The Cleveland Guardians weren’t playing their best ball of the season in the days leading up to Saturday’s win against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
They had lost seven games in a row, including a crucial doubleheader against the Twins on Friday.
Starting pitching wasn’t providing much length and effectiveness, the bullpen wasn’t so fresh, and the offense was inconsistent.
For a day, at least, everything clicked again.
Cleveland won a 2-1 game on Saturday, finally snapping that losing skid and guaranteeing that they will leave Minnesota with the AL Central lead even if they lose on Sunday.
Good night!#Guardians | #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/o8KqluT959
— Cleveland Baseball Insider (@GuardiansOnSI) August 11, 2024
Right now, before taking the field on Sunday, Cleveland is up 2.5 games in the AL Central standings, thanks in large part to Gavin Williams.
When the Guardians rotation was being questioned, Williams delivered a solid outing to give his team a chance to win.
He tossed six one-run innings with four hits and three strikeouts to his name to earn his second win of the season against a very solid Simeon Woods-Richardson.
The Guardians couldn’t really do much on offense, but they did get solo home runs from men who had struggled a bit in recent games: Steven Kwan and Bo Naylor.
Naylor, even after the homer, has a .613 OPS in July after a strong June; and Kwan had been ice-cold in the second half before hitting it over the fence in the first inning.
The two teams will play the series finale on Sunday, starting at 2:10 pm.
Tanner Bibee will return from his shoulder scare, and will face David Festa.
NEXT: Guardians Need Elite Leadoff Man To Get Going At The Plate
