Yankees 8, Twins 1: Twins Hang in There, but Bullpen Again Leads to Blowout

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober 5.1 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (101 pitches, 69 strikes (68%))
Home Runs: N/A
Bottom 3 WPA: Taylor Rogers (-0.20), Austin Martin (-0.10), Ober (-0.08)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins only have pride to play for, and as they attempted to avoid another inevitable Yankees sweep at home, they sent the enigmatic Bailey Ober and his 89-MPH fastball to the mound Tueday night. As the writing on the wall begins to grow larger by the day about Ober's future with the team, the Minnesota faithful hoped the Bearded Nightmare could pull off another Maddux-like outing. He couldn't. Max Fried almost did, however. It was an ugly night for the hometown nine.

Having Two Changeups Ain't Enough
In reality, Ober doesn't have a fastball. He has two changeups, and Cody Bellinger tallywhacked a helpless specimen of the firmer variety in the top of the first inning to stake the Bronx Bombers to a 2-0 lead before most fans had a chance to sit down. Ober managed to maneuver his way around a two-on, one-out jam in the top of second, and the Twins actually made some noise in the bottom of the second against a tough lefty in Fried. Royce Lewis started things off with a single, eventually stole second base, and came around to score on an Emmanuel Rodriguez single up the middle to make it 2-1. That's literally the last hopeful Twins sentence that will be in this recap.

Ober surrendered a walk and two singles in the top of the third to immediately give that run back, but he again found his way out of a bases-loaded jam to give a false sense of hope to Twins fans. In fact, that was the last run the starter would allow on the night, but the Yankees battered him enough that he could only last one out into the sixth inning. Then, another round of bullpen implosion took the stage.

Tough End to a Great Era
When Taylor Rogers rejoined the Twins at the start of the 2026 campaign, we knew that he wasn't the Rogers who fired up the scoreboard with walkout music and mid-90s heaters several years ago. We don't know how many more nights at Target Field Rogers will get, but Tuesday night was a rough one. He entered the sixth inning with one out and empty bases, and by the end of the inning, the score was 7-1 Yankees. Kaelen Culpepper booted a ball that made the last three runs unearned, but the gopher ball to Spencer Jones that put the game on ice wasn't Culpepper's fault.

Meanwhile, Fried went seven strong in his playoff ramp-up; Andrew Morris coughed up yet another run in his attempt to right this season's ship; the Twins stranded Kody Clemens after a leadoff triple, with Lewis, Brooks Lee and Victor Caratini failing to manufacture a run; and the Twins fell lifeless down, down, down the AL Central division standings yet again.

To everyone who stopped watching in the third inning, congratulations. Luke Keaschall's three hits, Rodriguez's early success left-on-left, and Derek Shelton going apoplectic late in the game on a check-swing mercy call notwithstanding, tonight was a terrible night for Twins baseball.

What’s Next?
Believe it or not, the Twins can still tie the season series against the Yankees with a win on Wednesday afternoon. They send Zebby Matthews (9-10, 4.98 ERA) out to achieve this normally exciting feat. Carlos Rodón (6-3, 2.94 ERA) looks to achieve his playoff practice run and sweep the Twins back out onto the road. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

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