New-look Twins pitching staff pieces it together for one-run victory over Guardians

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Aug 3, 2025

Published in Baseball

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CLEVELAND — For the first time in nearly a week, and this has been one eternity of a week, there was finally something for Twins players to celebrate.

After trading away 10 major league players at the trade deadline, this new version of the Twins’ roster held on for a 5-4 victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. With the tying run at first base after Michael Tonkin gave up two runs in the ninth inning, new Twins reliever Erasmo Ramírez earned his sixth career save in his first big league game all season.

The Twins took a three-run lead into the ninth inning. Tonkin, who has three career saves, walked his first batter before giving up two hits, including a two-run single to Angel Martinez. Tonkin then retired Steven Kwan — who went 0 for 5 — before Ramírez entered with one out and a runner on first base.

Ramírez got the two outs he needed, retiring Daniel Schneemann on a flyout to center before José Ramírez flied out to right on a 2-0 pitch. That gave the Twins their first one-run victory at Progressive Field since Aug. 24, 2020; they had lost their past 14 one-run games here, including the first two games of this series.

The Twins ambushed Guardians lefty Joey Cantillo in the first inning. Cantillo’s first 16 pitches resulted in four hits, two runs and zero outs. Austin Martin lined a single into right field and Ryan Jeffers dropped a fly ball in center before Matt Wallner hit an RBI ground ball single through the middle of the infield. Royce Lewis followed with an RBI double, a ball he pulled down the left-field line.

It was, somehow, Wallner’s first run-scoring hit of the season when batting with two or more runners on base.

Cantillo struck out the next two batters, then Trevor Larnach lined a two-run, two-out single into right field. The Twins had three hits with a runner in scoring position during their four-run first inning, their highest total in a game since July 22.

The Twins didn’t have any answers for Cantillo after his 29-pitch first inning. Cantillo permitted one hit and two walks over his final 4 2/3 innings, totaling a season-high nine strikeouts.

It wasn’t until the eighth inning when the Twins had another runner in scoring position. Wallner was awarded a triple when center fielder Martínez dropped a ball against the wall. DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who failed on three attempts to drop a sacrifice bunt in Saturday’s 5-4 loss, entered as a pinch runner, and he scored on a well-placed squeeze bunt from Kody Clemens.

Twins starter José Ureña, pitching for his fourth big league team this season, had a four-run lead before he stepped on the mound. The lead was immediately cut in half. After Daniel Schneemann hit a one-out single to center, José Ramírez launched a sinker that didn’t sink into the right field seats for a two-run homer.

When Ureña completed the first inning without giving up any more runs, stranding at a runner at second base, it was the first time the Twins completed a full inning with a lead in six days.

Ureña, a 33-year-old who has pitched in the majors for 11 seasons, previously pitched for the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers this year. Sunday was his second-longest outing, pitching four innings.

Relying mostly on a sinker that topped out at 98 mph, Ureña allowed five hits and two runs across four innings. He struck out three.

The Twins bullpen, which lost five members this week, combined to pitch four scoreless innings before Tonkin entered in the ninth. Kody Funderburk earned the victory with two innings, and Justin Topa and Cole Sands — the only bullpen holdovers from the start of the season — each worked a scoreless inning.