The red hot Minnesota Twins hosted the Cleveland Indians in the finale of a three game series on Thursday night in Minneapolis with a chance to sweep their division rivals. The Twins sent Kyle Gibson to the mound, while Cleveland countered with Cody Anderson.

Gibson was rocked by Cleveland in the first inning when Jason Kipnis hit a home run to left field before some fans even made it to their seats. Later in the inning, Lonnie Chisenhall singled to right field to score both Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor to give Cleveland the early 3-0 lead.

Cleveland continued their scoring in the third inning when Carlos Santana hit a home run to right field to score Ramirez and Lindor, and extend the lead to six runs. That would be all for Gibson, as he was removed from the game after just 2.2 innings in favor of Brian Duensing.

The Twins did make a late attempt at a rally, as Torii Hunter hit a home run in the seventh inning to get the Twins in the board. The scoring continued in the eighth inning when Eddie Rosario hit a home run to right field to score, rookie of the year candidate, Miguel Sano, and cut the lead to just three runs.

In the ninth, Cleveland brought in Cody Allen to pitch to Minnesota. The first batter he faced was Eduardo Nunez, who grounded out to third base for the first out of the inning. He was followed by Eduardo Escobar, who lined out to shortstop for the second out of the inning. That left the game in the hands of Aaron Hicks, who struck out looking to end the game.

The loss drops the Twins to 1.5 games back of Houston in the hunt for the final wild card spot. It also means that if the Kansas City Royals win, they will clinch their first division title in 30 years.

The Twins now will travel to Detroit for a key three game series with the Tigers, while the Indians travel to Kansas City to face the Royals. The Twins and Indians will then play early next week in Cleveland before Minnesota returns home to close out the regular season against the Royals.

The Astros now lead the wild card race by 1.5 games, which is where the Twins are tied with the Angels, with the Indians lurking four games back. One team that has snuck into the hunt is the Baltimore Orioles, who are just 3.5 games back of Houston with a little more then a week left in the regular season. 

Win- Cody Anderson (6-3)

Loss- Kyle Gibson (10-11)

Save- Cody Allen (32)

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About the author
Stevie Larson
NASCAR Editor, Minnesota sports fan. Contact: [email protected]