The Cleveland Guardians couldn’t keep their momentum going on Saturday, dropping a close 4-3 game to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. A Franco Aleman implosion in the third inning was all the home team needed to win.
The Guardians, now 75-74, can’t catch the Chicago White Sox at the top of the AL Central on Saturday, even if the latter lose against the St. Louis Cardinals. Cleveland, having won the opener on Friday, remains in possession of the third and last Wild Card spot, though.
Rubber match tomorrow.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/T88cywZDZP
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 12, 2026
Daniel Espino did a fantastic job as the opener for the Guardians, tossing two scoreless frames in which he allowed a single hit, walked no one, and struck out two. He routinely flirted with triple digits, and his command was on point.
The Guardians took the first lead of the game in the top of the second. Rookie second baseman Travis Bazzana drove in Jo Adell with a single. In the same play, Angel Martinez was thrown out at third, taking away the possibility of a rally, though.
The Twins scored all their runs in the bottom of the third. With Aleman taking the ball from Espino, rookie Emmanuel Rodriguez belted his first homer of the year and tied the game.
Aleman was a mess after that, allowing singles and even a wild pitch to set the scene for what was going to come. Kody Clemens plated Luke Keaschall with the go-ahead run with a hit, and Royce Lewis did the same a few minutes later to extend Minnesota’s lead to 3-1. Aleman loaded the bases again and hit Victor Caratini, forcing in the fourth run of the inning for the Twins, scored by Clemens.
Aleman’s afternoon ended with four runs in just 0.2 innings. He allowed five hits, including a solo homer, and hit two batters. A brutal game for the talented right-hander, indeed.
A Brayan Rocchio groundout in the fifth helped Austin Hedges cut the deficit to 4-2, and Steven Kwan then singled in Hedges to make it a one-run ballgame in the same inning. It wouldn’t be enough, though, as that would be the last run scored in the game.
The Guardians’ offense was limited to just five hits in the afternoon affair. Only one of them, a Hedges double, went for extra bases.
All Guardians pitchers except for Aleman contributed scoreless appearances: Espino, Joey Cantillo, and Craig Yoho. Cantillo tossed four shutout frames, striking out eight.
The series finale will take place at the same venue on Sunday. Tanner Bibee will be the starter for Cleveland, with the play-ball voice expected to come at 2:10 pm ET.
NEXT: Angel Martinez Sends Clear Message About Guardians' Goal
