Guardians defeat Twins 2-1, avoid sweep

It was not the most exciting game, but the Cleveland Guardians were able to hold off the Minnesota Twins 2-1 Wednesday afternoon to avoid being swept by the American League Central division leader.

Cleveland managed a couple of early runs, split by a rain delay, and that was enough to come away with a victory. Interestingly enough, it was the same two Guardians players involved in both runs being scored. Will Brennan would drive in Gabriel Arias twice to Cleveland just enough to win. Brennan was one of three Guardians players to register a hit in the contest, the others being Andres Gimenez, who went 2-4, and catcher Cam Gallagher, who managed a single in three at-bats.

Getting his first winning decision since his fourth career start was Guardians pitcher Gavin Williams. Williams was able to come back out after the lengthy rain delay and pitch just enough to get credit for the victory. This broke a streak of four straight losing decisions for Williams and was Cleveland's first win in which he pitched more than an inning since July 26th.

Emmanuel Clase would come on in the 9th with a slim 2-1 lead and close the door on two flyouts and a strikeout on just 10 pitches to register his MLB-leading 38th save of the season.

Cleveland needed to get back into the win column, but it may be too little too late for the Guardians. The Twins hold a six-game lead in the American League Central with 22 games left in the season. Barring a miracle, the Guardians will be staying at home once the postseason begins. Stranger things have happened in Major League Baseball over the years, but betting on a Twins collapse paired with a Guardians surge over this final stretch would not be in the best interest of a person placing said bet.