MINNEAPOLIS — The Guardians are coming home with an opportunity to take control of the American League Central.
Steven Kwan, Travis Bazzana and Jo Adell homered as Cleveland defeated the Minnesota Twins 9-2 Sunday at Target Field, winning the weekend series and moving within a half-game of the first-place Chicago White Sox.
Kwan wasted no time giving Cleveland the lead, driving Joe Ryan’s second pitch of the afternoon into the right-field overhang. It was his third homer of the season and the eighth leadoff blast of his career.
Adell doubled the advantage with a solo homer in the third. His 116.8-mph shot was the hardest-hit home run by a Cleveland player since Statcast began tracking exit velocity in 2015.
Minnesota answered with Kody Clemens’ RBI double, but Cleveland continued adding pressure. Bazzana broke the game open with a two-run homer during the sixth, giving the Guardians a comfortable advantage.
Cleveland added four more runs during the ninth to turn the victory into a rout.
Kwan finished 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs while falling a triple short of the cycle. Bazzana collected two hits, scored twice and drove in three, while Adell added two hits, two runs and two RBIs.
The Guardians finished with 14 hits. Every Cleveland starter other than Angel Genao recorded at least one.
Tanner Bibee provided the kind of performance Cleveland desperately needed before its biggest series of the season. The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out seven across 6? innings.
Bibee had surrendered 10 earned runs over 8? innings during his previous two starts, but he looked considerably more like himself Sunday while earning his sixth victory.
Hunter Gaddis, Erik Sabrowski and Matt Festa combined to record the final seven outs without allowing a run.
The victory improved Cleveland to 76-74 and moved the Guardians one game ahead of Toronto in the race for the American League’s final wild-card position.
More importantly, the White Sox are coming to town with first place hanging in the balance.
Now it gets fun.
What’s Next: Cleveland returns to Progressive Field to open a crucial three-game series against the Chicago White Sox Monday at 6:40 p.m. ET. Gavin Williams is scheduled to start for the Guardians.
