Minnesota United attempted to refresh its starting lineup after a draw with L.A. Galaxy on Wednesday, but it was two second-half subs who logged a lot of playing time midweek who produced goals in a 2-1 win over Portland Timbers at Allianz Field.

Robin Lod scored the equalizing goal in the 65th minute and Sang Bin Jeong netted the game-winner in the 82nd.

MNUFC (7-2-3, 24 points) extended an unbeaten streak to five games, while Portland (3-7-4, 13 points) has won one of its last 11 matches

Lod’s goal was his 28th for the Loons in all competitions and it moved him past Darwin Quintero and Emanuel Reynoso into first place in club history.

For Jeong, it was his first goal in nine-plus seasons and only second since joining MNUFC last spring.

United trailed at halftime, but opportunities to get back in the game would be there. The Timbers had allowed the second-most goals (27) in MLS coming into Saturday’s game.

MNUFC controlled the start of the game and Teemu Pukki missed a great chance in the 13th minute.

Portland made the Loons pay. Striker Jonathan Rodriguez got behind Michel Boxall and slotted a shot past Dayne St. Clair for a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute.

In the 28th minute. Minnesota forward Bongi Hlongwane appeared to be taken down in the box by Kamal Miller, but referee Jair Marrufo and VAR determined it was not a penalty.

The Loons continued to prod the Portland defense but with no breakthroughs. Rodriquez nearly had a second goal with a chip off St. Clair, but the 6-foot-3 goalkeeper came out of the box and was able to head away the chance.

United coach Eric Ramsay’s bold lineup choices continued in Saturday’s starting XI. After Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with L.A. Galaxy, the Loons coach opted to make four changes and appeared to be forced into one.

Kervin Arriaga, who is dealing with a slight hamstring injury, dropped to the bench, with Devin Padelford coming in.

Caden Clark stepped in for DJ Taylor at right wing back against Portland. Clark typically plays winger but has had a few games as a wing back. This was his first big opportunity in the newer role.

Carlos Harvey also made his first MLS start for the Loons, coming in for Lod, who has been the most impactful player this season. Harvey had played only 56 MLS minutes for MNUFC this season.

Briefly

Loons center back Micky Tapias received a red card Saturday and will be suspended for Saturday’s game at Colorado Rapids. Midway through Saturday’s first half, Rodriguez and Clark jawed with each other after a ball went out of bounds. St. Clair stood up for his teammate and so did Tapias, shoving Rodriguez. A few Timbers players come to defend Rodriguez as Ramsay and others broke up the skirmish. Tapias received a yellow card for his shove. Tapias then received a second yellow card for a challenge in stoppage time. … Woodbury native Eric Miller was a second-half substitute for Portland.

CLEVELAND — Bailey Ober tried everything in his arsenal. Pitch after pitch, he watched as José Ramírez got his bat on the ball, fouling them off. Finally, on the 12th pitch of their battle, Ramírez broke through, the Guardians’ star sending a two-run home run over the wall in right field.

It was that kind of night for Ober, who saw the Guardians repeatedly spoil good pitches as they drove up his pitch count and forced him out of the game early in the Twins’ eventual 11-4 loss at Progressive Field.

Ramírez, who hit an eighth-inning, go-ahead home run a day earlier, continued to torment Twins’ pitchers, driving in another run in the third with a double off of Ober. He finished the day with three hits.

He got plenty of help from his teammates, as well. Leadoff man Tyler Freeman finished with four hits, driving in three runs and second baseman Andrés Gimenez collected three hits. Those three hitters atop the Guardians’ lineup finished the day with 10 of the Guardians’ 16 hits.

Ober, who threw 38 pitches in the first, was chased after just four innings. He gave up five runs, the most in any start this season since his first outing when he allowed eight.

Things weren’t much easier on Kody Funderburk, who gave up two runs in his two innings pitched or Jay Jackson, who allowed four runs during his inning as Freeman and Giménez each had two-out, two-run hits.

The Twins’ offense, which had been slumping of late, was shut out until it was far too late. They didn’t score until the ninth when Byron Buxton, just off the injured list, singled home Willi Castro. Carlos Santana brought home their second run of the inning and Kyle Farmer doubled home two more.

That came after Guardians starter Logan Allen fired off six scoreless innings in his outing, striking out seven Twins in the process.

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After Friday’s rain forced a postponement in St. Paul, the Saints beat Omaha 4-2 on Saturday in the continuation of Friday’s game before falling by the same 4-2 score in the regularly scheduled game.

Michael Helman had a pair of homers for the Saints, one that made a difference in the first game and one that wasn’t enough in the second.

After David Festa allowed two runs in four innings before Friday’s rain, the bullpen took over with Ronny Henriquez, Scott Blewett (1-2) and Jorge Alcala combining for five scoreless innings in the victory. Alcala secured his first save of the season for St. Paul.

A 4-all game was turned in the eighth inning as Helman hit a two-run homer off Omaha’s Colin Selby. Tony Kemp had hit a two-run homer for the Saints a day earlier.

On Royce Lewis bobblehead-giveaway day in St. Paul, with the sun shining, the Saints couldn’t keep the momentum. The aptly named Storm Chasers scored three runs in the second inning on the way to the win.

Caleb Baragar (0-1) started the second game for St. Paul and allowed three runs — one earned — in 3 2/3 innings.

Helman had two hits in the second game, including his seventh homer of the season. Down 3-0, Chris Williams homered in the second and Helman followed with another solo shot in the third.

Omaha stopped any comeback and Nick Loftin homered for the Storm Chasers in the seventh.

Matt Wallner walked twice and stole a base for St. Paul.

The Saints host the finale of the six-game series at 2:07 p.m. today.

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CLEVELAND — Carlos Correa hopped up and then dropped his bat. A cutter from Emmanuel Clase, which appeared to be below the zone, had just been called strike three rather than ball four, as the shortstop had been anticipating.

Of all the pitches home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz called on Friday, that ninth-inning pitch to Correa ranked second among the most impactful missed calls. The first was a pitch to Willi Castro in the eighth inning that Ortiz rung the utilityman up on.

The Twins had their gripes with two more pitches that Jhoan Duran threw to José Ramírez in the eighth inning — both of which were called balls, putting Duran behind in the count — before the Guardians’ star hit his game-deciding home run.

But after the game, Correa wasn’t complaining about the umpiring — their job, he acknowledged, is incredibly difficult.

“It’s really hard,” he said. “I’ve never been tossed out of a game and maybe there’s a situation that would call for it, but I just think their job is too hard for me to be harsh on them. It is what it is. Sometimes, I get calls. Sometimes, I don’t.”

To make it a bit easier on them and to improve the situation for everyone, Correa had an idea he thought may help the matter.

Why not give home plate umpires a PitchCom device, which pitchers, catchers and certain fielders wear so they know what pitch is coming, he asked?

“I feel like pitchers are too nasty right now for umpires to see,” he said. “I feel like if umpires knew what was coming and they had a PitchCom, that would make calls so much better. … If they had a device where it said, ‘Slider,’ and they’re anticipating the slider and they know where it has to start and land for it to be a strike, then we would get so many better calls.”

His manager, when presented with the idea, called it an “interesting,” one.

“(I’m) not an umpire and don’t know the mental mechanisms they use to do their jobs. Would that really help them?” manager Rocco Baldelli mused. “It sounds like it would. Is that ultimately true? I don’t know.”

Baldelli did say he was in favor of the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, which the league has experimented with at the minor league level but has yet to bring to the majors.

In that system, umpires call balls and strikes but teams have the ability to challenge a certain number of pitches and the correct call will be confirmed by the Hawk-Eye system.

“I have great respect for what (umpires) do. I think their jobs are extraordinarily difficult,” Baldelli said. “I think it’s just too hard to do, and I don’t think anyone should have that weight on their shoulders to be deciding a game when you can barely see the ball with the way these guys are throwing the ball.”

Buxton back, Martin optioned

The Twins welcomed Byron Buxton back from the injured list on Saturday after he missed much of May, optioning utilityman Austin Martin to Triple-A St. Paul to make room on the roster.

Buxton landed on the IL on May 3 with right knee inflammation after leaving the game two days earlier with knee pain. The Twins plan to have him play in center field a lot but also plan to give him selective days off to keep him fresh.

His return not only gives the Twins’ offense a boost, but it stabilizes things in the outfield, which should be a particular help after this past week.

“Being able to put him in there, really, it pushes other guys to different spots in the field and solidifies those spots, as well, so it’s not just center field,” Baldelli said. “It’s the rest of the diamond.”

Briefly

Chris Paddack will take the ball on Sunday opposed by right-hander Tanner Bibee in the series finale in Cleveland. … Saturday marked the Twins’ television debut for Denard Span, who played for the club between 2008-12. Span has also called some Tampa Bay Rays’ games for Bally Sports Sun.

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