CLEVELAND (AP) — José Ramírez became the first player in Cleveland franchise history to reach 250 career homers and 250 steals and then scored the winning run in the 10th inning as the Guardians rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Thursday.
Ramírez’s single drove in Steven Kwan to tie it at 3. Ramírez then stole second base to become the 24th player in major league history — and only active one — to reach the milestone.
After Kyle Manzardo was intentionally walked, pinch-hitter Angel Martínez hit a sharp grounder into right field off Justin Topa (1-2) to score Ramírez and give Cleveland its second walk-off win of the four-game series.
Kolby Allard (1-0) got the win as the Guardians took three games in the four-game set and went 6-4 on their 10-game homestand. There were two rain delays totaling 2 hours, 23 minutes on what was ironically Weather Education Day.
An 18-minute rain delay between the sixth and seventh innings ended up benefiting the Twins. Minnesota scored a pair of runs in the seventh and took advantage of Cleveland’s fielders struggling with damp conditions.
Harrison Bader led off the inning with an infield single after Cleveland third baseman Will Wilson slipped while fielding the grounder. Bader scored on an RBI single by Christian Vázquez after Noel slipped in right center.
Key moment
Cleveland had the bases loaded with one out in the ninth, but was unable to convert when Jhoan Duran struck out Bo Naylor and Kwan.
Key stat
Guardians outfielder Jhonkensy Noel hit a 450-foot home run in the fifth inning. The solo shot to left-center off Simeon Woods Richardson tied his longest homer at Progressive Field and marked the 12th time since MLB Statcast started in 2015 that a Cleveland batter had gone at least 450 feet deep at home.
Up next
Twins: Head to Boston for a weekend series. RHP Joe Ryan (2-2, 3.18 ERA) gets the call for Friday’s opener.
Guardians: Begin a six-game road trip in Toronto on Friday. LHP Logan Allen (1-2, 4.21 ERA) looks to bounce back after allowing seven runs on Sunday against Boston.
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