Twins 5, Phillies 0: Phillies Shut Out at Home by Mick Abel and the Twins

Box Score
SP: Mick Abel 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (73 pitches, 53 strikes (72.6%))
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (35), James Outman (6), Ryan Fitzgerald (4)
Top 3 WPA: Abel (.340), Buxton (.112), Outman (.068)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 
 

Mick Abel took the hill against his former team in search of securing his first Twins win before the 2025 season wrapped. The Phillies came into Saturday's contest looking to overtake the Brewers for the best record in the majors before the playoffs begin next week. The stakes weren't high, but unlike most of the outings in the past month for the Twins, the outcome of the game was going to matter for someone.

Byron Buxton, Please Don't Leave
Not much has gone right for the Twins this season, but Byron Buxton has been all kinds of right. On Thursday he hit his 10th leadoff home run of the season, and tonight he added another one to the tally. With the count full, Ranger Suarez left a cutter middle-in, and Buxton sent it over the left field wall for an early 1-0 lead.

Austin Martin singled and advanced to third on a Royce Lewis double with one out, but Suarez struck out Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee to end the threat.

Mick Abel, Welcome Home
Without a doubt, there was some extra adrenaline pumping through the former Phillies first round pick when he faced his former squad. Abel had already pitched four games at Citizens Bank Park this season, so the scene was familiar while the experience of returning through the visitors' clubhouse was a new thing. Abel started out by touching 98 with his heater and working changeups and sliders to perfection as he struck out the side in the first, two of the three batters in the second, and another two of three Phillies in the third! Seven Ks across his first nine outs, now that's a way to return home as the away team.

Rain Starts to Fall, but So Do Twins Hits
In the top of the fourth the impending rain clouds began to produce, but so did the Twins offense. Clemens led off with a single, and he advanced to third on a Lee single with one out. Carson McCusker is still looking for his first home run, but his ground out to third got Clemens in to up the Twins lead to 2-0. James Outman led off the fifth with a solo homer of his own to make it 3-0, and Ryan Jeffers knocked Suarez out of the ballgame a few batters later with a hard line drive off of the pitcher's inner thigh. Martin and Jeffers attempted a double steal with one out, and Martin got picked off to deflect the potential knockout blow for the game itself. Abel kept dealing, however, striking out nine Phillies across six shutout innings. As the Twins headed back out for the rainy seventh, Ryan Fitzgerald beat the raindrops off the ball into the second deck for a 4-0 Twins lead.

With two outs, Martin worked a walk and Jeffers hit one 105.6 mph. This time he got 11.6 degrees of launch angle which cleared the infielders' groins and rolled all the way to the wall for a run-scoring double. 5-0 good guys.

Closing Out Abel's First Win as a Twin
In a season of disappointment, Twins fans need every crumb of hope that they can find. Abel's lights out performance in this emotional conclusion to his first full MLB season serves as far more than a crumb. Mick showed why he should be a mainstay of the Twins rotation for the next decade, and this scrappy pile of misfit players not only took down one of the best teams in the league, but they were able be the first team to shut out the Phillies on their home turf all season long. Pierson Ohl took care of business in the seventh and eighth, and Kody Funderburk sealed the deal in the ninth.

As a season of "What could have been" comes to a close, I leave you with this small moment of Zen. Here's to more exciting and victorious times in 2026.

What’s Next?
The Twins put the final nail in the coffin of their 2025 season Sunday afternoon. Twins righty Simeon Woods Richardson (7-4, 4.27 ERA) hopes to finish off a positive September with another win, while the Phillies counter with impressive young lefty Cristopher Sanchez (13-5, 2.57 ERA). The last first pitch of the season is scheduled for 2:05pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet