MINNEAPOLIS — Angel Martínez tied the game with one swing. Then he helped the Cleveland Guardians win it.
Martínez homered in the seventh inning and sparked a three-run rally in the ninth as the Guardians defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-2 Friday night at Target Field.
The victory improved Cleveland to 74-72 and moved the Guardians two games ahead of Toronto for the American League’s final Wild Card spot.
Minnesota scored the game’s first run in the third inning when Royce Lewis doubled home Kody Clemens. That one run appeared as though it might be enough for much of the night because Twins starter Taj Bradley kept Cleveland’s offense handcuffed.
Bradley allowed only one hit across six scoreless innings, walking four and striking out six. The Guardians had opportunities against him but could not turn any of those free passes into runs.
Then Minnesota went to its bullpen.
Travis Bazzana singled to begin the seventh before Martínez launched a two-run home run off A.J. Minter, giving Cleveland a 2-1 lead. It was Martínez’s 15th homer of the season and Cleveland’s first lead of the night.
The advantage did not last long. Austin Martin walked in the bottom half of the inning, advanced into scoring position and came home on Kaelen Culpepper’s game-tying single against Hunter Gaddis.
Cleveland responded in the ninth when Bazzana drew a leadoff walk before Martínez doubled down the right-field line. Angel Genao later walked to load the bases, and Yoendrys Gómez uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Bazzana to score the go-ahead run. Brayan Rocchio then removed some of the drama with a two-run double to center, bringing home Martínez and Genao to give Cleveland a 5-2 lead.
Martínez finished 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs and the go-ahead homer. Bazzana reached base four times, going 2-for-2 with two walks and scoring twice. Rocchio added two RBIs despite Cleveland finishing with only seven hits.
Parker Messick gave the Guardians another strong start, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over 5? innings. The left-hander struck out five while throwing 95 pitches.
Gaddis earned the victory after allowing one hit over 1? scoreless innings. Cade Smith worked around a ninth-inning single and induced a game-ending double play to record his 36th save.
The Guardians have not exactly made things easy on themselves this season. But with October approaching, style points no longer matter. Wins do.
And this was a big one.
What’s Next: The Guardians continue their three-game series against the Twins Saturday afternoon at Target Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET.
