Twins Erase Three-Run Deficit, Walk Off Guardians in Ninth
MIN def. CLE · July 8, 2026 · Final: Twins 6, Guardians 5
Minnesota trailed 3-0 after the top of the fourth, Cleveland Guardians shortstop Brayan Rocchio's two-run homer and a solo shot from Rhys Hoskins having put the Twins in an early hole at Target Field.
The Twins answered immediately in the bottom of the fourth. Twins first baseman Royce Lewis drew a bases-loaded walk to score Brooks Lee, then Twins center fielder Luke Keaschall lifted a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-2. Twins right fielder Alan Roden followed with a sharp line drive single to center that scored Josh Bell and tied it at three.
Cleveland pushed back in the top of the seventh. A DeLauter single scored Kahlil Watson to put the Guardians ahead 4-3, and a Rocchio sacrifice bunt — aided by a fielding error — brought home Steven Kwan to extend it to 5-3. Minnesota's win probability had fallen to 16 percent.
The Twins worked back in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Twins third baseman Brooks Lee drew a walk that scored Luke Keaschall, trimming it to 5-4. Then Twins second baseman Kody Clemens drew another walk, forcing home Ryan Kreidler to even it at five.
The game stayed tied into the bottom of the ninth. Royce Lewis reached, and with runners moving, Alan Roden lined a sharp single to center that scored Lewis and ended it — Minnesota 6, Cleveland 5.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 3 runs — in the top of the 4th
- Win-probability nadir
- 16% (down 2 in the top of the 7th)
- Lead flipped for good
- bottom of the 9th
- Lead changes
- 1
- Final
- MIN 6, CLE 5 — won by 1, walk-off
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| T4 | Brayan Rocchio homers (7) on a fly ball to left field. Chase DeLauter scores. | 2-0 |
| T4 | Rhys Hoskins homers (9) on a fly ball to left field. | 3-0 |
| B4 | Royce Lewis walks. Brooks Lee scores. Kody Clemens to 3rd. Josh Bell to 2nd. | 3-1 |
| B4 | Luke Keaschall out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Kahlil Watson. Kody Clemens scores. | 3-2 |
| B4 | Alan Roden singles on a sharp line drive to center fielder Kahlil Watson. Josh Bell scores. Royce Lewis to 3rd. | 3-3 |
| T7 | Chase DeLauter singles on a sharp ground ball to right fielder Alan Roden. Kahlil Watson scores. Steven Kwan to 3rd. | 4-3 |
| T7 | Brayan Rocchio hits a sacrifice bunt. Fielding error by pitcher Taylor Rogers. Steven Kwan scores. Chase DeLauter to 2nd. Brayan Rocchio to 1st. | 5-3 |
| B7 | Brooks Lee walks. Luke Keaschall scores. Ryan Kreidler to 3rd. Austin Martin to 2nd. | 5-4 |
| B7 | Kody Clemens walks. Ryan Kreidler scores. Austin Martin to 3rd. Brooks Lee to 2nd. | 5-5 |
| B9 | Alan Roden singles on a sharp fly ball to center fielder Kahlil Watson. Royce Lewis scores. Alex Jackson to 3rd. Luke Keaschall to 2nd. | 5-6 |
Box score
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Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| MIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
MINWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin MartinLF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .248 |
| Brooks Lee3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .252 |
| Kody Clemens2B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .255 |
| Josh BellDH | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .250 |
| Royce Lewis1B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .210 |
| Alex JacksonC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .314 |
| Luke KeaschallCF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .257 |
| Alan RodenRF | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .400 |
| Ryan KreidlerSS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .250 |
| Trevor LarnachLF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .286 |
| Victor CaratiniC | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .239 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connor Prielipp | 5.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 83 |
| Travis Adams | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| Eric Orze | 0.1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 |
| Taylor Rogers | 0.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| Kody Funderburk | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| Yoendrys Gómez | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
CLELosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven KwanLF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .221 |
| Chase DeLauterRF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .279 |
| Brayan RocchioSS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .272 |
| Rhys Hoskins1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .181 |
| Travis Bazzana2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .246 |
| Daniel Schneemann3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .211 |
| Kyle ManzardoDH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .219 |
| Austin HedgesC | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .288 |
| Kahlil WatsonCF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .222 |
| David FryLF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .205 |
| Gabriel Arias3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .213 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slade Cecconi | 3.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 67 |
| Colin Holderman | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Tim Herrin | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Shawn Armstrong | 0.2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Erik Sabrowski | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
| Hunter Gaddis | 0.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Cade Smith | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| Matt Festa | 0.2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 31 |