Minnesota Twins at Cleveland Guardians

· Major League Baseball

Minnesota Twins

80-73, 38-40 Away

Final
2 - 3

Cleveland Guardians

89-65, 48-28 Home

Guardians clinch AL playoff berth with walk-off, 3-2 win in 10 innings over Twins

With Ramírez on second as the automatic runner, Minnesota reliever Caleb Thielbar (2-4) struck out Josh Naylor and the Twins walked Lane Thomas intentionally to face Giménez, who had three hits.

Cleveland's second baseman then hit a 3-2 pitch into right to easily score Ramírez.

As the All-Star third baseman rounded third, Cleveland's dugout emptied onto the field in celebration as the Guardians posted their major league-leading 42nd comeback win and second straight in extra innings.

“That's us,” Giménez said. “That's the Cleveland Guardians.”

They're the second AL team to qualify for the postseason, following the New York Yankees, who locked up a spot Wednesday night.

Cleveland now has a chance to possibly end baseball's longest active World Series drought, dating to 1948, when the team was known as the Indians.

“The goal is to get in,” said first-year manager Stephen Vogt. “You get in, you have a chance.”

The Twins threatened in the 10th, loading the bases with one out against Eli Morgan (3-0). But the right-hander got out of the jam by retiring Carlos Correa on a foul pop and Byron Buxton on a liner to right.

Cleveland's bullpen, which has carried the team all season, combined for 5 2/3 hitless innings.

“They’re the best bullpen in the league for a reason and they show that every time,” said Minnesota's Matt Wallner.

Rookie Kyle Manzardo homered for the Guardians, who lowered the magic number to clinch the AL Central title to three.

The Twins, who are trying to hold on to a wild card, only got three hits and fell into a tie with Detroit for the final spot.

It's been an unexpected season for the Guardians, who went 76-86 last season while saying goodbye to beloved manager Terry Francona after 11 years. They figured to be competitive, not one of baseball's best teams.

But it's all come together under Vogt, who before spring training had never even filled out a lineup card.

In the dizzying postgame clubhouse delirium, Vogt was presented with a championship belt by catcher Austin Hedges before all the Guardians showered their manager with champagne and beer.

“He’s one of the most special humans I’ve ever met, not just as a manager but as a man,” said Hedges, who re-signed with Cleveland after winning a World Series in Texas last season. "He’s a leader of men.

"We had one of the greatest managers in the history of baseball for a long time and I love Terry Francona with all my heart. But this was probably the best year of managing I’ve seen in all my life.”

Cleveland took control of the division in mid-April, and the Guardians have had sole possession of first place for all but one day the past five months.

And while All-Stars Ramírez, Josh Naylor, Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase led the way, it's been contributions from youngsters up and down the roster that has kept Cleveland consistently among the league's best teams.

The Guardians overcame losing ace Shane Bieber in the first weeks of the season, and Vogt spent most of the season plugging holes in his rotation due to injuries and ineffectiveness.

Manzardo put the Guardians up 1-0 in the first with his fourth homer and second in three days. He finished with three hits, and since being recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Sept. 1, Manzardo is batting .357 (15 of 42) with four and seven RBI in 16 games.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (finger blister) will pitch a simulated game at Triple-A Toledo in his next step in returning to the rotation. Cobb has been on the injured list twice and made just three starts with Cleveland since coming over in a trade from San Francisco in July. ... Vogt said Kwan (back inflammation) is “feeling better” and making progress after going on the IL earlier this week. He's eligible to return on Sept. 24.

Twins: Open a three-game series in Boston on Friday with David Festa (2-6, 5.07) starting. The Red Sox have not announced their starter.

Guardians: Head to St. Louis for their last three road games of the regular season. Ben Lively (12-9, 3.87) starts Friday against Kyle Gibson (8-7, 4.11).

How can I watch Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Guardians?

TV Channel: Twins at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Guardians: 55.8%

Twins: 44.2%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	10th Inning	Giménez singled to right, Ramírez scored, Thomas to second.
	10th Inning	Thomas intentionally walked.
	10th Inning	J. Naylor struck out swinging.
	10th Inning	Thielbar relieved Jax
	10th Inning	Buxton lined out to right.
	10th Inning	Correa fouled out to first.

Statistics

MIN		CLE
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
1	Hit By Pitch	0
6	Ground Balls	12
14	Strikeouts	12
1	Runs Batted In	3
1	Sacrifice Hit	0
3	Hits	11
0	Stolen Bases	0
5	Walks	4
0	Catcher Interference	0
2	Runs	3
1	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	1
32	At Bats	37
0	Home Runs	1
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
18	Runners Left On Base	20
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	1
2	Doubles	1
13	Fly Balls	14
0	Caught Stealing	0
170	Pitches	162
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	2
0	Pinch Hits	1
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	0
5	Total Bases	15
39	Plate Appearances	42
0.0	Projected Home Runs	162.0
2	Extra Base Hits	2
0.7	Runs Created	5.4
.094	Batting Average	.297
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.500
.156	Slugging Percentage	.405
.219	Secondary Average	.216
.237	On Base Percentage	.357
.393	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.763
0.5	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.9
0.6	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	5.2
13.0	Batter Rating	28.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	37.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
4.36	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.86
.063	Isolated Power	.108
0.36	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.33
.128	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.095
.125	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.081
3.0	Runs Produced	6.0
0.5	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.3	Patience Ratio	0.5
0.2	Balls In Play Average	0.4
61.0	MLB Rating	82.8
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0