Kody Clemens had three hits, including two doubles, and scored twice to spark the visiting Minnesota Twins to a 5-4 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday.
Josh Bell and Austin Martin each had two hits and one RBI while Brooks Lee was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI in the rubber game of the three-game set.
Kendry Rojas (1-0) scattered five hits, gave up one run, walked three and struck out five in 3 1/3 innings of relief for his first major league win. Yoendrys Gomez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his second save.
Brayan Rocchio was 4-for-4 with a double and two runs and Chase DeLauter went 2-for-5 with two RBIs for Cleveland, which dropped to .500 yet maintained first place in the AL Central.
In the fifth, the Twins took a 5-1 lead when they sent nine hitters to the plate and scored four runs on six hits.
Clemens led off with a double to right-center and scored on Lee’s single for a 2-1 lead. After Lee stole second, Royce Lewis roped an RBI double to left. Byron Buxton reached on an infield single and, with two outs and an 0-2 count, Bell’s single drove in Lewis. Martin lasered an RBI single up the middle to knock in Buxton for the 5-1 lead.
Minnesota took a 1-0 lead in the third when Clemens looped a double to left, advanced to third on Lee’s single and scored on Gavin Williams’ wild pitch.
The Guardians tied the game at 1-1 in the third when Rocchio led off with a single and advanced to second when DeLauter lined a hit to center with one out. Jose Ramirez’s RBI single up the middle scored Rocchio.
With two outs in the fifth, Angel Martinez’s RBI single cut the Minnesota lead to 5-2.
An inning later, Cleveland trailed 5-3 when DeLauter’s liner to center scored Rocchio.
Pinch hitter David Fry and Rocchio opened the eighth with singles and moved into scoring position on Steven Kwan’s sacrifice bunt. DeLauter’s groundout scored Fry as the Guardians pulled within 5-4.
Williams (5-2) gave up 10 hits and five runs in six innings while fanning six.
Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt missed the game with an illness. Bench coach Tony Arnerich filled in with Vogt out.
–Field Level Media
