Triston McKenzie pitched five scoreless innings in his injury-delayed season debut, while Josh Naylor hit an RBI double in the seventh as the Cleveland Guardians beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 on Sunday. and split the four-game series.
McKenzie struck out 10 and allowed only one runner to reach base — on Michael Taylor’s one-out single in the third. The 25-year-old right-hander threw 79 pitches after missing the first two months of the season with a sore shoulder muscle he suffered late in spring training.
Twins starter Joe Ryan (7-3) was as brilliant as McKenzie until he walked Jose Ramirez with two outs and the full count in the seventh. Naylor followed with a drive over the right-field wall to score the Guardians, who rank last in the majors in home runs.
Emmanuel Clase reached 19 saves, to lead the Major Leagues, with a scoreless ninth. The Dominican has 14 saves against the Twins, the most against any opponent.
For the Guardians, the Dominican José Ramírez 3-0, one scored. Venezuelans Andrés Giménez 3-1, an RBI. Gabriel Arias 3-0.
For the Twins, the Dominican Jorge Polanco 4-0. The Colombian Donovan Solano 3-0. Dominican Willi Castro 4-1, one scored and one towed.
