None of that was a secret walking into Tuesday. Cleveland had just finished torching Minnesota 13-4 the night before with 7 home runs, and the Guardians looked like they were simply going to keep hitting until somebody stopped them.
This one played out slower than the blowout that preceded it. The Twins actually struck first with a run in the top of the 1st and stayed within a run after adding another in the 4th, but Cleveland answered with 2 in the 3rd and 2 more in the 6th to take control, then tacked on an insurance run in the 7th. Minnesota's offense never found another gear — six hits and nothing after the 4th inning was enough to summarize the night.
Cleveland won it despite committing 2 errors, which says plenty about the gap between these two rosters at the moment — sloppy defense and it still wasn't particularly close. The Guardians push to 53-48 and keep pace in a division race where every game matters, while the Twins drop to 49-52 and have now lost 3 straight, all against the same two clubs.
Minnesota heads home to regroup with a rotation that's basically running on fumes, while Cleveland gets to ride the momentum of a series win and the promise of Ramirez coming back sooner than expected. Messick, for his part, just keeps building a Cy Young-caliber case start by start.