Guardians blank Twins again, pull closer to Tigers

Steven Kwan went 2-for-5 with four RBIs, and the Cleveland Guardians pulled away for an 8-0 win over the Minnesota Twins to win both ends of a day-night doubleheader Saturday in Minneapolis.

Gabriel Arias doubled and drove in two runs for Cleveland (84-71), which won its 10th game in a row. Kyle Manzardo and C.J. Kayfus contributed one RBI apiece.

Royce Lewis went 1-for-3 with a double for Minnesota (66-89). The Twins tallied just four hits.

The Guardians, who trailed the Detroit Tigers by 15 1/2 games on July 8, have pulled within one game of the Tigers for first place in the American League Central division.

Cleveland outscored Minnesota 14-0 in both games of the doubleheader.

Guardians left-hander Logan Allen (8-11) shined in eight scoreless innings in the nightcap. He limited the Twins to four hits and one walk, and he struck out seven.

Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (5-9) allowed six runs on eight hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out one.

Guardians reliever Zak Kent pitched one scoreless inning to preserve the shutout.

The game was scoreless until the Guardians broke through with five runs in the fifth.

Brayan Rocchio hit a leadoff single, advanced to second on Petey Halpin's first big-league hit and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Austin Hedges. Moments later, Kwan ripped a two-run single to center to drive in Rocchio and Halpin and put the Guardians on top 2-0.

Cleveland added four more runs in the inning to seize a 6-0 lead. Manzardo hit a two-out single to drive in Daniel Schneemann, and Arias followed with a two-run double to center. Kayfus finished the big inning with an RBI single to center that drove in Arias.

The Guardians increased their advantage to 8-0 in the eighth. Rocchio and Halpin drew back-to-back walks, and both later scored on Kwan's two-run single to center.

Cleveland will go for a four-game sweep against Minnesota in the series finale Sunday afternoon.

--Field Level Media