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Inside The Twins

Twins Win First Series in Almost a Month, Pull Within 2.5 Games of CLE

The Twins held off the Guardians to take two of three from the leaders in the AL Central.
Will Ragatz|
May 10, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Kody Clemens (2) scores a run on a wild pitch by Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (32) during the third inning at Progressive Field.
May 10, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Kody Clemens (2) scores a run on a wild pitch by Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Gavin Williams (32) during the third inning at Progressive Field. | David Dermer-Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins

By holding off the Guardians on Sunday afternoon, the Twins secured their first series victory in nearly a month (April 13-15 vs. Boston), snapping an 0-5-1 stretch against their last six opponents. And yet, because the AL Central has been so mediocre through the first quarter of the season, Minnesota (18-23) is just 2.5 games back of Cleveland (21-21) for the division lead.

After somehow escaping with a win in a bizarre 11-inning contest on Saturday night that featured just four total hits, the Twins' offense had a much better showing on Mother's Day. Minnesota got 13 hits, including three from Kody Clemens and two apiece from Josh Bell, Austin Martin, and Brooks Lee. A four-run fifth inning put the Twins up 5-1, and their hodgepodge bullpen did just enough to hold on for a 5-4 victory.

The ninth inning was handled by Yoendrys Gomez, who the Twins acquired from the Rays for cash considerations just a few days ago. The Venezuelan journeyman, pitching for his fifth team since the start of last season, set the Guardians down 1-2-3 to secure his third career save. The Twins now have eight saves from seven different pitchers in 2026.

Before Gomez, it was Luis Garcia — another pitcher who began this season with a different organization and landed with the Twins after being designated for assignment — allowing a run but working around some trouble to preserve the lead in the eighth.

Of the Twins' six pitchers in a bullpen game on Sunday, only Anthony Banda began this season on Minnesota's roster. The first three to appear in this game — Andrew Morris, Kendry Rojas, and Travis Adams — are all call-ups from Triple-A St. Paul.

Morris pitched a clean inning to get it started. Rojas allowed five hits and three walks in 3.1 innings, but he struck out five and only allowed one run to score (and was credited with the win in his second MLB game). Adams allowed two runs in his 1.1 innings. It was an impressive win for the Twins, who have seven pitchers currently on the injured list.

Clemens, who has had a tough start to his season, had a big day at the plate. He doubled and scored the game's first run on a wild pitch in the third inning. He doubled again and scored to spark the Twins' four-run fifth, which featured run-scoring hits from Lee, Royce Lewis, Bell, and Martin. Clemens added a third hit and a stolen base in the ninth.

Each of the last three one-run games between the Twins and Guardians at Progressive Field have gone in Minnesota's favor. Before that, Cleveland had won the last 13 one-run games at home in this matchup. This was the Twins' first road series victory over the Guardians since 2023.

The Twins are off on Monday and then begin a nine-game homestand with three against the Miami Marlins at Target Field, starting Tuesday night.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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