Bo Naylor doubled in Jose Ramirez with one out in the eighth inning, lifting the surging Cleveland Guardians to a 5-4 win over the visiting Minnesota Twins on Saturday afternoon.
Naylor’s sharp liner to right off Pierson Ohl (0-2) capped a back-and-forth contest between American League Central rivals, culminating in Cleveland’s 16th victory in its last 22 games.
Nic Enright (2-0) struck out both batters he faced in the eighth for the win. Hunter Gaddis pitched the ninth for his first save, making him 1-for-9 in career opportunities.
Ramirez hit a two-run homer, Daniel Schneeman had a solo shot and scored a pair of runs, and C.J. Kayfus drove in a run in his major-league debut as the Guardians won their second straight in the three-game series.
The Twins scored four straight runs to grab a 4-2 lead against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee. Matt Wallner belted a two-run homer to plate Kody Clemens in the fourth, and Trevor Larnach and Royce Lewis had RBI hits in the fifth.
Cleveland opened the scoring in the second when Kayfus grounded out in his initial at-bat, bringing home Bo Naylor from third. Schneemann’s solo homer in the third off Twins starter Bailey Ober made it 2-0.
Kayfus, who was batting .300 with 14 homers and 54 RBIs in 86 combined games at Triple-A Columbus and Double-A Akron, reached the majors in his third pro season. He and outfielder Chase DeLauter are considered the top two prospects in the organization.
Bibee was lifted after 4 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits. The right-hander struck out five and walked two before being taken off the hook by Ramirez’s tying homer in the bottom of the fifth.
Ober was activated off the injured list following a one-month absence with a left hip impingement. The right-hander gave up four runs on six hits in five innings, striking out four with one walk. He is 0-5 with an 8.74 ERA in six starts since the beginning of June.
–Field Level Media
