Andres Gimenez delivered a go-ahead single in the 11th inning as the Cleveland Guardians pulled into a tie atop the American League Central standings with a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.
The Twins got off to a rocky start thanks to an Oscar Gonzalez double in the first inning and Josh Naylor added to the lead with a two-run homer in the third.
With a 3-0 lead in his back pocket, Aaron Civale went to work, cruising through the first four innings while striking out seven batters. The Twins chipped into the lead in the fifth, however, when Alex Kirilloff delivered a two-run double to make it a 3-2 game.
After Joe Ryan rebounded from a shaky start to make it through six innings, Luis Arraez came up with two men on and crushed a line drive into the right-field overhang to give the Twins a 5-3 lead.
LUIS ARRAEZ LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! đź‘Źđź‘Ź#MNTwins | @Arraez_21 pic.twitter.com/WoV04NwU8G
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) June 22, 2022
Just as “MVP” chants broke out among the crowd at Target Field, Emilio Pagan served up a two-run homer to Franmil Reyes in the eighth inning to tie the game at 5-5 and eventually send the game to extras.
After a scoreless tenth inning, Gimenez delivered the game-winning hit off Griffin Jax with one out in the eleventh and Jose Miranda’s fly ball with two outs landed short of the fence to give Cleveland the first game of a pivotal three-game series.
The Twins will try to reclaim sole possession of first place on Wednesday night when Sonny Gray takes the mound against Triston McKenzie.
