Twins sweep doubleheader to stretch Guardians' skid to 7 straight, close AL Central gap to 1½ games

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Matt Wallner hit the go-ahead three-run homer for the Minnesota Twins in the fifth inning of the nightcap to spoil Cleveland starter Alex Cobb’s season debut, fueling a 6-3 victory for a doubleheader sweep on Friday that gave the Guardians their seventh straight loss and further tightened the AL Central race.

Bailey Ober pitched six shutout innings and Carlos Santana and Ryan Jeffers hit solo homers to win the opener 4-2 for the surging Twins (65-50), who cut their deficit to 1 1/2 games behind the Guardians (67-49).

“I thought we just outplayed and out-baseballed them today, if that’s a word or whatever,” said Twins third baseman Royce Lewis. “That’s how we played the game.”

This is the closest defending division champion Minnesota has been since May 13 to Cleveland, which has held first place for all but seven days in April.

Cobb (0-1), who was acquired for prospects on July 30 in a trade with San Francisco, surrendered three consecutive two-out hits in the fifth after Josh Naylor’s three-run homer gave the Guardians a 3-2 lead in the top of the frame.

Wallner’s soaring 106.9 mph drive to right field, his fourth home run in his last 10 games, was the first homer on a 3-0 count for the Twins this season and the last pitch for Cobb. The 36-year-old had offseason hip surgery after making his first All-Star game last year for the Giants.

The Twins, who shelved starting pitcher Joe Ryan with a shoulder injury before the game that jeopardizes his status for the remainder of the regular season and also put infielder Brooks Lee on the injured list and learned injured reliever Brock Stewart is done for the year, had quite the response to the setbacks.

“Just going out and winning two shows you what we can do, even on a tough day like that,” Wallner said.

The Guardians, who hadn’t lost more than three games in a row all season until this skid started last weekend, went hitless against relievers Cole Sands (6-1), Caleb Thielbar and Trevor Richards after tagging Twins starter Louie Varland for eight hits and three runs in 4 2/3 innings.

“It was a big game, and come Thanksgiving, I’m going to tell everyone I’m thankful for Matt Wallner and Cole Sands,” Varland said. “The team had my back, and things worked out.”

Richards recorded his first save, after Jhoan Duran notched his 16th save in the opener by striking out the side in the ninth inning.

The Guardians, who were swept in their second doubleheader in three days, got a little sloppy in the nightcap. Willi Castro scored on a delayed steal of home in the first inning, after Wallner sprinted to second on a walk by Lewis to draw a throw by catcher Austin Hedges. That’s when Castro bolted home, and the throw to the plate was too late.

Twins backup catcher Christian Vázquez hustled home from second base, after a throwing error by shortstop Brayan Rocchio on an infield single skipped past Naylor at first.

Vázquez later scored on a balk by reliever Tim Herrin, after dancing down the third-base line to try to distract him. Herrin didn’t think he did it and charged toward home plate umpire Jim Wolf to yell his disgust. Rookie manager Stephen Vogt came out to shout his piece, drawing his first career ejection.

“There was a lot of movement. It happens really fast. I didn’t see a flinch,” Vogt said.

HELPING HIMSELF

Castro has four steals of home in two seasons with the Twins, putting him second on the club’s all-time list behind Hall of Famer Rod Carew (16).

THE OPENER GOES OBER

Ober (12-5) dominated with just two hits and two walks allowed and nine strikeouts in a career-high 106 pitches against a lineup loaded with eight left-handed hitters. This was his ninth consecutive quality start of three or fewer runs allowed and six or more innings completed. Ober kept the Guardians repeatedly guessing — late on his fastball and ahead on his changeup.

Rocchio hit a two-run homer off reliever Jorge Alcala for the Guardians, who tapped rookie Joey Cantillo (0-2) to pitch the first game. He gave up three runs on five hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings in his third major league start.

Guardians RHP Gavin Williams (1-4, 4.91 ERA) starts on Saturday night. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-2, 3.87 ERA) pitches for the Twins.

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