CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Twins’ odds of winning the American League Central Division have dwindled to single digits because of their play over the course of the past month.

But that doesn’t make this week’s four-week set in Cleveland any less important. In fact, it may be more so, considering the Twins, who currently hold the third wild card spot, need to keep winning to just hang on to secure a spot in the playoffs.

And that made Monday’s loss even more crushing.

The division-leading Guardians surged ahead with a Kyle Manzardo two-run home run off Griffin Jax in the eighth inning on Monday to take a 4-3 win in the first game of the big series at Progressive Field.

Manzardo’s blast, just the fourth Jax has given up all season, came after Jax had masterfully cleaned up a bases-loaded mess that starter Pablo López had left him an inning earlier. Jax struck out Andrés Giménez and then got José Ramírez to ground out to Carlos Santana at first, protecting the Twins’ razor-thin advantage in the seventh inning.

But after allowing a Josh Naylor double to begin the eighth, Manzardo ambushed a high fastball to put the Guardians on top for the first time all night.

It came on a night where the Twins had long, productive at-bats but were unable to push more than three runs across despite many opportunities.

The Twins scored their first run in the third when Carlos Correa, who doubled earlier in the inning, came around to score on a wild pitch. Byron Buxton then socked a single up the middle, bringing home another pair of runs to give the Twins a three-run edge.

For much of the night, that was enough for López, who was efficient and dominant.

López ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth, hitting Bryan Rocchio with a pitch with two outs. Rocchio came around to score on a Giménez hit, but the Twins were able to avoid further damage when López threw to Correa covering at third base to nab a runner, Angel Martinez, and end the threat.

Lopez got himself in trouble again in the seventh, loading the bases with no outs — two runners reached via walks, including one that was on four pitches — before getting the first out of the inning.

A Martínez single brought home the Guardians’ second run and ended Lopez’s night. And while Jax was able to deliver in the seventh inning, the late home run was another gut punch for the Twins.

Kyle Manzardo #9 celebrates with manager Stephen Vogt #12 of the Cleveland Guardians after Manzardo hit a two-run homer during the eighth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field on Sept. 16, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Cleveland Guardians’ Angel Martinez, right, loses his helmet after being tagged out by Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa, left, after being caught in a rundown between home plate and third base in the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

 

Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton crashes into the outfield padding after catching a fly ball for an out against Cleveland Guardians’ Bo Naylor in the second inning of a baseball game Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The newest member of the Minnesota Supreme Court formally took her seat on the bench Monday during an investiture ceremony.

Associate Justice Theodora Gaïtas was sworn in at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul.

“I am honored to stand before you today to pledge my commitment to serving the people of Minnesota as an associate justice of the Supreme Court,” Gaïtas said. “I am also deeply grateful — thank you Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan for giving me this opportunity.”

Walz, who is the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, took a break from the campaign trail to attend the ceremony.

“I can tell you with absolute confidence that Justice Gaïtas is the right person for this moment,” Walz said Monday. “I know that the state’s high court and the people of Minnesota will be well served.”

Gaïtas officially joined the Supreme Court on Aug. 1 during a private swearing-in ceremony.

In April, Walz appointed Gaïtas and Sarah Hennesy to replace, respectively, Margaret Chutich and G. Barry Anderson, who have retired. Gaïtas and Hennesy were the third and fourth members Walz has appointed to the high court. Walz’s predecessor, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, appointed the other three members of the court.

Hennesy formally took the oath of office in July.

Gaïtas had been a judge on the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She previously served as a judge on the Hennepin County District Court, where she presided over a felony caseload in the criminal division. A graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School, she also worked as an attorney in private practice and as an appellate public defender.

A 57-year-old St. Paul man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter for stabbing his roommate in October has been sentenced to seven years of probation.

When 37-year-old Randall B. Williams and his girlfriend argued in a St. Paul home Oct. 6, Alvin Rozell Stafford Sr. intervened and the two men fought. Stafford stabbed Williams in the chest. Williams died in the emergency room at Regions Hospital.

Alvin Rozell Stafford Sr. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Stafford was charged with second-degree unintentional murder. In June, he pleaded guilty to an added charge of second-degree manslaughter as part of an agreement he reached with the prosecution that also included a stayed prison sentence to probation.

Stafford was sentenced Friday to a six-year, nine-month prison sentence, which was then stayed for seven years, during which time he will be on probation. He received credit for 260 days in jail, preventing any additional jail time from being part of the sentence, Ramsey County Attorney’s Office spokesman Dennis Gerhardstein said Monday.

Gerhardstein said a witness to the incident was unavailable for trial, so the state agreed to the downward departure from Minnesota sentencing guidelines.

Officers responded to the stabbing report at 10:30 a.m. in the 1500 block of Iglehart Avenue in St. Paul’s Snelling-Hamline neighborhood. As officers were tending to Williams at the scene, a witness told them Stafford was the suspect; he was arrested.

Williams and his girlfriend of about six weeks were arguing over some missing money, the criminal complaint said. The woman later reported to police that Stafford, one of Williams’ roommates, told Williams to leave her alone. Another roommate came out and tried to separate Stafford and Williams.

Stafford told investigators they wrestled after he’d told Williams to leave his girlfriend alone. He said he’d pushed Williams out of the home, which is where officers and paramedics found him, but he said he didn’t know how Williams was injured. He said he didn’t have anything sharp in his hands during the “wrestling match.”

Williams’ girlfriend later told police she saw Stafford pull a knife out of his pants’ pocket during the altercation and she ran out of the room in fear. She returned a short time later and saw a folding knife in the closed position on the floor.

Related Articles

Murder charges added in Minneapolis crash that killed 5 young women

A ‘Trump Train’ convoy surrounded a Biden-Harris bus. Was it political violence?

Man accused of trying to kill Trump wrote a book urging Iran to assassinate the ex-president

Irondale High School community notifies police of possible violence threat, 15-year-old detained

Suspect in apparent assassination attempt camped outside golf course for 12 hours, records show