Gavin Williams pitched seven dominant innings, Gabriel Arias, Chase DeLauter and Patrick Bailey hit home runs and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 to avoid a three-game sweepByPATRICK DONNELLY Associated PressJuly 9, 2026, 4:29 PMMINNEAPOLIS -- Gavin Williams pitched seven dominant innings, Gabriel Arias, Chase DeLauter and Patrick Bailey hit home runs and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 on Thursday to avoid a three-game sweep.Williams (10-4) moved into a tie with Boston’s Sonny Gray for the most victories in the AL with his first win since June 3. He gave up two runs on three hits with a walk, and he tied his season high with 11 strikeouts.Hunter Gaddis pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Cade Smith earned his 27th save with a perfect ninth.Twins starter Bailey Ober gave up one run on three hits with a walk and five strikeouts in his first appearance since May 30. He was activated from the injured list on Thursday after recovering from right elbow inflammation.The Twins saw their four-game winning streak snapped but still won seven of their last eight series.Williams retired the first 13 batters he faced, eight of them by strikeout, before Royce Lewis dropped a soft line drive into short right field for the Twins' first hit.Lewis' single seemed to fluster Williams, who walked Alan Roden and hit Luke Keaschall with a pitch to load the bases. Tristan Gray followed with an RBI single through a drawn-in infield to tie the game 1-1.However, Williams got a force-out at home plate for the second out, then froze Trevor Larnach on a curveball for strike three to keep it tied.DeLauter broke the tie in the sixth inning with a solo homer onto the right-field plaza off reliever Kendry Rojas (1-1) to give the Guardians a 2-1 lead.Popular ReadsRojas walked two batters in the seventh, and both scored on Brayan Rocchio's two-out double just over the glove of a leaping Twins third baseman Brooks Lee.Lewis led off the bottom of the seventh with a long homer to left.Bailey homered in the ninth off reliever Woosuk Go, who was making his major league debut.The Guardians head to Miami, where LHP Parker Messick (7-5, 2.80 ERA) faces the Marlins in the series opener Friday. The Twins host the Angels this weekend, with RHP Zebby Matthews (4-5, 4.43) set to start on Friday.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB