Rays 4, Twins 2: Woods Richardson Struggles, Offense Stays Silent As Rays Sweep

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 4 1/3 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (78 Pitches, 47 Strikes, 60.3%)
Home Runs: Brooks Lee (5)
Bottom 3 WPA: Woods Richardson (-0.21), Matt Wallner (-0.13), Josh Bell (-0.10)
Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant):

Well, the Twins are bad again. The starting pitching has sprung a few leaks, and the opportunistic offense has been silenced by the regression monster. When the team has managed to take a lead, the bullpen has given it right back. Add it all up, and the team is 1-9 in its past 10 games, immediately following an 8-1 stretch that had them at the top of the American League.

Today featured Simeon Woods Richardson squaring off against old friend Griffin Jax, who was operating as an opener for bulk pitcher Jesse Scholtens. Woods Richardson has been less than great in 2026, with his encouraging strikeout ability from the second half of 2025 abandoning him. 

Jax looked good, keeping the Twins off balance and pitching around a few bloopers and infield hits in 2 1/3 innings. Woods Richardson got in trouble early and often, allowing a leadoff base hit to Chandler Simpson, only to be bailed out by a hard ground ball from the dangerous Junior Caminero. It was fielded perfectly at second base by Luke Keaschall, who converted it into an easy double play. A walk and a single brought the heat back up in the second, but Woods Richardson got Taylor Walls looking on a misplaced fastball (Ttrget outside, pitch hit the inside corner) to end that threat.

He ran out of magic in the third. Hunter Feduccia led off with a swinging bunt that he beat out. He advanced to second on an errant throw from Woods Richardson. Simpson followed with another hit, then stole second. Woods Richardson fell behind Caminero 3-0, which would have prompted many pitchers to give in and put him on via the intentional walk. Woods Richardson somehow got Caminero to pop out on 3-1, but Jonathan Aranda singled to the gap in right-center field to bring home two runs. Yandy Díaz then rifled a fastball that was nearly in Ryan Jeffers's glove the opposite way for an impressive home run. All of a sudden, the score was 4-0 Rays.

The Twins put two runners on in the third and fourth inning, now facing Scholtens, but Josh Bell hit a liner at 107 MPH that was caught to end the third. Royce Lewis popped out weakly to end the fourth.

Three more Rays would reach in the fourth. Walls tried to score from second on the third single of the game from Simpson, but was thrown out by Trevor Larnach from left field. Caminero then tapped out to end the threat. A walk to Díaz in the fifth was the end of the line for Woods Richardson. The final line wasn't pretty: eight hits allowed, a homer and more walks (3) than strikeouts (2). His fastball did hit 94 MPH a few times, but he had quite a few in the low 90s and upper 80s. He floated his splitter into hittable locations more than once, though his slider was relatively sharp,

Meanwhile, Scholtens was settling in, allowing a few walks but using his slider and splitter to precent the Twins from generating hard contact. He kept cruising until the seventh, when he hung a couple of sliders to the murderer's row of the Twins lineup: James Outman and Brooks Lee. Outman cracked a double, and Lee snuck a liner inside the right-field foul pole for a two-run home run.

Cole Sulser came on and got the Rays out of the inning without any further damage, and pitched a quick eighth inning, as well. Minnesota never seriously threatened to get closer than the 4-2 final score.

Things I'm Tracking:
-Brooks Lee batted leadoff, contributing a home run and a walk. He wouldn't have been my choice for that lineup slot, but sometimes picking a leadoff hitter doesn't need to make sense. Remember when the Royals were perennial World Series contenders with Alcides Escobar hitting first?

-Are Woods Richardson's mechanics out of whack? Is he dealing with a physical issue? Is he some kind of right-handed Shaun Marcum (feisty pitcher without a lot of "stuff" who was pretty good for a few years, but when he lost just a tick on his fastball he was basically unplayable)?

-Good to have Kody Funderburk back. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 1.74. If he keeps this up, he'll have closing opportunities, given the bullpen's lack of talent.

What’s Next: The Twins welcome the Mariners to Target Field Monday, as they begin a four-game series. Connor Prielipp (0-0, 4.50 ERA) will face Luis Castillo (0-1, 5.21 ERA) as the Twins look to get off the mat against an underperforming Seattle team. Prielipp was inefficient but solid in his MLB debut against the Mets last time out, pitching four innings, walking none and striking out six. Castillo isn't the ace he once was, and hasn't looked good thus far in 2026, but he has a track record, and the Twins don't have a ton of threats in their lineup.

Postgame Interviews:

Coming soon

Bullpen Usage Chart: