BASEBALL: Twins hang on to beat Guardians for 3rd straight win

The Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to three games with a 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

Kody Clemens led the Twins' offense by going 2-for-4 with an RBI triple, while Austin Martin and Brooks Lee each drove in a run as Minnesota opened the three-game series with a win.

The Guardians scored first in the second inning when Rhys Hoskins launched a solo home run to center field, his eighth of the season and first since June 19, to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota answered in the bottom half of the inning with two runs. Martin tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Lee followed with an RBI single to center field to put the Twins ahead 2-1.

Twins starter Taj Bradley (8-3) turned in a dominant performance, allowing one run on three hits over seven innings. The right-hander struck out 10 batters and did not issue a walk.

Guardians starter Joey Cantillo (7-4) was charged with the loss despite allowing only two unearned runs on six hits across five innings. He walked three and struck out seven.

Cleveland threatened to tie the game in the seventh after Chase DeLauter doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third with one out. However, Hoskins struck out swinging before Brayan Rocchio grounded out, leaving the runner stranded.

The Twins added an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh. Josh Bell singled to open the inning and scored from first when Clemens delivered a two-out RBI triple to left field, extending Minnesota's lead to 3-1.

Yoendrys Gomez recorded the final out to earn his 10th save of the season.

DeLauter finished 2-for-3 with a double for Cleveland, which lost its third consecutive game.

Minnesota also played without All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton, who was placed on the injured list before the game because of a lingering hip injury. -Field Level Media/Reuters