Kyle Manzardo’s homer in the 9th inning propels Guardians to 2-1 victory over Twins

By Canadian Press on April 29, 2025.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kyle Manzardo homered to right field to lead off the ninth inning as the Cleveland Guardians snapped a three-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night.

Manzardo connected on a changeup down the middle by Louis Varland (1-2) for his eighth homer of the season and the first walk-off hit of his career.

It was the second walk-off win for the Guardians this season. They won their home opener on April 8 over the Chicago White Sox 1-0 on a bases-loaded walk.

Emmanuel Clase (4-0) got the win after pitching a scoreless ninth inning.

Bo Naylor also went deep for the Guardians.

Ty France had three hits for Minnesota, which had its four-game winning streak snapped.

Naylor, who came in 2 for 20 in his last six games, drove a fastball by Twins starter Chris Paddack into the right-field stands on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead in the third inning.

France evened it in the fifth with a solo shot to right-center off Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee. France has an RBI in four straight games.

Key moment

France lined a base hit to center off Clase with one out in the ninth inning. DaShawn Keirsay Jr. came on as a pinch runner, but was caught stealing at second to clear the bases.

Key stat

The game started after a 3-hour, 10-minute weather delay due to the threat of thunderstorms in the area.

Up next

RHP Pablo López (2-1, 2.08 ERA) goes for Minnesota against Cleveland’s RHP Luis Ortiz (2-3, 5.96 ERA) on Wednesday.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Joe Reedy, The Associated Press