MINNEAPOLIS — Just 1.5 games out of first place when the weekend series began Friday at Target Field, the Twins now trail Central Division-leading Cleveland by 4.5 games after the Guardians swept all three games, Sunday's 4-1 win over the Twins included.
The third-place Twins now at 69-70 are under .500 for the first time since they were 7-8 on April 23.
They were outscored 17-11 in the three games and now have 23 games remaining, including five games at Cleveland starting Friday.
The Twins have lost nine times to Cleveland this season by a combined 13 runs. Six of them have been by one run, two by two runs.
Cleveland scored the first run in all three series games, building a 7-0 lead on Friday and 6-0 on Saturday before the Twins' attempted late comebacks fell short by a run on Friday and two on Saturday.
This time, the Twins trailed only 2-0 on two solo Cleveland home runs by the third inning before a fifth-inning run brought them within 2-1.
They still trailed by that score in the seventh inning when they put runners at first and third with no outs, but couldn't get the tying run across.
Cleveland right-handed starter Shane Bieber pitched into that seventh inning and allowed lead-off singles to infielders Gio Urshela and Nick Gordon.
He left the game after throwing exactly 100 pitches with the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at first. But left-hander Sam Hentges came on and got pinch-hitter Jermaine Palacios to line out to second and struck out Gary Sanchez.
The Guardians added two more runs in the top of the ninth after the Twins walked slugger Jose Ramirez to load the bases with one out only to Josh Naylor drive in both runs with an infield hit over first baseman Jose Miranda and by second baseman Gordon.
The Twins threatened one last time, getting runners on first and second with one out in the bottom of the ninth before Kyle Garlick and Jermaine Palacios struck out to end the game.
Twins right fielder Max Kepler left the game in the second inning after one at-bat because of a right leg contusion sustained when he fouled a ball off his shin in the first inning.
