Kyle Manzardo opened the ninth inning with a walk-off home run as the Cleveland Guardians snapped a three-game skid with a 2-1 victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Tuesday.
Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee allowed only Ty France’s fifth-inning home run and four other hits in seven innings. He struck out five without yielding a walk.
Chris Paddack was nearly as solid for the Twins, permitting just Bo Naylor’s solo homer and three other hits in five innings. He fanned two and walked one, but the Twins fell to 0-6 with him on the mound this season. Minnesota, who had won four in a row and rapped out a season-high 17 hits during an 11-1 series-opening victory on Monday, managed just seven hits on Tuesday.
France had three hits for the Twins, whose offense sputtered after totaling 32 runs during the four-game winning streak.
Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase (4-0), who has struggled to find his All-Star form from the past three seasons, picked up the win after pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
The Guardians improved to 4-4 on a 10-game homestand that started by them taking two of three from the New York Yankees. They subsequently dropped the final two of a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox before welcoming the Twins to town.
