MINNEAPOLIS -- The Guardians entered the weekend series against the Twins with a bullpen running on fumes. But thanks to the performances of their starting pitchers on Saturday, the relievers will be better rested for the final week of the season.
Logan Allen threw eight scoreless innings as the Guardians completed a doubleheader sweep of the Twins with an 8-0 win in the nightcap at Target Field.
The victory was Cleveland’s tenth straight and 15th in its last 16 games, and it brings the Guardians (84-71) to within one game of first-place Detroit in the AL Central, with a three-game series against the Tigers at Progressive Field on tap next for the rivals. The Guardians, who trailed the Tigers by as many as 15 1/2 games in early July, haven’t been this close to first place since they were a half-game out on April 25.
Also, with the Astros losing to Seattle, the Guardians are actually in a playoff position -- they’re tied with Houston for the third Wild Card spot, but Cleveland holds the tiebreaker over the Astros.
In the longest start of his career, Allen (8-11) one-upped rotationmate Slade Cecconi, who tossed seven scoreless frames in the opener. Allen allowed four hits, walked one and struck out seven.
“It's fun to build off each other like that,” Allen said after the Guardians completed their first doubleheader shutout since Sept. 30, 1964, at Boston. “Obviously just trying to build off what [Cecconi] did, keep on going out there, attacking guys, let the defense work, and it led to some zeros today.”
Cecconi and Allen combined to pitch 15 innings on Saturday, allowing six hits and walking two while striking out 15. Kolby Allard pitched two innings in the opener and Zak Kent finished off the Twins with a scoreless ninth in the finale.
Getting through a doubleheader needing just three innings from the bullpen? That’s music to manager Stephen Vogt’s ears.
“Slade and Logan deserve all the credit for both wins today, coming out and doing what they did to give the bullpen essentially a day off,” Vogt said. “[The starters] push each other. They compete with each other. They're their own team, and they talk about it all the time. They want to one-up each other, and they want to win.”
Allen’s most recent start came on Sept. 10 against Kansas City. With the way the schedule played out, Vogt and pitching coach Carl Willis decided to skip him in the rotation in order to have two veteran arms to start Saturday’s doubleheader, a decision that didn’t initially sit well with Allen. But you can’t argue with the results.
“I felt fresh tonight, which was nice,” Allen said. “But I made all my starts all year, and obviously that's what I want to do. But … the team is more important than me right now. I’ve got to do what I can to help the team win games and make this push to the playoffs. So whatever they ask of me, I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do.”
Twins starter Bailey Ober (5-9) held the Guardians in check through four innings, allowing just two walks and a base hit by Gabriel Arias. But the bats came alive in the fifth inning, when seven hits -- four of them with two outs -- brought six runs across.
Almost lost in the rally was a play by José Ramírez that encapsulates what makes him stand out among the superstars of the game. With two outs and a man on first, Ramírez ripped a line drive right at first baseman Edouard Julien. The ball skipped off Julien’s glove and rolled behind him to second baseman Luke Keaschall. It appeared Keaschall would have enough time to get the out, but Ramírez sprinted down the line and beat the return throw to first base by a half-step.
That bit of hustle from the team’s best player led to four more runs. First, Kyle Manzardo hit an RBI single. Arias followed with a two-run double. And C.J. Kayfus had an RBI single before Ober finally got out of the inning.
“If your superstar is going to play that way, if your future Hall of Famer is going to play that way, then you have to,” Vogt said of the message Ramírez’s hustle sends to his teammates. “All of our guys run hard, and that's the beauty of this group of guys. They hold each other accountable.”