MINNEAPOLIS _ Kenta Maeda was so effective for the Twins in their 3-0 victory over Cleveland on Saturday that it's more noteworthy to recap the one thing that didn't go right for him.
Maeda was working over Bradley Zimmer in the fifth inning like he did every other Cleveland hitter on Saturday: Avoiding hard-hit balls and being unpredictable while shutting down the entire batting order.
And he got Zimmer to make weak contact on a 2-2 slider, the second out was about to be made.
But the ball was hit weakly enough for it to be a close play. Second baseman Luis Arraez rushed in, grabbed the grounder and fired to first baseman Miguel Sano about the same time Zimmer hit the bag.
First base umpire Jerry Meals, also the crew chief, signaled safe.
The Twins challenged, and it looked too close to call. But the ruling stood.
And that's how Cleveland got its only hit off Kenta Maeda during his superlative six-inning outing. A quicker throw, a longer stretch or a slower runner, and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli would have had a tougher to decision to pull Maeda with a no-hitter.
Instead, Maeda was lifted after six innings and 83 pitches, one hit, one walk and six strikeouts. The only other baserunner off Maeda was Francisco Lindor, who reached on a walk in the first inning _ during which he called time to have grounds crew members make sure the batter's box was drawn according to dimensions.
That appeared to be the only thing that could throw Maeda off his game.
Maeda throws a slider, change-up and fastball and throws all of them at any part of the count. He was one step ahead of Cleveland hitters all night. Franmil Reyes nearly lost his uniform swinging at a 2-0 slider in the second inning, as he looked dialed in for a fastball. Maeda had just two three-ball counts and only had four batted balls off him over 100 miles per hour.
After Zimmer reached base for the first hit of the night, Maeda promptly retired the next five Cleveland batters he faced, needing just 12 pitches in his sixth and final inning.
In two outings as a Twin, Maeda is 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA.
Cleveland right-hander Carlos Carrasco tried to keep up with Maeda, retiring the first six Twins batters he faced. But a 93-mph fastball on the inner half of the plate to Miguel Sano ended that run, as Sano blasted it off the back wall of the Twins bullpen in left-center for his first home run of the season. It was a breakout moment for Sano, who joined summer camp late because of COVID-19 and had looked rusty at the plate before Saturday.
Eddie Rosario tagged Carrasco for a solo homer in the fourth, then Sano returned in the fifth with a slicing drive that cleared the fence down the left field line for his second home run of the night and a 3-0 Twins lead.
The score probably dictated Baldelli's decision to go to the bullpen. Trevor May stranded two in the seventh, Cody Stashak struck out Jose Ramirez with a man on to end the eighth, and Taylor Rogers finished up the two-hit shutout with a 1-2-3 ninth.
