Twins 6, Braves 10: Ober Streak Ends on a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Rainy, Lightning-Filled Night

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober: 2.0 IP, 7 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (55 pitches, 32 strikes (58.2%)
Home Runs: Kyle Farmer (2), Matt Wallner (10)
Bottom 3 WPA: Bailey Ober (-0.494), Royce Lewis (-0.068), Austin Martin (-0.017)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Minnesota Twins had their ace on the mound and a reeling Atlanta Braves offense in town. It seemed that the stars were aligned as long as the offense could find something against the Braves’ top starter, Max Fried, Monday night could go the good guys' way. In many ways, we instead learned that when it rains, it pours. 

Brave score early and often
The top of the lineup was filled with former Kansas City Royals. Whit Merrifield led the game off with a single, and Jorge Soler walked to put two on for the Braves 2024 MVP Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna came through with a single off Bailey Ober to score Merrifield and give the Braves a quick 1-0 lead. 

The Braves would not stop there. Up next was one of last season’s stars for the Braves, Matt Olson, who came through with a home run off of an Ober changeup deep to right-center field. While Olson hasn’t had the same season he had in 2024, over the past 28 days he has hit seven home runs and put up a .825 OPS. 

The Twins did try to keep the game within reach based on a lot of work from Manuel Margot. In his typical lead-off spot against a left-handed starter, Margot led off with a double. Margot then stole third base, putting him in position to score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jose Miranda. That brought the Twins within 3 with a 4-1 score. That quickly wouldn’t seem to matter at all. 

Ober got two outs quickly in the second inning, but everything seemed to unravel with two outs on the board. Back at the top of the Braves lineup, Merrifield doubled, Soler walked, Ozuna doubled and collected an RBI. Olson hit a sharp double on the ground, and two more runs scored. Before that final out would be recorded, catcher Travis d’Arnaud also got in on the hit parade and hit a two-run home run. In case you weren’t keeping score, the Braves were up 9-1 at the end of the second inning. 

It was precisely at that time that the skies opened up, and the winds blew strong, sending the game into a significant weather delay. It was obvious that Ober may have been finished for the night even without a delay. The Braves looked to have something on Ober’s changeup. Four out of the five run-scoring plays came off of the right-hander changeup.  

At 8:40 p.m., play resumed, and so did Braves starter Fried, which removed any silver linings from the rain delay for the Twins. Fried continued to cruise through Twins batters for most of his outing. Resulting in seven strikeouts and no real scoring threats until the fifth inning. If it wasn’t for a throwing error, Fried may have even been able to get through that inning clean. 

Scott Blewett executes
It will go with little fanfare and likely under the radar of most fans, but Scott Blewett gave the Twins exactly the three innings they needed. In a game like Monday nights, it seemed that the team’s top goals would be to avoid freak injuries and use as few bullpen arms as possible. Blewett had to avoid the freak injury side early on after taking a comebacker off his pitching hand. 

From there, Blewett made quick work of the Braves on many fronts. By the time the Twins righty left the game, in fewer pitches and innings he had matched Max Fried in swings and misses with nine. Those swings and misses helped Blewett to three strikeouts while only giving up two hits on 39 pitches. 

Twins not ready to give up
As previously mentioned, the Twins began showing life in the fifth inning. While much of Twins territory likely turned to other endeavors, the Twins weren’t ready to. Willi Castro started the action by reaching on a throwing error. Castro continued to show he was still playing for this game on a Wallner single when he hustled into third, forcing a throw that allowed Wallner to advance to second base. 

Austin Martin was next, and even though Fried had his number earlier in the game, he could squeak out a swing bunt, forcing Gio Urshela to mishandle the ball and allowing Castro to scamper across home plate. Margot followed up with another hit, plating Wallner, bringing the score to 9-3. 

Kyle Farmer and Matt Wallner would hit solo shots late to bring the game to within four runs. The lead was too great to overcome fully, but the team stayed away from key bullpen arms, hoping they would be set up to flush this game and come back strong tomorrow. 

What’s Next?
Tuesday’s game will be a matchup of rookies. The Braves will send right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach to the mound. Swellenbach has made 14 starts this season, holding a 3.94 ERA and a 10.3 K/9. The Twins counter with Simeon Woods Richardson. Woods Richardson has his impressive season going with 22 starts and a 3.69 ERA, and he continues to give the Twins a chance in the games he starts. 

Postgame Interviews
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