The Twins are back ahead of the Cleveland Indians after beating their AL Central rivals at Target Field.
After losing the first two games of the crucial series, the Twins were desperate to stop the slide that has seen the Indians overhaul an 11.5 game deficit.
It was a tight encounter, with Jake Odorizzi having to use all his nous to get out of the early innings that saw multiple Indians get on base. He successfully navigated his way out, leaving the mound to a standing ovation at 5 2/3 innings with zero earned runs.
The breakthrough for the Twins came in the 4th inning, when Mitch Garver hit a 2-out double, before a stunning at-bat from Luis Arraez culminated with a full-count triple that score Garver.
CJ Cron followed that up with a single that scored Arraez.
It could have been even better for the Twins after Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza both singled, only for CJ Cron to unwisely be waved around 3rd on Adrianza’s, where he was easily tagged out at home thanks to Yasiel Puig’s throw from right field.
Had he stayed on third Max Kepler would have been up next with bases loaded, instead he had to wait until the 5th
Puig pulled one back for Cleveland in the 7th, only for Marwin Gonzalez to restore the 3-run lead in the bottom of the inning.
From there on out, it was down to Taylor Rogers to record the 2-inning save, putting the Twins a single game ahead at the top of the AL Central.
