CLEVELAND (AP) — Max Kepler hit a two-run homer and Bailey Ober pitched seven innings in a combined three-hit game, giving the Minnesota Twins a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
Ober (2-0) allowed three hits and one walk while striking out six, lowering his ERA to 0.98 in three outings. Boricua Jorge López pitched a clean eighth inning and Jhoan Durán took over the ninth for his seventh save.
Guardians starter Peyton Battenfield (0-3) didn’t let anyone get on him until Christian Vazquez singled with two out in the sixth. Kepler followed with a 440-foot drive, driving in the only runs of the game.
The Twins have homered in 17 straight games, a franchise record. Kepler has 15 home runs at Progressive Field since 2016, the most by a visiting player.
Minnesota leads the AL Central by 4 1/2 games over the Guardians. The teams will meet another 12 times in the campaign.
For Twins, Puerto Rican Christian Vázquez 3-1 with a run scored. The Dominican Jorge Polanco 4-1.
For Guardians, the Dominicans José Ramírez 4-1 and Óscar González 3-1.
