Lee's 401-Foot Bomb Breaks Cleveland Open, Twins Roll 10-6

Brooks Lee hit a three-run homer to center in the fourth inning that swung Cleveland's win probability from 41% to 15% — a 26-point collapse in a single swing. Minnesota turned a 3-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead in the span of one chaotic fourth inning and never looked back.

The first three innings looked like a genuine back-and-forth. Trevor Larnach opened the scoring with a 404-foot shot to right center in the first, but Cleveland answered immediately — Ramírez scoring on a Rocchio single to tie it, then the Guardians stringing together two more runs in the second to go up 3-1. Bailey Ober was leaking early, allowing 8 hits and 4 earned runs across just 4.0 innings, and Cleveland's offense appeared to have the upper hand. Minnesota chipped back in the third — Lee singled home Jackson, and Bell grounded out to score Larnach — but the game was still Cleveland's at 3-3 heading into the fourth.

Then Lee happened. After Jackson reached on an infield single to score Roden and make it 4-3 Minnesota, Lee unloaded a 401-foot home run to center that plated Keaschall and Jackson, turning a one-run lead into a 7-3 advantage. That's the play that broke this game open — Cleveland's win probability cratered from 41% to 15% in one at-bat. The story of the night was Lee's ability to do maximum damage with men on base: he finished 2-for-5 with a homer, 4 RBI, and 1 run scored. Larnach was right there with him, going 2-for-4 with his own homer, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Alex Jackson, quietly, crossed the plate three times.

Cleveland made it cosmetically respectable late. Kyle Manzardo had a strong individual night — 3-for-5 with a homer and 2 RBI — and Ramírez added 2 RBI of his own, but the Guardians were chasing a ghost by then. Minnesota tacked on three more in the eighth on a Larnach single and a Bell single before Manzardo's solo shot in the eighth and a Rocchio RBI single in the ninth trimmed the final margin to 10-6. Travis Adams looks like the real story on the pitching side for Minnesota — he threw 2.0 innings of one-hit, scoreless ball after Ober's rocky start, keeping the lead intact while the offense did the rest. Cleveland's Slade Cecconi lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing 7 hits and 3 earned runs, and the bullpen couldn't hold the fort once Minnesota's lineup got rolling. Final: Minnesota 10, Cleveland 6.