Buxton’s second game since returning from a right hip strain. The All-Star center fielder went 2-for-3 in Monday’s opener, but getting him back has not fixed Minnesota’s offensive problems.

The Twins finished with six hits and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. They have scored three runs or fewer in six of their past 11 games, placing even more pressure on a pitching staff that surrendered 18 runs over the first two games of the series. Whether at the plate, on the mound or in the field, Minnesota has struggled throughout its current skid and needs an immediate response to keep its playoff hopes from fading.

Jeffers remained one of the few consistent threats. His ninth home run extended his on-base streak to 15 games, and he carried a .292/.414/.667 slash line with four homers over his previous 15 contests. Jeffers has been excellent when healthy, producing a .950 OPS in 42 games and taking a big step forward in terms of offensive production.

Kody Clemens also collected two hits after breaking an 0-for-19 skid with two home runs against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. His recent response has been encouraging, but Minnesota needs more production from everyone

The defeat left the Twins 3.5 games outside the final American League wild-card spot and five games behind Cleveland in the division. Minnesota will turn to Bailey Ober on Wednesday against Slade Cecconi. Ober allowed two runs over 5.1 innings in his previous start, and the Twins need another good outing to end the skid and avoid going down 3-0 in the series.