Twins 4, Braves 2: This Time, Bullpen Holds

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 1 BB (94 pitches, 62 strikes)
HR: None
Top 3 WPA: Bell 0.15, Adams 0.14, Hoffman 0.08
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

The Minnesota Twins came into Monday night’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves with plenty of pressure on their shoulders. After being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend, the Twins fell six games behind in the American League Central and dropped to five games below .500. They remained just one game out of the AL Wild Card, but with the season quickly running out of runway, another series sweep would have been a difficult hole to climb out of.

The Twins were also looking for a bounce-back performance after blowing a five-run lead against the Phillies on Sunday. They got exactly what they needed Monday night, although it certainly did not come easy.

The game itself started later than usual after the Twins and Braves called for a preemptive rain delay. The tarps eventually came off, and after waiting an hour, the two teams began the game without a drop of rain falling.

The Twins were tasked with facing an old friend in Braves starter Martín Pérez, who spent the 2019 season with Minnesota. It looked like a challenging matchup on paper, especially considering the Twins entered the night ranked 22nd in baseball in OPS against left-handed pitching. They certainly didn't play like it in the first inning.

Luke Keaschall got the offense started with a leadoff double, and the Twins quickly loaded the bases after Pérez walked Byron Buxton and Ryan Jeffers. That brought Josh Bell to the plate, and the veteran first baseman delivered with a two-run bloop double down the first base line to give Minnesota an early 2-0 advantage.

The Twins weren't finished. Royce Lewis followed with an RBI single, and Kody Clemens added another RBI single to make it 4-0 before the Twins had even recorded their first out. After struggling to generate offense against left-handed pitching all season, Minnesota couldn't have asked for a better start.

Bailey Ober took the mound for the Twins looking to rebound from a rough outing against Baltimore last week in which he allowed five earned runs. Ober looked sharp through the first four innings, but things began to unravel in the fifth.

Austin Riley led off the inning with a single before reigning Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Ronald Acuña Jr. then delivered a two-run single to cut the Twins' lead in half.

With Acuña on base and just one out, the Twins decided they had seen enough from Ober. The right-hander was pulled after just 4 1/3 innings, leaving Minnesota's bullpen with a tall task: protect a two-run lead for the final 4 2/3 innings.

Considering what had happened less than 24 hours earlier, it was easy to wonder if the Twins were about to watch another big lead disappear. Instead, the bullpen saved the day.

Taylor Rogers was the first man through the door, and he entered in a difficult situation. Acuña was standing on first base, there was only one out, and the heart of Atlanta's lineup was coming to the plate with the Twins clinging to a 4-2 lead. Rogers worked his way out of the jam to keep the Braves off the board, giving the Twins exactly what they needed after Ober's abbreviated outing.

Travis Adams followed and provided perhaps the biggest contribution of the night. Adams has struggled considerably of late, but the Twins needed him to provide length and bridge the gap to the back end of the bullpen. He responded with two scoreless innings, striking out three without allowing a baserunner, allowing Minnesota to preserve its two-run advantage.

That set the stage for the bullpen's heavy hitters.

Jeff Hoffman, who has quickly become the Twins' most important bullpen piece since arriving at the trade deadline, tossed a scoreless eighth inning, aided by a massive defensive play from Kody Clemens. Then Yoendrys Gómez came in for the ninth and shut the door, albeit not without some nerves, securing a 4-2 Twins victory. 

After scoring four runs in the first inning, the Twins couldn't push another run across the plate despite creating several opportunities. The biggest came in the bottom of the eighth, when Minnesota loaded the bases with nobody out and had a chance to put the game away, and came away empty-handed.

It didn't matter. The four runs Minnesota scored in the opening frame were enough because the bullpen refused to let Atlanta answer. After Ober's early exit, the Twins' relievers combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing Minnesota to survive a game that could have easily gone the other direction.

The Twins improved to 61-65 with the victory and, thanks to losses by both the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays having the day off, moved to just a half-game back of the AL Wild Card.

After the way the weekend went, the Twins desperately needed a win to start this series, and they got exactly that.

What's Next
The Twins will look to capture a series victory on Tuesday evening at Target Field. The Twins will be facing another old friend in Tyler Mahle, with Zebby Matthews taking the rubber for the Twins. First pitch will be at 6:40 pm (assuming no rain delay this time).

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Chart

	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TOT
Morris	0	0	23	28	0	51
Adams	42	0	0	0	18	60
Hoffman	0	0	17	0	20	37
Minter	0	0	12	14	0	26
Rogers	10	0	0	16	11	37
Funderburk	0	0	16	4	0	20
Nance	16	0	0	0	0	16
Gomez	0	0	0	0	19	19

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[Permanent Twins Fan]

Much needed win. Offense struggled after the first, but it is good to see them get enough to get a win. Great job by the bullpen and especially Adams with two dominant innings. Big win to get them just 0.5 games out of the Wild Card. Go Twins.

[wesnewy]

lets hope they can capitalize off of this and sting together a couple of wins

[Saxophone Joe]

Hit grand slam: lose

NOBLETIGER: Win

[Saxophone Joe]

…Did I hear that right: the hit that Clemens saved was 108 off the bat? Wow! Best play I’ve seen him make at 2nd, arguably his biggest defensive play as a Twin. 

[RpR]

[Bracky]

The play by Clemens at 2nd was great. The ball was hit hard too.

Then he ends up making the last two outs in left field to end the game.

[knothole61]

2 hours ago, Saxophone Joe said:

…Did I hear that right: the hit that Clemens saved was 108 off the bat? Wow! Best play I’ve seen him make at 2nd, arguably his biggest defensive play as a Twin. 

He's a gamer...

[Peter]

Huge much needed win!!!💪💪💪

[Patzky]

9 hours ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Much needed win. Offense struggled after the first, but it is good to see them get enough to get a win. Great job by the bullpen and especially Adams with two dominant innings. Big win to get them just 0.5 games out of the Wild Card. Go Twins.

The neverending struggles with 'easy' scoring situations (even in the first after the runs scored we really should have gotten more) are so troubling. For a happy night the pitching and defense were more than good enough to get a win. If starters are running out of gas/not good enough to get through the order a third time, it's still preferred to giving up two or three runs right out of the tunnel. The bullpen is getting gassed but was actually managed well last night. Mssrs. Ober and Kremer had similar outings, dominant until suddenly they weren't. Spotting that sweet spot to pull them and better use of mound visits and challenges (not good last night) might help a little. 

Nice win!

[Patzky]

6 hours ago, Bracky said:

The play by Clemens at 2nd was great. The ball was hit hard too.

Then he ends up making the last two outs in left field to end the game.

Sometimes the ball just finds you. ☺️ Happily it found him vs someone else.

[90stwinskid]

About time.

Post-deadline: 5-8

Overall: 61-65

[DJL44]

80 wins might be enough for the last wild card spot 

[DJL44]

Cut Jackson, lose three in a row. Bring back Jackson and they’re back in the win column.

[chinmusic]

17 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

80 wins might be enough for the last wild card spot

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised by a tie, maybe even multi team tie, for that 3rd spot. And don't the Twins have a winning record (I think) vs most of their fellow pretenders...oops! contenders?

[Patzky]

48 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Cut Jackson, lose three in a row. Bring back Jackson and they’re back in the win column.

What if.. he's the summer sausage. 🌭 

[bean5302]

I was at the game, and it was a high tension event the entire time. Lots of entertainment after an absolutely ridiculously unwarranted rain delay.

I had fun watching the game, and catching up with some friends. Unfortunately for me, all the Twins scoring took place while I was getting food! 

 

[djvang]

Why does Gomez have to walk the first batter he faces every time?

[Saxophone Joe]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Cut Jackson, lose three in a row. Bring back Jackson and they’re back in the win column.

[AceWrigley]

Rogers and Adams set the tone for the bullpen this game, quite surprisingly I might add. A win is a win but if I'm Derek Shelton I'm not happy with the offense wasting too many chances to score more runs. Good teams rarely let you get wins like this one.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Cut Jackson, lose three in a row. Bring back Jackson and they’re back in the win column.

This year's summer sausage.

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

I was at the game, and it was a high tension event the entire time. Lots of entertainment after an absolutely ridiculously unwarranted rain delay.

I had fun watching the game, and catching up with some friends. Unfortunately for me, all the Twins scoring took place while I was getting food! 

 

Go get more food.

[Patzky]

24 minutes ago, djvang said:

Why does Gomez have to walk the first batter he faces every time?

Are you not entertained!

[terrydactyls]

2 hours ago, DJL44 said:

80 wins might be enough for the last wild card spot 

That is true; but it is also a sad commentary on 2026 American League baseball.

[Jeff K]

3 hours ago, Patzky said:

Sometimes the ball just finds you. ☺️ Happily it found him vs someone else.

isn't that the truth!

[USAFChief]

2 hours ago, bean5302 said:

I was at the game, and it was a high tension event the entire time. Lots of entertainment after an absolutely ridiculously unwarranted rain delay.

I had fun watching the game, and catching up with some friends. Unfortunately for me, all the Twins scoring took place while I was getting food! 

 

An hour rain delay and you're STILL getting food bottom one?!??!?

[Riverbrian]

3 hours ago, 90stwinskid said:

About time.

Post-deadline: 5-8

Overall: 61-65

I love this quote so I use it often. 

Every team wins 54 and every team loses 54... it's the other 54 games that matter. 

We were actually 54-54 at one time and that makes us 7 and 11 in those games that matter.  

Nothing a 15 game winning streak won't solve. 

[chinmusic]

2 hours ago, Patzky said:

What if.. he's the summer sausage.

Needs approval from Jeffers; former keeper of the sausage

[Saxophone Joe]

1 hour ago, AceWrigley said:

Rogers and Adams set the tone for the bullpen this game, quite surprisingly I might add. 

Indeed. Adams was huge, and this is like the fifth time (at least) this season I thought Rogers was 100% cooked (after the near meltdown last week against Baltimore), only for him to succeed in fairly high leverage situations.

[David Maro]

It's time for Jeffers and Buxton to s__t or get off the pot. This team scoring in the 1st and zip after that isn't going to work for long. You can't load the bases with no outs again and again and not score. Time and time again man on 2nd no outs and can't even get them to 3rd. They aren't playing baseball when things like this happen.