Cursed in Cleveland? Twins drop series opener to Guardians with 6-4 loss.
One of the constants for the Twins over the past few seasons is they don't play well at Cleveland's Progressive Field, their own house of horrors, and there are some bizarre moments in those games.
The Twins lost, 6-4, to the Guardians in their series opener on Friday, and it was filled with more oddities. The Twins had five consecutive hits in the sixth inning, and it resulted in only one run. The Guardians scored four runs in the first inning, aided by a controversial play during which second baseman Luke Keaschall brushed into a baserunner.
The curse in Cleveland continued. The Twins have won one road series in Cleveland since 2023, and they own a 9-22 record there over the last four-plus seasons.
The Twins, who have lost 16 of their past 21 games, built offensive opportunities over the final four innings. In the sixth, Austin Martin started a hit parade against Guardians lefty Parker Messick with a one-out double and Ryan Jeffers followed with an RBI single.
After a single from Josh Bell, Keaschall hit a single to center and Jeffers was thrown out at the plate on a strong throw from center fielder Petey Halpin. Brooks Lee added an infield single, loading the bases with two outs, but Guardians reliever Matt Festa struck out Victor Caratini on three pitches.
The Twins pulled within one run in the seventh inning after Royce Lewis broke a 0-for-16 slump with a single and Byron Buxton bashed his 12th homer of the season over the left-field wall, but they never climbed out of an early four-run deficit.
Martin was stranded at second base to end the seventh inning, and two runners were stranded in the eighth.
Trailing by a run in the seventh inning, the Twins opted to have reliever Eric Orze pitch to José Ramírez with a runner on third, two outs and open bases if they wanted to intentionally walk him. After a mound visit, Ramírez padded Cleveland's lead with an RBI single through the left side of the infield.
Cleveland added another run in the eighth inning after Travis Bazzana beat out a potential double-play grounder. Bazzana stole two bases and he scored on a comebacker to the mound that deflected off pitcher Anthony Banda.
The Twins have played 27 games against Cleveland since 2024, and 17 were decided by two or fewer runs. The Twins have a 3-14 record in those games.
Twins lefty starter Connor Prielipp permitted four hits and two walks across five innings while striking out six. The Guardians turned those numbers into four runs (three unearned).
Steven Kwan hit a leadoff single in the first inning, grounding a slider up the middle in a 0-2 count, and Prielipp plunked Angel Martínez in a two-strike count with a literal backfoot slider. Then came some controversy.
Ramírez chopped a ground ball to the right side of the infield, and Keaschall brushed Martínez, who was running between Keaschall and the ball. Keaschall, who touched Martínez with his right arm, never touched the ball as it rolled into right field, allowing Kwan to score the game's first run.
Twins manager Derek Shelton argued for an obstruction call, and the umpiring crew gathered for a conversation, but it went into the box score as an error on Keaschall.
Three pitches later, Martínez scored on a sacrifice fly to right field as Matt Wallner's throw was too far up the third-base line.
Two batters later, gifted an extra out in the inning on the ground ball toward Keaschall, Bazzana drilled a slider for a two-run homer, his first major league home run. Bazzana, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 MLB draft, was playing his ninth game in the big leagues.
Prielipp retired 12 of his next 14 batters after the homer, and he stranded two baserunners in the fifth inning. The rookie from Tomah, Wis., owns a 3.32 ERA through four starts with fellow starter Mick Abel on the 15-day injured list.
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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 11:09 PM.