Gavin Williams had one of his best starts of the season on Thursday afternoon, but the Cleveland Guardians’ offense failed to show up as the Minnesota Twins won 3-1 in 12 innings. The four-game series at Progressive Field finished in a 2-2 tie.
Cleveland is now 54-50 for the season, 1.5 games removed from the top spot in the division. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Guardians, who were up 1-0 in the eighth before Hunter Gaddis blew the lead.
Off to St. Pete.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/ReMfX70h0t
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 23, 2026
Williams was magnificent all afternoon, completing seven scoreless innings in which he allowed just two hits, both singles. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out 11 hitters, bringing down his ERA to 3.78. Incredibly, he didn’t get the win.
Gaddis allowed the Twins to tie the game in the eighth, and Cade Smith and Colin Holderman did their best to give the offense a chance. Erik Sabrowski was one out away from escaping a jam in the top of the 12th, but ended up surrendering two runs and getting the loss.
Williams pitched the fifth immaculate inning in franchise history, taking care of the fourth frame by throwing nine pitches, all of them strikes. He fanned Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers and Josh Bell to complete the feat that Justin Masterson (2014), Carlos Carrasco (2017), Zach Plesac (2020), and Enyel De Los Santos (2022) also achieved.
Gavin Williams threw an immaculate inning for the Guardians! 💪
(via @CleGuardians)pic.twitter.com/fSg91ddhdC
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 23, 2026
Taj Bradley was rock-solid for the Twins, as well. The Twins’ righty limited the Guardians’ offense to just one run in seven innings.
The Guardians’ run came in the fifth frame, when catcher Patrick Bailey belted his fifth home run of the season against Bradley. Things got hairy in the eighth inning for Cleveland, just after Williams departed.
https://x.com/CleGuardians/status/2080359189033984015
Gaddis lost control of the zone and walked two while getting just one out, forcing manager Stephen Vogt to bring in closer Cade Smith for the five-out save. He immediately surrendered a game-tying single to Alan Roden, but recovered in time to get the remaining two outs and keep the Guardians in the game.
Smith tossed a scoreless ninth, Holderman pitched in with two shutout frames, and Sabrowski came this close to sending the game to the bottom of the 12th in a tie. Instead, he conceded consecutive RBI singles to Trevor Larnach and Luke Keaschall with two outs, giving Minnesota a 3-1 lead.
Daniel Schneemann flied out with two men on base in the bottom of the 12th to end a game that the Guardians would prefer to forget about rather quickly. The offense was limited to just three hits, but it had plenty of chances to put the game away in extras with the ghost runner. When you go 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position, however, you can’t expect to win.
The Guardians, who got Jose Ramirez back from the injured list on Wednesday and could soon welcome back Angel Martinez, will now travel to Tampa to face the Rays in a key three-game series.
The Rays boast the best record in the American League at 59-42.
NEXT: Young Guardians Slugger Is Quietly Turning Things Around
