Twins 6, White Sox 4: Jeffers Blast Completes Twins Comeback Victory

[Steven Trefz]

Image courtesy of Matt Marton, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Box Score
SP: Taj Bradley - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (80 pitches, 52 strikes (65%))
Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (14)
Top 3 WPA: Jeffers (0.25), Jeff Hoffman (0.12), Kody Funderburk & Yeondrys Gomez (0.09)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins hadn't won on a Saturday since July 25th, and they lost the season series and any hopes of the AL Central division to the White Sox on Friday night. They faced a tough left-handed starter in Anthony Kay, and needed a victory to keep any mirage of a chance in the Wild Card race. Taj Bradley was tasked with starting strong and keeping hope alive for one more day. Something had to give on Saturday night in the South Side of Chicago, who would it be?

Bradley Bends First

The Twins started the game off quietly in order against Kay in the top of the first, but the White Sox were loud in their half of the inning. Bradley gave up a leadoff walk to Sam Antonacci, and two batters later he gave up a fly ball to Munetaka Murakami that would have been an out in 25 ballparks across the league. Unfortunately at Rate Field, it scraped the back of the left field wall to put the Twins in a 2-0 hole for his 30th homer of the year. That might have been bad luck on a good pitch, but two batters later Bradley grooved an 0-2 cutter down the middle, and Colson Montgomery launched his 31st homer of the year. Just like that, the Twins were facing an uphill battle yet again. 

Kay Breaks Eventually

The Twins failed to log a hit in the first three innings, but the newly minted number two hitter Kaelen Culpepper took care of that to lead off the fourth with a single. Ryan Jeffers went down looking, but Josh Bell went down and roped a double to the gap in left to put runners on second and third with one out. After failing yet again Friday night with runners in scoring position, the White Sox probably felt like they had the Twins right where they wanted them. Royce Lewis didn't get a hit, but he refused to swing outside the zone, and he took his walk, moving the responsibility/opportunity down the line. Kody Clemens delivered the first Twins run of the game with a fielder's choice grounder and some good hustle. Brooks Lee batted right-handed, and stayed on a low fastball with two strikes to golf a double down the left field line. Bell came home to make it a 3-2 game, but that's where the rally ended.

Until the top of the fifth, that is. That's when Ryan Kreidler took one (barely) for the team off of his elbow guard, and Luke Keaschall laced a single to right. Culpepper exchanged places by getting Kreidler tagged out on a grounder to third. Miguel Vargas cried foul (and in pain) as he smacked Kreidler's helmet in a throw attempt to first. After a short delay, Ryan Jeffers almost dented a human in the left field bleachers. 5-3 Minnesota!

 

 

Bell laced another single up the middle, and that chased Kay as the White Sox continue to operate their games as if they are actually still in a playoff race. Kay's night was over in the fifth, and the stingy Chicago bullpen took over.

Bradley Gives Little, Then a Little
After Montgomery's blast in the first, Bradley more than settled down. He put the White Sox on lockdown, retiring the next 10 batters that he faced. Now staked to a two-run lead, Taj immediately lost that streak when Chase Meidroth accelerated a 98-mph fastball back up the middle for a leadoff single. Bradley got the next two men, but Meidroth snuck his way to second base on a spiked offspeed pitch. Antonacci walked, and suddenly Vargas was up as the go-ahead run in a story that Twins fans had watched too many times to be funny anymore.

Vargas delivered, but luckily for Bradley and the Twins it was only a run-scoring single. Taj struck out the dangerous Murakami on a heater, and the Twins escaped the fifth inning still ahead at 5-4. Apparently the Twins are acting like they are in a playoff race too, as Derek Shelton pulled Bradley after only 80 pitches after five innings. Taj got burned early, held the line in the middle, and escaped late but left in line for the win if the Twins bullpen could keep the Chicago bats silent.

The Bullpen Battle Winner Is...?
Kody Funderburk held the line in the bottom of the sixth thanks to some slick catches from Keaschall in right. 

 

Then Culpepper added some insurance in the next inning. After missing a booming home run off of an off-speed pitch by mere feet on the wrong side of the left field foul pole, Kaelen stayed with a 96 mph fastball and deposited it down the right field line for a 6-4 Twins lead.

 

Jeff Hoffman got the next four outs. A.J. Minter struck out the dangerous Murakami but surrendered a two-out double to Randal Grichuk to put the tying run, named Montgomery Colson, in the batter's box in the bottom of the eighth. The Twins added Minter at the trade deadline to get quality left-handed batters out in close games, and 95-mph of high cheese later, that is what he did. The game migrated into the ninth inning with the Twins still nursing a 6-4 advantage. 

The Twins couldn't push across any more insurance, so it was up to Yoendrys Gomez to lock down the ninth and to win back what was lost yesterday in the playoff race. Lewis dug out a Lee throw for out number one, Gomez swept away Meidroth on three pitches, and Lewis let the third out peacefully fall down into his glove for a well-earned victory.

What’s Next?

The Twins look to take their first series on the road since July 5 at Yankee Stadium. Twins righty Bailey Ober (7-4, 4.37 ERA) looks to deliver his second quality start against the South Siders in a week, after taking a no-decision last Saturday on one run over five frames. The White Sox have yet to name their starter for the last game of the season series. First pitch is scheduled for 5:20pm CDT, and will require a Peacock/NBCSN to watch from the comforts of your devices.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Acton	39	0	0	18	0	57
Funderburk	0	29	0	0	11	40
Minter	0	17	0	0	18	35
Nance	0	33	0	0	0	33
Hoffman	0	12	0	0	17	29
Morris	29	0	0	0	0	29
Rogers	0	7	0	19	0	26
Gomez	0	15	0	0	7	22
Adams	9	3	0	0	0	12

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[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Nice win. 

Let's do it again tomorrow. 

[Blyleven2011]

Gotta say this team has some fight in them …

last years team and the year before , if they had a deficit in the first few innings , they were already thinking what’s for dinner and they definitely weren’t the comeback kids …

this season has been good and with new optimism for next season batting keaschall and Culpepper 1 and 2 will definitely be an improvement for some years to come …

the 2026 twins definitely have some fight in them , it was a good comeback to win 6-4 with pitching , clutch hits and good defense ,,,

[Parfigliano]

So much easier to win when the relief pitching doesn't get whacked around like a piñata.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Let's win tomorrow and be done with Chicago for the season. Take 2 of 3 from Detroit and Cleveland and you are likely within 2 or 3 games of the wild card with 7 against the Angels and Giants still to go. There is little to no margin for error, but if the Twins can get hot they can get in. I liked what Josh Bell said in the post game radio interview today. He basically said (Paraphrasing Here) that they know that they will have to get really hot to get into the playoffs, but if they do they will be entering the playoffs as one of the hottest team in baseball. 

[LastOnePicked]

Honestly, I'm gonna miss Ryan Jeffers. He's a special ballplayer. I doubt the Twins will put up a real fight for him, but they should at least extend the qualifying offer.

Culpepper is impressive. Bradley was resilient. Keaschall has grit. Hoffman should be pitching for a playoff team.

If you gave this team a top-tier starter and a slugging 1B in free agency, you might have something. If you don't, it's just going to be a lot of good-to-decent little pieces without much chance of putting it all together.

[RpR]

[SE23]

16 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

Honestly, I'm gonna miss Ryan Jeffers. He's a special ballplayer. I doubt the Twins will put up a real fight for him, but they should at least extend the qualifying offer.

Culpepper is impressive. Bradley was resilient. Keaschall has grit. Hoffman should be pitching for a playoff team.

If you gave this team a top-tier starter and a slugging 1B in free agency, you might have something. If you don't, it's just going to be a lot of good-to-decent little pieces without much chance of putting it all together.

Agree. Keep Jeffers, if possible. (Get the draft pick if not). I'm ready to roll next spring if we sign Luis Arraez and Yandy Diaz in the off season. Trade Lewis, Larnach and a little prospect capital for a pitcher or two.

The only prospects on my Do Not Trade list are Erod, Mendez, Houston, Quick, Diaw, Lackey and Tait...

[mark allen]

Great come back started with great defense from Keash he will one day be a good right or left outfielder.

[wesnewy]

Good overall win for the boys, also nice to see Taj level the ship after a rocky 1st inning

[Althebum82]

Boy, did I get disheartened easily when I snuck a quick look at my phone to see we were down 3-0 in the first inning.  This is against a good team at their home park after our favorite team showed limited offensive prowess the previous night.

The next peek revealed us up at 5-3!  Culpepper is showing he is the real deal and positioning him behind a very hot Keaschall in the line-up sure looked like a great move tonight.  Hope it continues.

Bullpen really did come through.  Minter, while facing a limited number of batters each outing, seems to really dominate.  

Impressive win, but we are in a position where we need to string a whole bunch of wins together (impressive or not) to undo a terrible August.

[Saxophone Joe]

9 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Gotta say this team has some fight in them …

the 2026 twins definitely have some fight in them , it was a good comeback to win 6-4 with pitching , clutch hits and good defense ,,,

Agreed. They play for each other and I’ve respected that aspect of this team all season. 

…the scoop by Royce in the 9th was so huge! That inning probably goes a whole lot different with a runner on and no outs. 

Gomez 20/20 in save opportunities. What a pickup. 

[Whitey333]

Nice win Twins.  Unfortunately a 10-17 August kind of puts them behind the perverbial 8 ball.  I like most of the young players. Too bad they didnt trade jeffers.  You would think they could have gotten something decent for him.  Letting him go for nothing, the draft pick is basically nothing considering Jeffers value.  Lets win Sunday and take the series.  Boo to MLB for putting games like Sunday's game on Peacock a pay channel.  

[HarmonK03]

8 hours ago, SE23 said:

Agree. Keep Jeffers, if possible. (Get the draft pick if not). I'm ready to roll next spring if we sign Luis Arraez and Yandy Diaz in the off season. Trade Lewis, Larnach and a little prospect capital for a pitcher or two.

The only prospects on my Do Not Trade list are Erod, Mendez, Houston, Quick, Diaw, Lackey and Tait...

Trading for Diaz and Arraez does not help us get more athletic which this team needs to do.  Identify the team identity then identify players who fit that.  Diaz is another DH only player, do we want flexibility at the DH role or not.  Those questions need to be answered first, hopefully by a new front office.

If you want to move on from Larnach, you can just non tender him, he will have little trade value with his expected arb number and the same holds true for Lewis.

[DJL44]

Six games under with 20 remaining. 14-6 is the minimum they need.

Toronto looks like the team that will ride a hot streak into the playoffs.

[Saxophone Joe]

Could be worse for us: Look at the A’s taking 3 straight in Seattle. Boy, I bet Mariners’ fans are irate, But the A’s have looked good since our series in Sacramento. They have a chance to play spoiler again when they host Toronto this week.

[Bodie]

9 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

Gotta say this team has some fight in them …

last years team and the year before , if they had a deficit in the first few innings , they were already thinking what’s for dinner and they definitely weren’t the comeback kids …

this season has been good and with new optimism for next season batting keaschall and Culpepper 1 and 2 will definitely be an improvement for some years to come …

the 2026 twins definitely have some fight in them , it was a good comeback to win 6-4 with pitching , clutch hits and good defense ,,,

That "fight" is the biggest and most important change Sheldon has brought about. Not sure what the specifics are, but it is a DRAMATIC change from the previous two seasons in particular. 

As a TwinsTV subscriber, I approve. If only because I get more bang for the buck.  No more youtube after the 3rd inning because "if the Twins didn't start a game hot, they basically never started". 

 

Not every deficit will be overcome.  But, it's better when they at least try to adjust and overcome than surrender without trying at all.  And I saw a LOT of no-effort (and somehow even less adjustment!!!) baseball over the last two seasons. 

[Peter]

Huge comeback win!!! This has to be spark for rest of season!!! Definitely need to get on hot streak right now and start winning!!! Last 20 games will be must watch!!! Forget about football especially after last night with Michigan as asides from the U I’ve lost all respect for NCAA!!! It’s time to make baseball as well twins #1 team to support 

[Jeff K]

Keaschall making an athletic play in RF is oh so encouraging.  I still feel like he can become a solid corner outfielder.  And the man can flat out hit.  I love Keaschall and Culpepper at the top of the order.  A lot!  Actually, a whole lot!

[mikelink45]

10 hours ago, SE23 said:

Agree. Keep Jeffers, if possible. (Get the draft pick if not). I'm ready to roll next spring if we sign Luis Arraez and Yandy Diaz in the off season. Trade Lewis, Larnach and a little prospect capital for a pitcher or two.

The only prospects on my Do Not Trade list are Erod, Mendez, Houston, Quick, Diaw, Lackey and Tait...

Too many prospects on your do not trade list.  You have to give up something of quality if you want quality back.

[mikelink45]

Still six games out in the division and 3.5 in WC.  Possible, but only 20 games left.  The WC at 3.5 games behind is also still a possibility but having four teams to pass makes it much more difficult.  

Last night was impressive because Taj did not have his best stuff and the BP and batters took charge.

Culpepper really looks good, he needs to have a conversation with Jenkins. 

[LA Vikes Fan]

10 hours ago, LastOnePicked said:

Honestly, I'm gonna miss Ryan Jeffers. He's a special ballplayer. I doubt the Twins will put up a real fight for him, but they should at least extend the qualifying offer.

Culpepper is impressive. Bradley was resilient. Keaschall has grit. Hoffman should be pitching for a playoff team.

If you gave this team a top-tier starter and a slugging 1B in free agency, you might have something. If you don't, it's just going to be a lot of good-to-decent little pieces without much chance of putting it all together.

Agreed. I really like the idea of Keaschall and Culpepper 1. 2 in the order. We have some pretty good complimentary pieces with those 2, Lee and Clemens, about 4 starters amongst that group, and about 80% of a quality bullpen if we can bring back Minter. 
We’re close but missing 4 big, tentpole pieces. We need 2 middle of the order bats and that’s assuming Buxton plays 100 plus games next year hitting in the top 3 in the order. Jeffers could be one of those two if he’s resigned. Maybe we get the other with a trade of Joe Ryan. We also need a number one/number two starter, ideally a true number one, whether or not Ryan stays. We need to sign Lopez or Ryan long-term. Finally, we need a dominant closer. Gomez has been great this year but nothing in his past suggests he’s going to be able to continue to do that year after year.

I think this year’s off-season is going to be interesting for this team assuming MLB can get past the CBA negotiations. The Twins really are facing an interesting choice, do they trade their young players to try to get these pieces or do we play the up-and-coming young players hoping they become these pieces? Both are pretty risky, but I think you need to pick a lane. I would sign Lopez longer-term. (all of his actions tell me he wants to stay), trade Ryan (his salary demands suggest he’s going to leave), resign Jeffers, resign Minter, and hope to get that young middle of the order bat who can play OF, 2B, or IB out of the Ryan trade. I would then go to the free agent market for a late inning BP arm/closer, knowing that you can probably survive having Hoffman, Gomez, Moris, and Minter as your back end of the bullpen if you strike out. Beyond that, you play your younger players every day, including sorting through the young OFs until you find one that sticks. Still, it’s gonna be an interesting threading of the needle.

[TJSweens]

A couple of points 

1. Culpepper has looked like belongs from day 1. There has never been a moment where he has looked over his head. The move up to the second spot in the order was well earned. That was a quality AB when he delivered the insurance run.

2. Keaschall is figuring it out in the OF. He is still adjusting to some nuances like playing carroms, but his athleticism is really playing well in the OF. He made some very nice plays in right last night.

[TL]

Jenkins has “looked” good but the stats don’t yet back that up. If memory serves though he often starts off a new level a bit slow and then picks it up. Hopefully that holds true here for the stretch run.

[SE23]

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

Too many prospects on your do not trade list.  You have to give up something of quality if you want quality back.

Of those on my list, I might part with Mendez and Tait for the right return. We have other farm assets like Ross, Rosario, Kendle, Winokur, Tinney, Gonzalez, Mercedes, etc. My opinion is that we don't need to acquire much talent by trade for next year anyway. Some mid-minors pitchers with promise would be nice. The combination of our young prospects coming up and a couple of key FA signings should put us in a very competitive place.

[SE23]

3 hours ago, HarmonK03 said:

Trading for Diaz and Arraez does not help us get more athletic which this team needs to do.  Identify the team identity then identify players who fit that.  Diaz is another DH only player, do we want flexibility at the DH role or not.  Those questions need to be answered first, hopefully by a new front office.

If you want to move on from Larnach, you can just non tender him, he will have little trade value with his expected arb number and the same holds true for Lewis.

I don't disagree with you in principle. I want more athleticism going forward. But Arraez is such a bat-to-ball freak -- and would slot so beautifully at the top of our batting order -- that I would make an exception for him. (Plus, Luis just belongs in a TC uniform at the end of his career!)  And I would consider Diaz a DH only for 2027, so I'm not concerned with his defensive skills at all.

[MeleMouth]

1 hour ago, SE23 said:

I don't disagree with you in principle. I want more athleticism going forward. But Arraez is such a bat-to-ball freak -- and would slot so beautifully at the top of our batting order -- that I would make an exception for him. (Plus, Luis just belongs in a TC uniform at the end of his career!)  And I would consider Diaz a DH only for 2027, so I'm not concerned with his defensive skills at all.

Diaz's option for 2027 has vested at not too high an amount, so it's hard to see TB letting him go.

Arraez is great and I hope he cashes in this winter, but between Culpepper, Clemens, Lee, and Houston, the Twins hope to be in decent shape at 2B and SS for the next few years. Where would Arraez play? 

[mickster]

13 hours ago, SE23 said:

Agree. Keep Jeffers, if possible. (Get the draft pick if not). I'm ready to roll next spring if we sign Luis Arraez and Yandy Diaz in the off season. Trade Lewis, Larnach and a little prospect capital for a pitcher or two.

The only prospects on my Do Not Trade list are Erod, Mendez, Houston, Quick, Diaw, Lackey and Tait...

Erod and Tait should be used to fortify the roster in trades.   Jeffers on a three year deal would be a win.

[mickster]

29 minutes ago, MeleMouth said:

Diaz's option for 2027 has vested at not too high an amount, so it's hard to see TB letting him go.

Arraez is great and I hope he cashes in this winter, but between Culpepper, Clemens, Lee, and Houston, the Twins hope to be in decent shape at 2B and SS for the next few years. Where would Arraez play? 

100% will not sign unless he plays 2B.   That was his condition last year, and will be again this offseason.

[SE23]

29 minutes ago, mickster said:

100% will not sign unless he plays 2B.   That was his condition last year, and will be again this offseason.

I'd give him 2B for 2027. Houston won't be ready until late summer most likely. Clemens is our super utility, with some starts at 1B, LF, and DH (plus injury/rest backup at 2B).

After 2027, adjustments would be necessary (assuming Houston takes SS). Maybe Culpepper slides to 3B and Brooks takes 1B? Pretty tight infield defense...