MINNEAPOLIS – One day after Joey Cantillo ironed out some kinks against the Twins, Tanner Bibee took the mound at Target Field on Sunday and got back to basics in a big way.
Bibee allowed two runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings and Cleveland batters blasted three home runs as the Guardians took the rubber match of their three-game weekend series in Minnesota with a 9-2 victory.
The two-man turnaround couldn’t have come at a better time for the Guardians, who are in the thick of the pennant race trying to chase down the White Sox for the AL Central title while also trying to hold off the likes of Toronto, Baltimore and Texas for the third AL Wild Card spot.
With the White Sox losing at St. Louis on Sunday, the Guardians will be just a half-game behind Chicago entering the teams’ crucial three-game series at Progressive Field on Monday. Cleveland will then play its final home series of the regular season against the Athletics.
“We have an opportunity to come home, very similar to last year,” said manager Stephen Vogt, recalling the last homestand of the 2025 season, when the Guardians took two of three from Detroit and did the same against Texas to win the division by one game. “Hope the fans come out to support us … the next six days, the last homestand.”
With such significant games looming, the Guardians will need all hands on deck to get their daily allotment of 27 outs. That’s what makes the showings of Cantillo and Bibee that much more important, not only for the team’s confidence in the pitchers but for the pitchers’ confidence in themselves.
“Having two not-great ones in a row, it definitely doesn’t weigh on you, but it makes the days a little longer, and you want to get back out there as soon as possible,” said Bibee, who posted his 18th quality start, tied for third in the AL.
Much like Cantillo, Bibee was coming off two shaky starts in a row, allowing 10 earned runs in just 8 1/3 innings against Toronto and Baltimore. But he got right against the Twins with an efficient and effective outing. At one point, he retired 10 in a row before Trevor Larnach hit a leadoff homer in the seventh inning.
Meanwhile, the last time the Guardians faced Twins starter Joe Ryan, they hit six home runs off the two-time All-Star in just four innings. Steven Kwan served notice that it might not have been a fluke when he hit Ryan’s second pitch of the day into the flower boxes in the right-field overhang. It was Kwan’s eighth career leadoff homer.
“Being the away team, it’s a good way to start the day,” Kwan said. “Not give them any room to breathe. Start the pressure early.”
The pressure continued as Jo Adell matched Kwan’s feat in the third, taking Ryan deep on the second pitch of the inning to put Cleveland on top 2-0. According to Statcast, the 116.8 mph rocket to left was the hardest-hit home run by a Cleveland player since 2015.
Travis Bazzana had another two-hit day, including a two-run homer that broke the game open in the sixth. It was a rare show of offensive support for Bibee, who had received the lowest run support in the Majors this year coming into Sunday’s game.
Now the Guardians can head home, two games over .500 and with their fate largely resting in their hands. The coaching staff managed the rotation to ensure that Gavin Williams, Foster Griffin and Parker Messick would be in line to face the White Sox with nothing less than the AL Central title on the line.
“To go home a half-game out, with three games against a team you’re chasing – I mean, that’s why you play the game. That’s why you play 162,” Kwan said. “Obviously, there’s been some tough parts of the year, but to come back and play the first-place team right now, only a half-game back, it should be really exciting.”