One Inning in 2025 That Changed Minnesota Twins Forever

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The first pitch hit the zone, and the stakes were invisible but heavy. Baseball is a game of microseconds, but some seconds feel like they can tilt a franchise. In July 2025, at Coors Field, the Minnesota Twins discovered exactly how fragile momentum can be.

2024’s Warning
Twins fans saw this story play out before. In August 2024, Jorge Alcala’s meltdown in Texas became shorthand for a second-half collapse. The team had over 90% odds of making the playoffs, but injuries, slumps, and poor pitching turned a season of promise into disappointment. Some fans blame Joe Ryan’s shoulder injury or the lack of offensive punch in September. There are always places to point fingers, and multi-layered narratives to write. Still, one game, one inning, and one pitch can feel like the turning point. Sometimes, it truly is.

The Stage Was Set
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Twins hovered at .500. The Rockies were historically bad. Win the series, and Minnesota could flirt with contention. Lose, and the front office might pivot toward the future. It was a crossroads. On July 18, Chris Paddack (aka The Sheriff) strode to the mound, a veteran ready to stabilize a rotation looking to make a quick second-half impact. Alas, nothing that night went according to plan.

Before fans had time to settle into their seats, Tyler Freeman worked the count full. Crack. A leadoff double. Not yet catastrophic, but it was a first hint of trouble. Three pitches later, Mickey Moniak sent a line drive to deep right-center. The ball screamed off his bat, bouncing into the gap. Colorado led 1-0.

Paddack tried to smooth things out. The next batter, Jordan Beck, worked a 2-0 count before ripping a triple into the alley. Byron Buxton seemed to have the ball in his sights, and made a diving attempt. Maybe a younger, faster Buxton makes the catch and keeps the Twins in the game. Instead, the ball eluded him, and scoreboard ticked: 2-0. There have been plenty of games where the Twins were down a couple of runs early and mounted a comeback, but the Rockies weren’t done yet. 

Ryan McMahon stepped to the plate and took a massive swing at the first pitch he saw. The hanging curveball was crushed for a two-run homer, sending the pitch sailing into the Rockies’ corner seats. Colorado’s win probability jumped by nearly 7%, to 87.1%, and the Twins were back on their heels. Four runs in a single inning, and Minnesota’s season suddenly felt fragile.

Paddack pitched five innings, gave up five earned runs, and left the mound without answers; the damage was done. He had a -.236 WPA, one of his lowest totals of the season. However, there were much larger ramifications to that one inning. That first frame wasn’t just a stumble. It was a gut punch that redefined the team’s trajectory.

The Deadline Domino Effect
After two losses in three games in Colorado, the front office shifted into high gear. By the trade deadline, nearly 40% of the active roster was gone. Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Paddack, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart, Danny Coulombe, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, and Ty France were all traded, in a whirlwind selloff that few teams have seen at a trade deadline.

Had Minnesota swept that series, it’s likely many of the pieces with team control beyond this year would have remained. Instead, one inning snowballed, and accelerated a rebuild (or retool, if you ask the Twins’ front office). That inning didn’t just lose a series; it arguably reshaped the next half-decade of Twins baseball.

What Comes Next
Now, the spotlight shines on the organization's next long-term core, including Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Kaelen Culpepper, Luke Keaschall, and others. Payroll flexibility opens doors to potential bold acquisitions, but there are no guarantees that the Pohlad ownership group will invest in the team for the 2026 season. This puts the farm system under pressure to produce results quickly, including some of the players acquired in the now-famous trade deadline deals. Fans will adjust to a roster in flux, while the front office bets that short-term pain will seed long-term gain.

In baseball, one pitch rarely defines history. But some innings? They do. For the 2025 Twins, one nightmare inning in Colorado may have rewritten the future entirely.

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Do you believe that inning was the turning point in the season? Leave a comment and start the discussion.

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[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

That series was a kick in the teeth to be sure. But, I think Joe P. made up his mind well before the ASB and the fire sale was coming regardless.

[Reptevia]

No. The pivotal point was the payroll dum after winning a playoff series. That led to this mediocre roster. Winning games doesn’t factor into their decision making. 

[Doctor Gast]

I agree that the CO series was the straw that broke the camel's back that gave the Pohlads the excuse to unload their salary, this season. But the downfall came from FO in the '23/'24 offseason. They chipped away from the '23 core while acquiring players like DeSclavani & Margot, mismanaging our players like Alcala & plugged in players like Juliens into positions where they were a liability. They failed to see our fragile areas & bolster them via trade.

The Twins' inability & lack of doing anything to put the team in a position to compete in the '24 & '25 seasons, have broken the spirit of the team. This season's sell-off was a cop out for the FO & steering the blame off them onto the core. IMO, the sell-off return was a disappointment, as those acquired will do very little to produce a competitive team for years to come, especially if the management remains. The sell-off also caused greater discontent & affected the culture of the team. IMO, players like Ryan may want to be traded.

[Patzky]

If you want to localize, one pitch (Mookies 'checked swing' against Jax) was the difference between winning that series in LA and having a failed Road trip. 

Thanks Umps for blowing our season and sending Duran to Philly .

 

Lol. (Sarcasm font applied for)

[rdehring]

Not sure I want to thank you, or not, for reminding me of that game/inning.  The same for Patzky above about the Dodgers game and that ump.  The good news I guess is that in 2026 the players will be able to challenge those bad calls, assuming they haven't used their two challenges.

I guess a good word is that I found the article interesting, Cody.  On the other hand, I choose to anticipate the moves the FO should be making this winter, spring training, 2026, and the arrival of a couple potential super stars.

[old nurse]

In the 60s when the Twins had a competitive teams the fans came out. They were one of the top drawing teams in the league. In 2023 with a competitive team the fans did not come out.  No business is going to operate at a loss for long. They built it, the fans didn’t come.  Paddack at 23 had a great future. Injuries wrecked that. The Twins still kept him because they really did not have other options that looked better. He did not cost them the season, but was a factor.  Injuries to the key players on the team did that. Sure the Twins did not have as many injuries, but a number 6 and 7 starter who could not beat out Paddack were not going to be a replacement for a number 1 and 3 starter.  Lopez was having a Cy Young votes season, Ober was touted as a potential Cy Young candidate.  Regression by the players not named Byron did not help the cause, either. Losing to Colorado was just the end of the hope

[jimmiexx]

I remember that game...

Yes it was a sign of things to come from the Twins next pitching staff.

[LastOnePicked]

It's a clever write-up, but if it hadn't been that game, it would have been another. This team just didn't have what it took. It hasn't had what it takes to win in years - basically, an ownership group with a championship vision, a blueprint and the business intelligence to bring it all to fruition.  

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, Patzky said:

If you want to localize, one pitch (Mookies 'checked swing' against Jax) was the difference between winning that series in LA and having a failed Road trip. 

Thanks Umps for blowing our season and sending Duran to Philly .

 

Lol. (Sarcasm font applied for)

Fat fingered again.

[DuluthRoots]

Twins were 11.5 games out of first; Cleveland was 11.0 games out. Who would have thought Detroit capable of such a collapse. Had the Twins not had a fire sale, and even strengthened themselves a bit, they could at least theortically been competitive in the race.

[Rhyno006]

57 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

It's a clever write-up, but if it hadn't been that game, it would have been another. This team just didn't have what it took. It hasn't had what it takes to win in years - basically, an ownership group with a championship vision, a blueprint and the business intelligence to bring it all to fruition.  

[AKTwinsFan]

It wasn't just that series. And I mostly blame Baldelli for last year's collapse and this year's flouder of a season. We lost series to the "worst" teams in baseball, and mediocre ones that were on fire by the time we played them. It seems bad luck and poor lineups and pitching substitutions are to blame in my mind! 

[Nshore]

Paddack's doing his part to sink Detroit too.

[BillyBallLives]

3 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

the '24 & '25 seasons, have broken the spirit of the team.

The spirit of the Twins fan base has been shattered by the Power of Three.

1) The Pohlads – an ownership that refuses to invest in winning.

2) Falvey – the architect of mediocrity, obsessed with analytics while the roster rots.

3) Baldelli – a manager who drains energy with lifeless decisions and zero fire.

This trio has finally broken my passion for Twins baseball. Not just my patience , but my hope.

Once hope is gone, the damage runs deeper than any losing season.

[Otaknam]

The Twins’ collapse was caused by underperforming players like Lewis (what happened to him!), Wallner, Larnach, Paddock, Ober, and others, plus the Lopez injury. With a young core on the cusp of the big leagues, I wonder what the lineup will be for next year. Likely some trades this offseason to cut the salary structure. 

[BillyBallLives]

2 hours ago, old nurse said:

In the 60s when the Twins had a competitive teams the fans came out. They were one of the top drawing teams in the league.

A new MLB team? Fans will show up win or lose — at first. The Twins proved that in the Met Stadium days. But by 1974, the novelty was gone, the team was losing, and they ranked 12th out of 12 in attendance. The trend of horrible attendance continued for 13 year and didn't break until 1987.

Same story with Target Field. After the shine wore off, the product never lived up, and the seats started emptying again.

Now? The Power of Three — Pohlads, Falvey, Baldelli — has broken what’s left of the fan base. People aren’t just tuning out because of a bad season. They’ve lost faith in ownership, the front office, and the dugout. That’s not a cycle you bounce back from with a bobblehead night.

[Jeff K]

I think we can reapply total systems failure to what's happened.  Yup, not supporting the team going into 24 was damaging.  Yup, "the power of three " (I like that) contributed.  I also want to reiterate that the Twins have far too many players without basic fundamentals.  A team full of dh's is not a good team.

[old nurse]

17 hours ago, BillyBallLives said:

A new MLB team? Fans will show up win or lose — at first. The Twins proved that in the Met Stadium days. But by 1974, the novelty was gone, the team was losing, and they ranked 12th out of 12 in attendance. The trend of horrible attendance continued for 13 year and didn't break until 1987.

Same story with Target Field. After the shine wore off, the product never lived up, and the seats started emptying again.

Now? The Power of Three — Pohlads, Falvey, Baldelli — has broken what’s left of the fan base. People aren’t just tuning out because of a bad season. They’ve lost faith in ownership, the front office, and the dugout. That’s not a cycle you bounce back from with a bobblehead night.

By your own words they came out for the newness in the 60s, and history repeated itself with Target Field . The attendance stayed high for the first 11 years if newness worked that well the attendance at Target Field would have stayed high up to the pandemic.  

Calvin Griffith and the Pohlads ran the same type of team model. 65 years of the same thing. Now it breaks the fan base? That is absurd. 

[insagt1]

In irony when a guy named Outman plays everyday and can't even get above .150 you have a team where winning is not an objective. Twins have yawned thru 2025 playing some of the most uninspired ball imaginable. Losing a series to a Rockies team who has lost 115 games so far (they could lose 119 tying for 3rd worst record in modern history) shows you how little energy these guys have. And this is with Buxton being mostly healthy ( but finishing in September in a slump)

This season has been a total waste. Can a flush help for 2026? Who knows

[jjswol]

Sorry, I don't buy the fact that a single loss changed the whole situation in Minnesota. The trades were brought by ownership and the Twins decision to sign Carlos Correa, not to mention bad decision making by the FO, bad managing by Rocco and bad play by the players. This is a total systemic failure if there ever was one. We will see after the season ends if ownership is going to clean house and hopefully resolve the issue or if they will let it ride and hope they get a buyer and just put the Twins behind them.

[hlsballer318]

June 5, 2025 when the A's won 14-3 is where I think the season completely changed. They went on to lose 5 straight series.

[Patzky]

On 9/24/2025 at 12:35 PM, Nshore said:

Paddack's doing his part to sink Detroit too.

Surprised to see he never took the field in Cleveland at all 

[TopGunn#22]

In the category of "Most Overly Dramatic Headline for a Season that was Going to Be Bad Anyway"... the Oscar goes to...

Cody Christie !!!

We're really going through some incredible gymnastics to try to zero in on one inning in a season where it was pretty clear ownership and the the front office did very little to make the team better in the off season, and the manager and his coaching staff were doing nothing to inspire confidence after the glow of the winning streak was left in the dust.  Even the Russian judge gives Cody a "10" on that.  

Are we to believe that Chris Paddack was the key to a Twins post All Star Game pennant drive?    

But here the Twins sit in the A.L. Central.  In a division seeing the Tigers stagger their way toward the finish line and Cleveland breathing down their necks, it seems no one other than Cleveland is capable of competing each season for the division title.  For the Twins outlook to be this bleak in a division this weak just shines a spotlight on how badly the Pohlad's and Falvey have damaged this franchise.

One inning didn't bring us to this point, causing the deadline fire sale.  It's been building for years.