CLEVELAND — Two days after their season appeared to be on the brink of disaster, the Minnesota Twins exited The Land with an exhale and a grin.Surviving a dominant start by Cleveland’s Gavin Williams and then myriad missed opportunities in extra innings, the Twins parlayed an outstanding effort from their own pitching staff into a split of a must-have four-game series.Taj Bradley and five relievers combined on a three-hitter and the Twins got two-out RBI singles from Trevor Larnach and Luke Keaschall in a 3-1 victory in 12 innings over the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.Now, the Twins are only two games under .500 and holding steady as they head home for six games against the moribund Athletics and Kansas City Royals.Who are the top prospects in baseball right now? Keith Law“On Tuesday night our world was crashing in, apparently, and now we’re all feeling good again,” reliever Taylor Rogers said. “This is the natural ebbs and flows of a baseball season. As long as we collectively stay even-keel, that’s where we’re going to be. … We knew (Thursday) was a big win and those are nice to get, but nobody is over the moon right now, either. I really think we’re a day-to-day team and that’s why it’s been so fun.”Nothing about the Twins’ recent history in the late innings at Progressive Field could be characterized as fun. Over the past five seasons, Cleveland has walked off the Twins 10 times, and that doesn’t account for contests decided in the bottom of the eighth inning, either, of which there were many.Yet the Twins put themselves in that precarious position once again when Alan Roden produced a game-tying, pinch-hit single off Cleveland closer Cade Smith in the eighth inning to make it a 1-1 game.For five innings, Twins relievers walked the tightrope.For five innings, they didn’t fall.Starting with Andrew Morris retiring José Ramírez on a popout to end the eighth inning, Twins relievers posted zeroes. Yoendrys Gómez survived a pair of two-out walks in the ninth by striking out Kyle Manzardo.Newcomer Tommy Nance pitched a perfect 10th inning to prevent an inherited runner from scoring. Rogers retired the heart of Cleveland’s order in the 11th to strand a pair. And then Jack Anderson, who was promoted Tuesday after getting claimed off waivers from Boston on July 11, waited out a replay challenge and stranded a pair of runners to convert his first big-league save.“Stressful,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “You don’t see extra-inning games where neither team scores for multiple innings.”Neither team looked particularly good offensively. Bradley and Williams made sure of that with dominant, seven-inning performances in which hitters from both teams rarely looked as if they knew what was coming.But the lack of sound offense was totally absent until Larnach singled. Before that two-out single off lefty Erik Sabrowski, neither team’s first batter had a productive out in extra innings.Larnach changed it all when he dumped an 0-1 curveball into left field. Royce Lewis, who was intentionally walked ahead of Larnach, scored when Keaschall followed with a single of his own.“I have had some bad experiences here,” Larnach said. “It’s definitely one of my least favorite places to play and maybe that has something to do with it. But there is a respect for them because they’re a gritty and grindy club. They never go away. To not get walked off is amazing, but to come out with a win is even better.”Here are several other thoughts after the Twins escaped a meat grinder of a road trip with a serviceable 3-4 record.• Bradley was extremely effective because he was on the plate and featured stuff ticking above his yearly averages. Although he relied on a heavy four-seam fastball and didn’t generate as many swings and misses as normal, Bradley overpowered Cleveland for seven innings.“It felt like he left off the gas for one pitch and it was the 95-mph fastball,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “Other than that, he was absolute nails.”Patrick Bailey hammered Bradley’s one mistake, but that was all the Guardians got. When Bradley pitches like this, the Twins can see a frontline starting pitcher capable of winning a game in a short series.• Though he’s back in action and hitting for power, the Twins are likely to manage Jeffers’ workload the rest of the way, a plan that’s compromised by Victor Caratini’s right knee contusion.Since returning from a broken left hamate bone on July 10, Jeffers is showing ample power at the plate and his defense is ahead of his bat. But Shelton said Jeffers’ hand won’t be completely healed for several more months, which could prevent him from playing as frequently as he did before he suffered the injury in May.“There’s going to be days he feels good,” Shelton said. “There’s going to be days he feels bad. It could be weather dependent. There’s so many factors that come into play. But the aggressiveness of the swings we’ve seen him take, it doesn’t seem like it’s bothering him. … It’s just pure volume that we have to monitor.”The Twins also must now monitor Caratini, who fouled a pitch off his right knee on Wednesday night. X-rays were negative and the veteran catcher’s condition has improved, but Shelton said he’s unlikely to catch until at least Saturday.• Connor Prielipp felt good after throwing a bullpen Thursday and could return to the Twins’ starting rotation to fill the vacancy for Saturday’s start against the Athletics. Prielipp emerged healthy from a successful Triple-A rehab start on Sunday. Wanting to check out his blister and monitor his next bullpen, the Twins had Prielipp join the team in Cleveland.Prielipp went on the 15-day injured list on July 9. He’s combined to throw a personal professional-high 85 1/3 innings this season after pitching 82 2/3 innings in 2025.