BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) — The Cleveland Guardians snapped a two-game skid Thursday afternoon at Target Field, defeating the Minnesota Twins 5-2 behind strong pitching and timely hitting that overcame a resilient Twins lineup.

Gavin Williams earned the win, his 10th of the season against four losses, allowing two runs on three hits over seven innings. He struck out nine and walked one. Cade Smith notched his 27th save with a perfect ninth, striking out two. Kendry Rojas took the loss, yielding three earned runs on two hits in two innings of relief.

Cleveland improved to 48-46, while Minnesota fell to 46-48. The Guardians avoided a three-game sweep after losing the first two games of the series by scores of 6-5 and 3-1.

The game remained scoreless through the first inning, with both starters retiring the side in order. Minnesota’s Bailey Ober worked a clean top of the first, and Williams matched him with a 1-2-3 bottom half.

Cleveland broke through in the second. Gabriel Arias launched a solo home run to center field, his fifth of the season, giving the Guardians a 1-0 lead. The inning ended on a flyout, and Williams continued to dominate, striking out the side in the bottom of the second.

Both pitchers settled in over the next two innings. Ober allowed a double to Travis Bazzana in the third but stranded him, while Williams set down the Twins in order in the third and fourth, mixing a fastball that touched 96 mph with a sharp breaking ball.

The Twins tied the game in the fifth. Royce Lewis singled, and Alan Roden walked. Luke Keaschall was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Tristan Gray then grounded a sharp single to right field, scoring Lewis and tying the score at 1. The Twins loaded the bases again with no outs, but Williams escaped further damage by inducing a force out at home and a called third strike on Trevor Larnach.

Cleveland regained the lead in the sixth. Chase DeLauter led off with a solo home run to right field, his ninth of the year, pushing the Guardians ahead 2-1. Kyle Manzardo walked but was left stranded as David Fry and Arias struck out.

The pivotal moment came in the seventh. After Daniel Schneemann grounded out, Patrick Bailey drew a walk off Rojas. Steven Kwan walked, putting runners on first and second. Bazzana flew out to center, but Brayan Rocchio delivered the decisive blow, lacing a double to left field that scored Bailey and Kwan, extending Cleveland’s lead to 4-1.

Minnesota answered immediately in the bottom of the seventh. Lewis led off with a solo home run to left, his ninth, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Williams retired the next three hitters in order, preserving the lead.

Cleveland added an insurance run in the ninth. Bailey hit a solo home run to right field, his third, making it 5-2. Kwan struck out and Bazzana grounded out to end the inning.

Smith closed the door in the bottom of the ninth, striking out Kody Clemens and Royce Lewis around a flyout to center, sealing the victory.

The game featured a combined nine hits, with Cleveland outhitting Minnesota 6-3. Lewis led the Twins with two hits, including the home run. Gray drove in the other run. For Cleveland, Rocchio had the key two-run double, while Arias and DeLauter each homered. Bailey also contributed a home run.

Defensively, both teams played clean games with no errors. The game was played in 2 hours, 23 minutes before an announced crowd of 22,221.

Cleveland will travel to Miami for a three-game series beginning Friday, while Minnesota returns home to host the Los Angeles Angels.

In the previous two games of this series, Minnesota won 6-5 on Wednesday and 3-1 on Tuesday. The Guardians had lost four of their last five entering Thursday, including a 7-6 defeat to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Minnesota had won seven of its previous nine before Thursday’s loss.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Minnesota Twins 7, Cleveland Guardians 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Cleveland with a 52.20 percent probability to win. Cleveland had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 7 went over the over/under line of 9.