Alan Roden’s walkoff single sends Twins to second straight win over Guardians

[ASFN Admin]

Final​

Twins 6, Guardians 5

Starting pitcher performance​

Connor Prielipp cruised through the first three innings of his outing on Wednesday, allowing a single while sending down nine of the first 10 hitters he faced. But he ran into trouble in the fourth inning, allowing a hit to begin the inning before back-to-back home runs from shortstop Bryan Rocchio and first baseman Rhys Hoskins gave the Guardians a lead.

After the Twins rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the inning — three hits preceded a Royce Lewis bases-loaded walk, a Luke Keaschall sacrifice fly and a game-tying single from Alan Roden — Prielipp responded with a scoreless fifth to end his night.

He now sits at 82 1/3 innings pitched this season between Triple-A and the major leagues, one out short of matching his career-high in innings pitched as a professional (82 2/3, set last year).

Key moment​

After each team scored three runs in the fourth inning, Twins and Guardians hitters both took advantage of free passes in the seventh. Twins reliever Eric Orze issued a pair of walks and both runners came around to score, giving Cleveland the lead back.

But it was short-lived as a pair of Guardians relievers issued five walks of their own in the bottom of the frame. Erik Sabrowski, who came on mid-inning, threw 14 pitches, only two of which were strikes. Included in that was a pair of bases-loaded walks, which helped the Twins tie the game.

Both teams stranded multiple runners in the eighth, and that’s where things stood until the bottom of the ninth when Roden, in his first major league game this season, laced a ball off the wall in center field, bringing home the game-winning run.

Up next​

Bailey Ober (6-3, 4.59 ERA) is scheduled to come off the injured list on Thursday and start for the Twins in the finale against the Guardians. It will be his first start since late May. He’ll be opposed by Gavin Williams (9-4, 3.89 ERA).

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