Power surge: Guardians hit 7 homers against Twins, 1 short of franchise record

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians hit seven home runs against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night, one short of the franchise record and matching the record for a home game.

It was an unlikely power surge for the Guardians, who came into the game tied with Tampa Bay for the third-fewest homers in the majors with 94. Petey Halpin and Rhys Hoskins each went deep twice.

It is the sixth time in the franchise’s 125 seasons they have gone deep at least seven times in a game. Cleveland hit eight home runs at Milwaukee on April 25, 1997, and at Seattle on July 16, 2004.

Cleveland also homered seven times at home on April 30, 2013 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

It’s the fourth time this season a team has hit at least seven homers. The Chicago Cubs had eight in their 23-3 win over the San Diego Padres on July 1.

Patrick Bailey hit the seventh homer for Cleveland, a solo shot to center off Woo-Suk Go to lead off the seventh inning.

Brayan Rocchio and Travis Bazzana also connected as Guardians went deep six times in the first four innings against All-Star Twins starter Joe Ryan. According to Sportradar, it was the first time since at least 1974 that Cleveland had six homers in the first four innings. It had five on July 22, 1994, against the Chicago White Sox and on Aug. 15, 2019, at the New York Yankees.

It was the 24th time that has happened in the majors during that span. The last was by the New York Yankees on Aug. 27, 20...