Game Recap 4/4/24 | Guardians Beat the Twins 4-2

Post-Game Recap

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3 Things Around The Game

1 – Brilliant Bibee

Tanner Bibee was excellent on Thursday, pitching 5 1/3 innings, only giving up on one run with nine strikeouts. 

2 – Strikeouts

Speaking of strikeouts, the Guardians only had seven compared to the Twins, who swung and missed 15 times. Add the timely hitting by the Guardians, who went two for seven with runners in scoring position, compared to Minnesota, which hit zero for twelve, which was the difference in the game.

3 – Kwan

Steven Kwan keeps hitting at the top of the lineup with another three hits on Thursday. 

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Game Summary

Tanner Bibee and the Cleveland bullpen combined for a dominant display, tallying 15 strikeouts to stifle Minnesota’s offense, while Steven Kwan’s three hits led the charge as the Guardians spoiled the Twins’ home opener with a 4-2 victory on Thursday.

Bibee (1-0) equaled his career-best with nine strikeouts, conceding just one run across 5 1/3 innings. A quartet of relievers followed suit, with Emmanuel Clase closing out the perfect ninth inning for his third save of the season.

On the offensive front, Carlos Correa notched three hits, and Edouard Julien smashed a homer for the Twins. Despite Minnesota’s reputation for leading the majors in strikeouts last season, they whiffed 15 times and left nine runners stranded, eight of whom were in scoring position.

The Twins’ woes were epitomized in the eighth inning. Trailing by two runs, they had a promising start with Correa’s leadoff double. However, their hopes were dashed as Scott Barlow proceeded to strike out Carlos Santana, Manuel Margot, and Willi Castro consecutively to snuff out the threat.

Starting pitcher Pablo López (1-1) endured a tough outing, surrendering four runs, three of which were earned, across 5 2/3 innings.

López cruised through the first nine batters but faltered in the fourth inning, where Kwan kick-started a rally with a leadoff single, culminating in Cleveland notching three runs.

Despite Minnesota frequently placing runners in scoring position in the early innings, they failed to capitalize until Julien broke the deadlock with a leadoff homer in the fifth inning, aided by the gusty north wind carrying the ball into the left-field stands.

Cleveland capitalized on an unearned run in the sixth inning, courtesy of Correa’s error.

Although the Twins narrowed the deficit to 4-2 in the seventh inning due to a wild pitch by Hunter Gaddis, they squandered another opportunity with two runners left stranded in scoring position.

Up Next

RHP Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 5.40 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound on Saturday for his second start back in Cleveland after a three-year stint with the Mets. Last Sunday, Carrasco allowed three runs across five innings against the Athletics.

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