The Cleveland Guardians took the field on Friday with a 3.5-game lead in the AL Central standings against the Minnesota Twins.
A simple doubleheader split would have meant that the aforementioned lead would keep separating the two squads entering Saturday play.
But Minnesota’s starting pitching, timely hitting and effective bullpen put them in a really good position to win both games and they did just that.
Now, the Guards are up 1.5 games in the division, just a few weeks after enjoying a nine-game lead.
Baseball can be cruel sometimes, and right now, Cleveland is riding a seven-game losing streak.
Game over. The #Guardians lose again, this time 6-3 to the Minnesota Twins.
Cleveland falls to 67-49 on the season.
That's a season-high seven-straight losses for the Guards. Their lead in the AL Central Division is now down to 1.5 games.
— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) August 10, 2024
In the first game, Bailey Ober’s changeup was too much for Guardians hitters to handle, and the Twins took it 4-2.
Ober didn’t allow any runs over six strong innings, with just two hits and a pair of walks.
He struck out nine and was in control all afternoon.
Former Guardian Carlos Santana homered, as did Ryan Jeffers for the Twins.
Brayan Rocchio’s blast wasn’t enough to make up for the difference.
In the second end of the doubleheader, the Guards’ offense couldn’t solve Minnesota’s pitching outside of a three-run home run by Josh Naylor.
Alex Cobb made his season debut and allowed five runs (two earned) in 4.2 innings.
It could have been a much better evening but manager Stephen Vogt left him a hitter too long and Matt Wallner punished a middle-middle fastball to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead for the Twins in the fifth.
After a controversial Tim Herrin balk that allowed a run to score, Vogt argued with the umpires and was ejected for the first time as a manager.
He probably felt his team needed that, and he was right.
Still, there was no comeback and the Guardians are now forced to avoid the sweep if they want to get through the weekend as division leaders.
NEXT: Guardians Lose Depth Pitcher Via Waivers
