CLEVELAND — The Guardians are on the doorstep of a playoff berth.
The Guardians enter Tuesday's game with the Tampa Bay Rays with a magic number of three to clinch a spot in the postseason, which means Cleveland has the chance to be celebrating Wednesday night if things fall their way.
All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan remains out with a back injury. Angel Martinez has been inserted into the leadoff spot with Kwan sidelined.
Check back here for live score updates, analysis and highlights from Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Twins.
Twins beat the Guardians
Griffin Jax struck David Fry and after Will Brennan reached on an error, Bo Naylor grounded out with the bases loaded to end it. The Guardians' magic number will remain at 3, though that's dependent on what else happens around the league tonight.
Jhoan Duran entered in the ninth inning but allowed a double to Jose Ramirez and then walked Lane Thomas. With the potential tying run at the plate, the Twins are turning to Griffin Jax with one out.
David Fry is up, and Will Brennan is in the on-deck to pinch-hit for Myles Straw.
Twins lead Guardians heading to bottom of the ninth inning
The Guardians trail 4-1 entering the bottom of the ninth. Tonight is one of the very few games in which the bullpen wasn't stellar, but the offense hasn't done much of anything to support the pitching staff outside of one swing from Lane Thomas.
Willi Castro has given the Twins a little breathing room by belting a two-run home run over the right-field wall off Nick Sandlin in the eighth inning, pushing Minnesota's lead out to 4-1.
Myles Straw checked into his first major league game of the 2024 season as a pinch runner and the potential tying run at first base in the seventh inning. And he almost instantly got picked off by Ronny Henriquez at first.
So much for being a speedy option off the bench. Straw joined the Guardians straight from Triple-A, where the Clippers were playing, but his only contribution so far is being erased on the bases as the possible tying run.
Matt Wallner is doing all of the damage for the Twins. After Byron Buxton doubled to left-center field, Wallner blooped a single into right field to score Buxton and put the Twins back on top, 2-1, in the fifth inning.
Lane Thomas has been loving the month of September.
Thomas entered tonight hitting .316 with a .959 OPS in September, and he just lined a solo home run to left-center field to tie it 1-1 in the fourth inning. After a horrendously cold start following the trade that brought him to Cleveland, Thomas has been everything they could have hoped for over the last few weeks.
It's weird how often this keeps happening recently, but another Guardians pitcher has been hit with a comebacker.
Gavin Williams was hit in the lower left leg by a grounder off the bat of Royce Lewis, but he made the play and is remaining in the game.
Zebby Matthews has allowed just two hits through three innings and struck out Jose Ramirez to end the third, as the Twins are holding onto a 1-0 lead.
Matthews was aided by Royce Lewis, who made a terrific diving play to rob Josh Naylor of a hit.
With two and two out on in the third inning, Matt Wallner snapped an 0-for-17 skid with an RBI single to right field, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.
Gavin Wiliams is now at 44 pitches after only three innings.
Below is some pregame information.
The Guardians are placing Steven Kwan (back inflammation) on the injured list. Kwan has missed four consecutive games entering Tuesday night.
Myles Straw has not played in the major leagues this season while his offensive struggles have continued, though he could play a role due to his defense and speed off the bench.
Carrasco posted a 5.64 ERA in 103 2/3 innings this season.
Emmanuel Clase Cy Young case, odds
Guardians teammates have begun to lobby for Emmanuel Clase to be considered for the American League Cy Young Award, which hasn't gone to a reliever since 2003.
The Guardians (87-64) entered Sunday's slate of games with a 5-game lead over the Kansas City Royals (82-69). The Twins have fallen behind and are now in a 7.5-game hole in the AL Central.
The Twins' lead over the Detroit Tigers for the final Wild Card spot has also shrunk to 1.5 games.
Angel Martinez could be trusted with leadoff spot with Steven Kwan injury sidelining All-Star left fielder
Angel Martinez was recalled prior to Saturday's game and could be trusted with the leadoff responsibilities as long as Steven Kwan is out with back soreness.
Guardians magic number
The Guardians enter Tuesday with a magic number to clinch a playoff spot at three and a magic number to win the division at seven.
The magic number will lower every time the Guardians win or every time the second-place team in those scenarios loses.
Lane Thomas heating up with Guardians
With his dad's help as a former race car driver, Lane Thomas is finding his way with the Guardians .
Sam Hentges to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery
Sam Hentges' 2024 season is finished, and his entire 2025 season is also in jeopardy .
Jose Ramirez has 30/30 season in 2024
Jose Ramirez became the first Cleveland hitter in franchise history with multiple 30/30 seasons.
MGK tossed the ceremonial first pitch, but he did so in an interesting manner that was anything but traditional .
Jhonkensy Noel's renewed approach on putting the ball in play has led to breakout 2024 season
Jhonkensy knows he has the power. It took a new focus on contact and mobility to lead to his great rookie season thus far.
Guardians name CC Sabathia to team Hall-of-Fame
CC Sabathia is now in the Guardians' Hall-of-Fame, and he offered a two-part message to Cleveland fans .
Guardians No. 1 overall draft pick Travis Bazzana meets Jose Ramirez, wants to grow the game in Australia
It all finally sank in for Travis Bazzana , the top overall draft pick in the draft, when he stepped onto the field at Progressive Field and met Jose Ramirez and others.
Major League Baseball released the 2025 schedules .
2024 National Sports Card Convention comes to Cleveland
The National Sports Card Convention was in Cleveland recently. We broke down how we'd spend $100 , ranked the most mind-blowing items we could find and listed the top collectibles for under $50 .
Today's game will be televised on Bally Sports. It'll be broadcast on the radio by WTAM (1100-AM) and WMMS (100.7-FM).
After this current four-game series against the Twins, the Guardians go on the road for a quick — and their last — road trip of the season, with two games against the St. Louis Cardinals up next. The Guardians then return home for the final five games of the year, two against the Cincinnati Reds and three against the Houston Astros.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians vs. Minnesota Twins recap; Guards lose, snapping winning streak
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