Petey Halpin’s breakthrough helps fuel Guardians’ seven-homer outburst against Twins

GuardiansCleveland Guardians center fielder Petey Halpin rounds the bases after hitting a two-run homer off Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan in the second inning. John Kuntz, cleveland.comCLEVELAND, Ohio — Petey Halpin has spent most of his rookie season embracing the less glamorous parts of the game, taking pride in getting on base, playing solid defense and staying ready whenever his name appeared in Stephen Vogt’s lineup card.On Monday night, the Guardians rookie finally got his reward.Halpin launched the first two home runs of his major league career and added a double, helping power Cleveland’s franchise record-tying seven-homer outburst in a 13-4 rout of the Twins at Progressive Field.Guardians bury Twins, Joe Ryan with seven homers in 13-4 winGuardians’ historic home run barrage by the numbers: Cleveland matches franchise record against TwinsExperts release updated Guardians vs. Twins for Tuesday prediction following recent injury updates“It feels incredible,” Halpin said. “My role is to get on base for the guys that do hit home runs. Today I was able to connect on a couple of them, but I just want to do my job for the guy behind me.”For Halpin’s teammates, the numbers were almost secondary to seeing him enjoy a breakthrough moment.“Everybody is ecstatic for that guy,” veteran first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “He works his tail off, doesn’t see a lot of opportunity, but he’s always ready when his number gets called. Hopefully he takes that confidence and runs with it.”Tanner Bibee, who earned the victory behind six strong innings on the mound, said Halpin’s attitude has earned the respect of everyone in Cleveland’s clubhouse.“You ask anyone around here what he means to the clubhouse,” Bibee said. “He uplifts everyone. You never hear him complain. He goes about his business every day. It’s really cool to see him have a night like that.”Halpin’s breakout came at the center of one of the most explosive offensive performances in franchise history. Cleveland tied the club record for home runs in a home game with seven, matching the mark set against Philadelphia on April 30, 2013. It also marked the first time since at least 1974 that the Guardians hit six home runs in the first four innings and the first time since Aug. 15, 2019 that they hit seven homers in any game.Halpin accounted for two of those blasts.His first career homer came in the second inning off Twins starter Joe Ryan, extending Cleveland’s lead to 5-2. Two innings later, he connected again on a pitch high and out of the strike zone, matching Franmil Reyes for the highest pitch a Cleveland hitter has homered on in the Statcast era. He finished 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI and three runs scored while extending his hitting streak to five games. During that stretch, Halpin is batting .389 (7-for-18) with two doubles and two home runs.“I was looking for a fastball up in that situation and he threw it up,” Halpin said of his second homer. “I just managed to get my barrel to it.”His sudden power surge wasn’t entirely accidental.Vogt revealed Halpin and hitting coach Grant Fink made a mechanical adjustment between games of Saturday’s split doubleheader, shortening his swing and simplifying his approach. The early returns have been impossible to ignore.“We’re seeing him use the whole field,” Vogt said. “We’re seeing him drive the ball, shorter swing. Credit to Petey and Fink and the hitting team for making an adjustment that quickly.”Vogt said Halpin has always been capable of impacting games with his speed and defense, but his recent offensive growth has allowed him to seize a larger role.“We love Petey,” Vogt said. “Petey is a hard worker. He brings a lot of life and energy to this team. Great teammate, cares about winning, cares about his teammates more than anything. To see him get his first homer and then obviously a second one and that double, just a great night for Petey.”Halpin said the adjustment has been less about chasing power than sticking to the identity that got him to the major leagues.“I’m just trying to shorten up,” Halpin said. “Hit the ball where I’m given it. If that’s away, not trying to do too much with it. Stick to the approach and really just try to get on base as much as I can.”Joe Noga has more than 25 years experience in Cleveland sports media with time spent covering Browns, Cavaliers and Indians/Guardians, as well as local high school and college sports and athletes. He covered a...This article was produced with assistance from AI tools and reviewed by Cleveland.com staff.