Cleveland walked into Wednesday night with a taste of déjà vu, and the ending proved to be exactly what recent history predicted. Alan Roden lined an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to give Minnesota a 6-5 walk-off win, handing the Guardians their fourth straight loss in this series and pulling the Twins to within a single game of Cleveland in the AL Central standings. It was the second consecutive night the Guardians had a real chance to close out a win, only to watch it unravel in the late innings, and this time the culprit was a combination of shaky defense and a bullpen that could not hold a two-run cushion.
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 9, 2026
Cleveland actually looked in control for a stretch of the middle innings, but the early advantage did not last. Slade Cecconi ran into trouble almost immediately, unable to protect the lead his offense had staked him to, and Minnesota answered with three runs of its own in the fourth inning built on a string of singles and a bases loaded walk. Cecconi was pulled after just 3 and two-thirds innings, his shortest start of the season, though catcher Austin Hedges helped limit further damage early by throwing out a runner trying to advance at third.
Cleveland pushed back ahead in the top of the seventh, but the lead lasted only a few minutes. Shawn Armstrong and Erik Sabrowski combined to walk five Minnesota hitters in the bottom half of the inning, wiping out the advantage entirely and tying the game back up at 5-5. It was the kind of control problem Cleveland has rarely dealt with this season, and it briefly threatened to turn a winnable game into a blowout before closer Cade Smith came on to strand the go-ahead run in the eighth.
A shaky ninth inning sealed the outcome. A missed play at first base, a relay throw that could not beat the runner, and an infield single that found a gap were enough to load the bases ahead of Roden’s game-ending hit.
The loss drops Cleveland to 47-46 and tightens what was already a crowded division race, with Minnesota now firmly back in the mix after a four-game skid against the Guardians that once looked like it might separate the two clubs. Cleveland will send Gavin Williams to the mound Thursday afternoon in the series finale, looking to avoid a sweep and stop the bleeding before the season shifts into its final stretch before the All-Star break.
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