CLEVELAND (Interstat) — The Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians engaged in a taut pitchers’ duel Thursday afternoon that stretched into the 12th inning before the Twins broke through for a 3-1 victory at Progressive Field.

The Twins, who had lost their previous two games in Cleveland after winning the series opener Monday, pulled to 51-53 on the season. The Guardians slipped to 54-50.

Taj Bradley, the top star for Minnesota, delivered a strong start. The right-hander worked seven innings, allowing two hits and one earned run while striking out five. It was a bounce-back outing after Bradley gave up five earned runs in five innings against the Chicago Cubs on July 18. He also allowed two earned runs in seven innings against the Los Angeles Angels on July 12.

Cleveland starter Gavin Williams was equally effective. He also went seven innings, giving up two hits and no earned runs while striking out 11.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey homered on a fly ball to right field, his fifth home run of the season, giving Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota’s offense had been stifled until the top of the eighth. Royce Lewis led off with a walk against Cleveland reliever Colin Holderman. Trevor Larnach struck out, but Luke Keaschall walked. Alan Roden then singled on a line drive to center fielder Petey Halpin, scoring Lewis and sending Keaschall to second. Brooks Lee grounded into a force out, and Byron Buxton struck out to end the inning, but the Twins had tied the score 1-1.

Both bullpens held firm through the ninth, 10th and 11th innings. Cleveland’s Holderman pitched two scoreless innings with no hits. Cade Smith worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and no runs. Tommy Nance, Andrew Morris, Yoendrys Gómez and Jack Anderson each threw scoreless frames for Minnesota. Taylor Rogers earned the win with a scoreless 11th inning, striking out one.

The decisive action came in the top of the 12th. With the score still 1-1, Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers reached base before the inning began via a setup that saw him on third after a groundout by Kody Clemens. Cleveland’s Erik Sabrowski intentionally walked Royce Lewis. Trevor Larnach then singled on a ground ball to left fielder Steven Kwan, driving in Jeffers to put the Twins ahead 2-1. Luke Keaschall followed with a single to left field that scored Lewis, and a throwing error by Kwan allowed Larnach to advance to third. The Twins led 3-1.

Jack Anderson then closed out the bottom of the 12th for his first save of the season. He pitched a scoreless inning, allowing no hits and striking out one.

Sabrowski, the losing pitcher, fell to 3-2 on the season. Rogers improved to 5-3.

Attendance was announced at 27,354. The game took 3 hours, 23 minutes.

The Twins’ victory evened the four-game series after they lost the previous two games by scores of 5-2 and 13-4. Minnesota had won the opener 10-6 on Wednesday. The series continues the recent trend of high-scoring games between these division rivals; the previous three meetings in Cleveland this week had totaled 16, 7 and 17 runs before Thursday’s low-scoring affair.

Minnesota’s offense managed only six hits in the game. Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, Kody Clemens, Alan Roden, Trevor Larnach and Luke Keaschall each recorded one hit. The Twins struck out 16 times.

Cleveland mustered just three hits. Patrick Bailey’s home run was the only extra-base hit. Steven Kwan had two singles, and the Guardians’ lineup struck out 10 times.

The game featured several defensive and strategic plays. In the bottom of the sixth, Cleveland’s José Ramírez walked, but Chase DeLauter grounded into a double play to erase him. In the bottom of the ninth, the Guardians had runners on first and second with two outs after two walks, but Kyle Manzardo struck out to end the threat.

The 10th inning saw Cleveland’s Gabriel Arias reach third base with one out after a groundout advanced him, but Steven Kwan grounded out to end the inning.

The 11th inning included an intentional walk to Byron Buxton by the Guardians and an intentional walk to José Ramírez by the Twins, underscoring the strategic maneuvering of both managers.

The Twins’ bullpen combination of Tommy Nance, Andrew Morris, Yoendrys Gómez, Taylor Rogers and Jack Anderson combined for five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out five.

Cleveland’s bullpen of Colin Holderman, Cade Smith and Erik Sabrowski allowed two runs on three hits over five innings, with Holderman and Smith combining for 3 2/3 scoreless frames.

Minnesota’s win was its second in the four-game series and snapped a two-game losing streak. The Twins will return home to face the Athletics on Friday, while Cleveland travels to Tampa Bay to open a series against the Rays.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Cleveland 6, Minnesota 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Cleveland a 59.70 percent probability to win. The Guardians were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of four runs went under the over/under line of 7.5.