Hans Birkeland

Image courtesy of © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images 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: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Morris 0 37 0 0 0 37 Orze 11 0 10 9 0 30 Topa 17 0 0 0 10 27 Rogers 12 0 0 15 0 27 Banda 0 9 7 0 9 25 Funderburk 0 0 0 0 20 20 Acton 0 0 0 18 0 18 Sands 0 0 0 0 7 7 View full article

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 6 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER 4 BB, 10 K (102 Pitches, 61 Strikes, 59.8%) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Andrew Morris (-0.70), Garret Acton (-0.40), Byron Buxton (-0.14) Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant): Things have leveled off for the Twins following their brief stay at the top of the league table, and they entered Sunday's series finale with the Reds in danger of losing their fourth straight game. Their defense and bullpen, thought to be major weaknesses entering the year, were just that on getaway day. On the positive side, the Twins were facing Brady Singer, who has endured a 9.00-plus ERA in his Target Field career. On the downside, Bailey Ober took the mound for the Twins, and he had paired an 88-MPH fastball with a 5.49 ERA over his four starts in 2026. Things started nicely, as Ober induced extremely weak contact while featuring mainly his changeup and sweeper. He allowed a bloop single in the first and a walk in the second. He finished the second inning with a Javier Báez-esque sword of Rece Hinds, courtesy of a sweeper a foot off the plate. Meanwhile, the Twins squeezed across a Byron Buxton run against Singer in the first. We've seen it many times before: Buxton beats out a squibber, the fielder rushes the throw, allowing Buxton to advance to second, and then two productive outs bring Byron home. The Twins were unable to make anything else happen against Singer and his 91-MPH sinker, though, which he was locating in the middle of the zone. The Twins took advantage in the third. After James Outman's customary easy out, Buxton drew a walk, Trevor Larnach ripped a single to right and Josh Bell followed suit, as did Victor Caratini, making the score 3-0. The Reds would answer in the fourth. The electric Elly De La Cruz led off with a broken-bat double down the right-field line. Outman bobbled the ball, which allowed De La Cruz to reach third. He would score on a grounder up the middle from Sal Stewart. Following a walk to Eugenio Suárez, Ober was then bailed out by former Twins farmhand Spencer Steer, who took strike three on a 3-2 count. The ball was six inches outside, but Steer inexplicably decided not to challenge. Ober retired Tyler Stephenson to minimize the damage. Ober was pretty good, shielding his fastball as much as possible and throwing his typical array of changeups that dart away from lefties and come back into the zone against righties. The sweeper was particularly good, and Ober mixed in some fastballs late in his outing that got key strikeouts against Stewart and Suárez. The velocity was up to 90 MPH at points, but I think Ober is making adjustments to try to be that Mark Buehrle/Jered Weaver type of pitcher who can have success throwing in the 80s. It worked today, as Ober struck out 10, the last of which came on an 87-MPH four-seamer that somehow got past the bat of Stephenson. He also induced 14 whiffs. Andrew Morris pitched the eighth with a 3-1 lead, and his velocity was a little down, sitting 93-96 MPH. It was a little rocky, requiring 28 pitches, but he got a key strikeout against Suárez on a sweeper to end the frame. He came back out for the ninth, and quickly gave up two opposite-field singles to the bottom of the Reds' order. He recorded an out, then walked nine-hole hitter Hinds. The struggling TJ Friedl then roped a middle-middle fastball to the gap in right-center, to clear the bases and turn the game on its head. The Twins were not done, as the alleged corpse of Outman followed up his first hit of the year with a ringing leadoff double in the ninth. Buxton was unable to advance Outman, but Austin Martin smashed a double down the left-field line to tie the game against old friend Emilio Pagán. Bell lined a ball at 102 MPH to deep center, but it held up for Myers. Caratini would fly out to end the threat and send the game to extras. After finishing the ninth, Garret Acton was brought back out for the 10th. He allowed a missile off the bat of Stewart (109 MPH) that Martin made a leaping catch on. Suárez then grounded to third, Tristan Gray booted it, and then Martin bobbled it in left, allowing the speedy "Manfred Man" De La Cruz to score. Hinds would then double in two to put a bow on the game. Things I'm Tracking: The baserunning was pretty good to start, with Buxton and Larnach taking extra bases and then Brooks Lee taking third on a hit (gasp) from James Outman in the fourth. Lee was perhaps feeling himself a bit after that, as he tried to steal home on a throw down to second with Outman running. Lee was out by, uh, a lot. Red Sox fans sometimes describe OF/DH Masataka Yoshida's running style as running as if he were made of LEGOs and I think Lee has the same affliction. I wondered if the Reds had some sort of mandate not to challenge pitches as hitters, as they let two important strike threes go by in the fourth and fifth innings, when both were clear balls. I get the philosophy, as catchers have the better view of pitches, and their challenge percentage is higher than hitters, but it really impacted the Reds from a WPA perspective today. De La Cruz then unsuccessfully challenged a strike call in the sixth, and Dane Myers followed suit in the seventh. It is surprising a Tito Francona-led team would do so much self-inflicted damage. Kody Clemens' walkup song is "Confidence," and for a guy hitting under .150 that seems a little on the nose. The "redundant trade candidate" Trevor Larnach reached base four times today, raising his OBP to .468. He's definitely not useful at all. "Really cool underrated slugger" Matt Wallner sat due to the after-effects of getting hit in the ribs last Monday. His 71 OPS+ and emotion-based ABS challenges were surely missed. The defense is a struggle, man. Outman's bobble allowed the first run to score, and then the play in the tenth involved two separate errors. What’s Next: The Twins travel to Queens to face the Mets, featuring a neat matchup between promising young starters Mick Abel (1-2, 3.98 ERA) and Nolan McClean (1-1, 2.28 ERA). The Mets are currently in the midst of an 11-game losing streak, which is pretty funny considering how big their payroll is. (probably not to them, but.) Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THUR FRI SAT SUN TOT Morris 0 0 0 0 47 47 Topa 13 0 11 10 0 34 Sands 0 0 20 12 0 32 Funderburk 14 0 8 10 0 32 Acton 0 0 0 0 29 29 Orze 12 0 0 15 0 27 Banda 24 0 0 0 0 24 Rogers 0 0 0 0 8 8 View full article

Image courtesy of © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Taj Bradley: 5 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K (106 Pitches, 62 Strikes, 58.5%) Home Runs: Tristan Gray (2), Kody Clemens (2) Top 3 WPA: Gray (0.25), Matt Wallner (0.10), Josh Bell (0.07) Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant): In a baseball landscape in which no team (other than the Dodgers, perhaps) really looks that impressive, the Twins had mjuddled their way to 8-7 entering Sunday, after sweeping the Tigers and splitting the first two games against the AL Champion Blue Jays. Adding the competent veteran bats of Josh Bell and Victor Caratini has helped, but the starting rotation has been the team's greatest strength—despite the absence of injured ace Pablo López. Chief among the early rotation success stories has been Taj Bradley, who was utterly dominant against Detroit on Tuesday night, striking out 10 and working into the seventh inning. His command of his 91-MPH splitter (in conjunction with his high-octane fastball) has unlocked the long-dormant upside that made him a top-50 prospect just a few years ago. Opposing Bradley was the withered husk of Max Scherzer, who came in seeking strikeout number 3,500 for his career. Scherzer had an MRI on his right forearm after leaving his most recent start. The MRI was "clean," but that's like saying a politician over 80 passed a cognitive test. In any case, Scherzer worked a smooth first inning. That was not the case for Bradley. Ernie Clement led off and roped a double down the left-field line, and Dalton Varsho singled past a diving Luke Keaschall, making the score 1-0 almost instantly. Bradley's command was all over the place, which led to falling behind hitters. He was lucky to get away with a few hanging breaking balls. He did bear down and got Jesús Sánchez to tap into a double play. A walk would follow before Bradley got the strikeout on an elevated fastball to Nathan Lukes to end the frame. That was key, because Tristan Gray was due up in the second. With two runners on, Gray got a cutter to his liking and smashed it over the bullpen in right field to make the score 3-1 Twins. At his peak, Scherzer was ruthlessly efficient, but he did tend to give up a home run or two—making him similar to fellow legends Justin Verlander and Johan Santana. That number has spiked in recent years, however, and Kody Clemens led off the third with a 417-foot moonshot off a Scherzer slider left up in the zone. The damage wouldn't end there. Trevor Larnach and Keaschall singled, followed by a walk to Josh Bell. Matt Wallner then laced a single to right, Caratini hit a sacrifice fly, and Brooks Lee scorched a two-run double down the left-field line. All of a sudden, it was 8-1 Twins. Scherzer was done after 2 1/3 innings; the Lee double came off of reliever Joe Mantiply. Bradley appeared a little rusty after the long layoff, falling behind every hitter he faced in the third, but got Sánchez swinging on what would have been ball four, and Kazuma Okamoto flied out harmlessly on a 3-1 fastball that ended the inning. Bradley just couldn't land strikes with anything but his fastball. Eloy Jiménez sat on the pitch and turned around a 97-MPH heater for a sharp single in the fourth, and Andrés Giménez hit a fastball on the ground that Keaschall made a nice play on to retire the lead runner. Bradley threw fastball after fastball to the nine-hole hitter, Brandon Valenzuela, on 3-2, before throwing a non-competitive curveball high and out of the zone. On the ropes, he threw a couple of cutters in the middle of the zone to get ahead of Clement, before a curveball was laced on a line—right to Gray at third base to end the inning (a .720 expected batting average). The Twins are in the midst of playing quite a few games in a row, which may have played into Derek Shelton allowing Bradley to pitch the fifth. Bradley fell behind Varsho 3-0 before allowing a rocket double down the right-field line to start the frame. He retired Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on a splitter and struck out Sÿnchez on a challenge fastball. He then threw one of his better cutters of the day to strike out the struggling Okamoto. His ERA won't rise much today, but this was Bradley's worst start of the year, by far. His last inning was better, as he at least got the Blue Jays hitters off his fastball a little by landing some cutters for strikes. On one hand, he held a solid Toronto lineup to one run, but on the other hand, different sequencing and more batted-ball luck could have resulted in a brutal outing given his general lack of command. But that's showbiz. Andrew Morris made his debut in the sixth and looked good, hitting 98 MPH on his fastball; staying in the zone (for the most part); and dropping a sharp, slow curveball at 75-76 MPH that kept hitters honest—except for Giménez, who stayed on a curveball and roped it into the corner because he is not an honest man. Morris also seems to come from the Joe Ryan school of reacting to everything that happens in pretty comical ways. He got out of the sixth, but ran into some trouble in the seventh and eighth, with spottier command and some louder contact. He also threw a lot of pitches (67) over his three innings of work. Things to Track: The defense was good, with some nice plays made by Keaschall and Gray on the infield that kept innings from mushrooming. James Outman went hitless again. He still does not have a hit in 2026. Trading Brock Stewart for him was one of the most inconsequential (but still frustrating, somehow?) transactions in recent memory. Gray has 11 RBIs, second on the team to Bell, who has 12. Lee has been hitting well lately, but it seems a little precious, kinda like Bartolo Colón hitting that one home run. We'll see how long it lasts, but if this team somehow remains competitive, Kaelen Culpepper might be the better option, pushing Lee to a utility role. What’s Next: The Twins host the Red Sox as Bailey Ober (1-0, 5.27 ERA) takes on Garrett Crochet (2-1, 3.12 ERA). The Red Sox have been cold to start the year, but have tons of talent, with a lot of hitters with good track records who have yet to get going. The Twins' porous bullpen might be just the thing to warm those bats up—but so far, that pen has been surprisingly competent. Postgame Interviews: Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Morris 0 0 0 0 67 67 Banda 21 0 36 0 0 57 Funderburk 20 0 0 17 0 37 Acton 0 35 0 0 0 35 Topa 10 0 12 0 12 34 Sands 9 0 0 22 0 31 Rogers 0 0 30 0 0 30 Orze 0 14 0 0 0 14 View full article

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 6 2/3 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (88 Pitches, 51 Strikes, 58%) Home Runs: Matt Wallner (3) Bottom 3 WPA: Justin Topa (-0.44), Kody Clemens (-0.15), Byron Buxton (-0.12) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): The Twins drifted through their first eight games, their offense (largely dormant) paired with inconsistent pitching performances, a lot of ABS challenges and some crummy weather. You could easily see this season spiral out of control pretty quickly, given the lack of overall talent. Byron Buxton, Luke Keaschall and Royce Lewis have struggled, but so far, newcomers Tristan Gray and Josh Bell have kept them afloat. Today, Simeon Woods Richardson made his second start of the year after posting a quality showing in Kansas City. He was a little rocky to start, falling behind several hitters but getting weak contact in the air when he needed it. His fastball sat between 90 and 93 MPH, which isn't great, but Rays hitters had a hard time squaring him up the first time through the lineup. Opposing Woods Richardson was Nick Martinez, who has had a unique career, starting as a supposedly high-floor prospect with Texas who couldn't strike anybody out. He lasted for a couple years as a fifth starter type before heading to Japan for four years. When he came back, he immediately flourished in the Padres bullpen, his strikeout rate nearly doubling from his time in Texas. Teams loved his under-the-hood numbers, and he has signed eight-figure contracts with San Diego, Cincinnati, and now Tampa Bay, even while his performance has declined a bit in his mid-30s. His cutter and changeup remain above-average pitches, and he showcased them well Sunday. He made quick work of the Twins in the first, but Matt Wallner got a hanging cutter to start the second, and crushed it out onto the pavilion in right field for the game's first run. The two starters settled in from there, inducing lots of weak contact and quick outs. Woods Richardson had a lot of success pairing his splitter with his curveball. The next hit from either side was with two outs in the fourth inning, when Junior Caminero golfed a splitter well below the zone for a 397-foot home run. Certain hitters are just freaks. That did seem to loosen up the Rays hitters, as they started taking some bigger hacks against Woods Richardson, making some loud outs and putting runners on the corners in the fifth for the dangerous Yandy Díaz, who was facing the starter for the third time. He watched three strikes go by, however, and Woods Richardson escaped any damage. He had a much easier time in the sixth, including getting Caminero to tap out to complete a quick frame. I thought that may have been it for him, but he was brought out to start the seventh and allowed two hits to put runners on the corners with one out. Richie Palacios stole second, but Woods Richardson struck out Johnny DeLuca on a nasty slider to end his day. Kody Funderburk came on to retire pinch-hitter Nick Fortes on a weak chopper to quell the threat. Old friend Griffin Jax pitched the seventh, gave up an infield single to Wallner (at that point responsible for both Twins hits)—and then promptly picked Wallner off leaving early from first. Cole Sands got the eighth inning, and allowed a leadoff single to Díaz before falling behind Jonathan Aranda. He fought back to get a double-play grounder from Aranda and retired Chandler Simpson to leave Caminero in the on-deck circle. He would go on to complete a 1-2-3 ninth in dominant fashion. After the Buxton, Luke Keaschall and Wallner contingent went down in order, Palacios greeted Justin Topa in the 10th by crushing a two-run home run. Topa allowed another hit and a walk before Taylor Rogers was brought in, and the lefty walked two to force in another run, making the score 4-1. The Twins couldn't answer; Tampa took the rubber game of the weekend series. Notes: -Austin Martin started in center field despite the Twins facing a right-handed pitcher. This speaks to A) Buxton being eased back into action following what looked to be a brutal hit-by-pitch on Friday; and B) perhaps some dissatisfaction with James Outman, who has no idea what he's doing in the batter's box these days. Martin has looked terrible in center field thus far in his career, but he's looked decent at the plate in 2026, so maybe that's a worthwhile tradeoff. He wasn't tested much today and made every play he should have made. -Buxton celebrated 10 years of service time prior to the game, but his hitless streak continued. He's now in an 0-for-19 skid. That isn't uncommon for Buxton, but he had better at-bats today, including a lineout and a fly ball to right that was just off the end of the bat. When he gets going, maybe this congregation of average-ish hitters plus a hot Josh Bell can find a spark. -Rogers might be cooked. After allowing three hits and two runs Saturday, Rogers struggled to hit 90 MPH on his fastball while walking two, the second one forcing in the Rays' fourth run. What’s Next: Joe Ryan (0-1, 4.89 ERA) opposes Casey Mize (0-0, 1.50 ERA) as the Twins welcome the Detroit Tigers to Target Field to begin a four-game set. The Tigers are certainly not bereft of talent and so far have the eighth-best OPS in MLB and the 11th-best ERA as a pitching staff, despite a middling 4-4 record. The Tigers have crushed the Twins in recent years and have made the postseason two years running, so this will represent perhaps the biggest test of the young season for the Twins. Postgame Interviews: (Coming soon) Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Laweryson 36 0 10 9 0 55 Topa 0 13 17 0 15 45 Rogers 0 4 0 23 18 45 Banda 12 0 17 15 0 44 Orze 0 0 37 0 0 37 Sands 0 11 0 0 21 32 Funderburk 0 15 2 0 3 20 Acton 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Image courtesy of © Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (56 Pitches, 37 Strikes, 66 %) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (2) Bottom 3 WPA: Mick Abel (-0.59), Matt Wallner (-0.17) Byron Buxton (-0.15) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): The Twins entered the third game of the new season with a chance to take two of three games from the Orioles in Baltimore. The bats have been predictably inept thus far, but the pitching had been decent, and the team managed to manufacture four runs despite just four hits in Saturday's 4-1 win. On Sunday, Bailey Ober took the mound looking to fight back against allegations that he is "cooked," working with lower velocity, struggling to reach 90 MPH in spring training, and coming off a brutal 2025 season. He shied away from the fastball early, throwing a barrage of changeups and sweepers to keep the Orioles hitters off balance, inducing numerous grounders and pop-ups. The fastball didn't return to his 2023-2024 peak by any means, but the exit velocities were low, and he was efficient early. The Twins hitters were up against Shane Baz, who has been a hot prospect for approximately 15 years, first sent to the Rays in the Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows-for-Chris Archer trade of 2017. He was dealt to Baltimore this winter and signed a five-year, $68-million contract extension this week, a big bet on his potential despite just one healthy season in his five years in the big leagues. He throws hard and has a wicked breaking ball. He showed his upside in a 1-2-3 first inning, including two weak fly outs from Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall and a challenged strike three call to Byron Buxton that was upheld. The Twins got to work in the second inning, however. Matt Wallner roped a single to center, Josh Bell was hit by a pitch, and Victor Carratini checked in with his second hit as a Twin. The much-maligned Trevor Larnach bounced a ball to the hole between first and second, reaching an infield single to score the game's first run. Royce Lewis then got ahead in the count before striking out looking for Baz's 99-MPH fastball; it was a well-located 92-MPH cutter instead. No matter, Tristan Gray was up next and clobbered a 107-MPH double to right, clearing the bases and giving the Twins a surprising 4-0 lead. Gray, 30, is a journeyman who has shown some power in the minors but hasn't gotten much run in the big leagues. If the Twins are planning to outperform logic and reason this year and actually compete, it will take a couple of Willi Castro-style success stories to provide the necessary variance. Maybe Gray can be that. Who knows? Ober took that four-run lead into the fourth inning, but the Orioles were ready for him the second time through the lineup. Pete Alonso singled, as did Samuel Basallo. The hulking Tyler O'Neill then worked the count to 3-1 before unloading on an 88.8-MPH fastball at the top of the zone from Ober. His 391-foot blast cut the Twins' lead to one run. Baz struggled with his command in his tragic second inning, but otherwise was sharp with his knuckle-curve, tying Twins hitters into knots. The most the Twins could muster were bloop doubles from Bell, Larnach and Buxton in the fourth and fifth innings, but Bell was cut down unnecessarily trying to advance on a grounder to short in the fourth, and Buxton overran second base and was caught trying to scamper back in the fifth. Mick Abel made his 2026 debut in the bottom of the fifth, a major yin to Ober's yang. He began by striking out Jeremiah Jackson on a challenge fastball and dotting another 97-MPH fastball on the corner to catch Taylor Ward looking (after a nice ABS challenge by Caratini). The sixth was more of a struggle, as Abel was unable to put away numerous Orioles hitters with two strikes, letting O'Neill come back from 0-2 to draw a walk; getting ahead of Coby Mayo before allowing a bloop double; and seeing Dylan Beavers rope a 3-2 changeup into right field for a two-run double to flip the game. That lead would not last long, as Royce Lewis jumped all over a breaking ball from Yaramil Hiraldo, launching a 377-foot home run to tie the game. He'd also given the Twins the lead in Saturday's tilt with a two-run blast. That WPA is looking pretty good early on. Perhaps a bit shaken by that, Hiraldo proceeded to walk the bases loaded for Wallner, who showed there is something worse than a typical strikeout in 2026: a strikeout where you challenge the call on an obvious strike, costing your team the ability to challenge the rest of the game. That proved costly right away, as Abel walked Gunnar Henderson in the bottom half of the inning on a clear strike to put two men on with no outs following a Ward single. Alonso then poked a single just over Keaschall's outstretched glove to reclaim the lead. Adley Rutschman delivered a pinch-hit double off the wall in dead center field to further the unraveling. The Twins didn't quit, at least. Bell walked and Caratini singled against righty Tyler Wells to bring the tying run to the plate, but that tying run was James Outman. He walked somehow, which brought up Lewis—who struck out on a high change. Gray then singled up the middle to keep the line moving and add to his legend. Clemens struck out, bringing up Buxton with two down to face old friend Yennier Cano. It was a lengthy battle, but Buxton ended up swinging over the top of that patented sinker Cano throws to end the inning. Running on fumes, Abel was brought back for the eighth and allowed a single and a walk, bailed out by Blaze Alexander getting caught stealing by Caratini. Anthony Banda was finally brought in to face Henderson with one on and one out. He was able to retire Henderson on a fielder's choice, then caught him taking off early from first to end the frame. Keaschall led off the ninth against All-Star closer Ryan Helsley with a single, but the rally fizzled from there, despite a Henderson fielding error. Things to Watch: -Brooks Lee sat in favor of Gray after starting the year 0-6 with three strikeouts. -Trevor Larnach made his second straight start in left field, as Twins manager Derek Shelton has shown his preference early on is to have Josh Bell DH against righties with Clemens at first base. I question the defensive upgrade of DH-ing Larnach over Bell, since Clemens could conceivably play a better left field than Larnach, but what do I know? -Abel began warming up in the top of the fourth, with Ober having not had much trouble to that point. That invited the question of how much the Twins trust Ober even when he is "cruising." Was the intention to get Abel some work with all the early-season off days, or is Ober getting the Simeon Woods RIchardson treatment, i.e., not being trusted to go through a lineup more than twice? On that note, Abel was allowed to stay in the game and take a beating, throwing 71 pitches over his three innings, allowing multiple runs in two of those. With the game hanging in the balance, it was a little surprising a fresh reliever was not brought in for the seventh, and again when Abel got into trouble that inning. But wait, there was more! Abel came out to start the eighth for some reason, his velocity dropping down to 94 MPH with the fastball. He didn't get anyone out outside the caught stealing, and ended up with twelve baserunners allowed in 3 1/3 innings. -Josh Bell reached four times with two doubles. He runs hot and cold, so it's nice to see him coming out of the gates getting results. -Austin Martin pinch-hit for Larnach in the sixth, and was pinch-hit for by Outman in the eighth. This could be Shelton getting cute with the logic of playing the platoons and improving his left field defense more as the game went on. The problem is that Outman can't hit, and are we even sure Outman is an upgrade defensively at this point? What’s Next: The Twins head to Kansas City for the first time in 2026 with Simeon Woods RIchardson (7-4, 4.04 ERA in 2025) opposing Kris Bubic (8-7, 2.55 ERA). SWR finished 2025 on a high note, perfecting his new splitter and showing the ability to put away hitters for the first time in his career on a consistent basis. Bubic was dominant for Kansas City, with nasty stuff from the left side, his only weakness being health, never surpassing 130 IP in his six years in the majors. Postgame Interviews: (Coming soon) Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Abel 0 0 0 0 81 81 Topa 0 18 0 12 0 30 Funderburk 0 17 0 13 0 30 Orze 0 0 0 21 0 21 Banda 0 0 0 15 3 18 Sands 0 0 0 16 0 16 Rogers 0 10 0 0 0 10 Laweryson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Kent 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Image courtesy of © Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (81 Pitches, 58 Strikes, 71.6%) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Christian Vázquez (-.236), James Outman (-.233), Génesis Cabrera (-.189) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): Well, the nightmare is finally over. Or maybe it's just beginning? Either way, the Twins had a chance to take a series against the Phillies in Philadelphia, against a team that had lost just three home series all year to this point. Of course, with yesterday's loss, the Phillies had absolutely nothing to play for, with Milwaukee clinching the top seed in the National League. They had their de facto ace, Cristopher Sánchez, pitching in his final tune-up for Game 1 of the NLDS Saturday, and he looked the part, not throwing a single ball until the third inning, 22 pitches in. Sánchez is a dominant pitcher, throws left-handed, and the Twins lineup (absent Byron Buxton, Matt Wallner and Luke Keaschall) was never going to have any answers. The Twins also were battling the Pirates for the second-best odds for the number one pick in next year's draft, one game "better" than Pittsburgh at 70-91. Simeon Woods Richardson took the ball for the visitors, and looked similar to what he has shown since his return from the IL in August: throwing strikes, sitting 93-95 with his fastball and baffling hitters with his newish split-changeup. He struck out nine while only allowing a cue-shot single from Bryson Stott over six dominant innings. He had more strikeouts against the Yankees in his other recent gem, but that was a New York team with major jet lag. Today may have been his best showing of the year; the Phillies had absolutely no solution for him. Sanchez left after 5 2/3 innings, having allowed two hits while striking out eight. The second he left, with no runners on in the sixth, Lou Trivino proceeded to walk Austin Martin, who would score on a sharp double off the bat of Ryan Jeffers for the game's first run. The 1-0 lead would hold until the eighth inning, when Génesis Cabrera served up a game-tying home run to (who else?) old friend Max Kepler. Extra innings ensued, and the Twins quickly went down 1-2-3 against Philly right-hander Orion Kerkering. Weston Wilson got his bunt down in the Phillies half, and Nick Castellanos hit a fly ball deep enough to win the game off Cody Laweryson. Other trends I'm tracking: Woods Richardson is starting to look like a building block, and will play a big part of any gutted, low-expectations team somehow managing to contend next year. If you heed the recent words of Cory Provus, and the Twins see Pablo López and Byron Buxton traded, then the 2026 rotation would be Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, Woods Richardson, Zebby Matthews and Taj Bradley, with Connor Prielipp, Mick Abel and Andrew Morris around for some depth (assuming David Festa isn't able to return next year). That's no 2011 Phillies rotation, but this version of Woods Richardson significantly improves that calculus and perhaps the returns on a hypothetical López and/or Buxton trade supplement it further. I also personally like the idea of having Abel replace Jhoan Duran as the closer—if only to make the trade look like a win within a year, while Eduardo Tait marinates in the minors. The lineup has high upside guys on the way, as well, but they also have to hit right away, and that has not been a trend for young Twins hitters in recent years. Royce Lewis was a little better in the second half this year, but still posted just a .289 OBP in that time. He hit 11 second-half home runs, played good defense and stole 12 bases, but that is a far cry from the Kirby Puckett comparisons he garnered just 24 months ago. Trevor Larnach made a pinch-hit appearance, delivered a chopper turned double, and then was lifted for a pinch-runner. I'm probably in the minority on this, but I think Larnach gets better as he becomes an older hitter. He hits too many ground balls, but he doesn't go into many major slumps and can hit a ball 450 feet at a moment's notice. Through the lens of him being a first-round draft pick who was supposed to hit 30 bombs and bat .275, he's a bit of a bust. Through the lens of a guy who has had two straight solid years with the bat and who can improvise and battle against tough pitchers, I do kind of like him as a platoon bat. The defense has been pretty rough, though. James Outman and Brock Stewart, what a trade. Austin Martin and Woods Richardson: the roller coaster of this trade for José Berríos is maybe at its high point, with Berríos shifting to the bullpen for the Blue Jays' playoff run. We wanted a leadoff hitter and number-three starter out of that trade, and although it took a while, we may just have it. What’s Next: The Pohlads trim payroll to 75M. The front office will trade Buxton and López, acquiring three more post-hype prospects with big-league experience. The Pohlads release a statement using the Chat GPT prompt "deliver a message to the fans of our baseball team that conveys that we know more than them, if you had any brains you would cut payroll too, then use a bunch of corporate jargon to describe absolutely nothing while totaling over 250 words. Say something about like community and tradition or something." Baldelli is retained as manager, and the team makes one free agent signing: reliever Kyle Finnegan for one year and $5 million. Season ticket holder figures are revealed to have been cooked by including deceased fans of the old Washington Senators. Derek Falvey calls it an accounting error, while expressing "optimism about our group." Matt Wallner is visited by the ghosts of Richie Sexson, Adam Dunn and Dave Kingman, and becomes even more predictable. Due to a baserunning error on a home run, he becomes the first hitter in league history to hit more home runs than he has RBIs. Aaron Gleeman bursts a blood vessel defending him, while insisting it's just a bit and he's totally chill. Postgame Interviews Coming soon Bullpen Usage Chart WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Adams 16 0 30 0 9 55 Funderburk 0 14 0 31 0 45 Ohl 0 20 0 22 0 42 Cabrera 11 0 12 0 17 40 Sands 0 12 0 0 11 23 Laweryson 12 0 0 0 6 18 Misiewicz 0 0 0 0 15 15 Tonkin 0 0 11 0 0 11 View full article

I want him to be Gene Larkin so bad!

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images Box Score: Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (80 Pitches, 47 Strikes, 58.8%) Home Runs: Brooks Lee (16), Royce Lewis (13) Top 3 WPA: Lee (.365), Lewis (.170), Pierson Ohl (.095) Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs): If you still needed proof that the Guardians simply play a better brand of baseball than anything the Twins could possibly approximate, this series provided it. Guardians pitchers know exactly what Twins hitters are trying to do and countered them perfectly, and Guardians hitters are similarly inside the heads of Twins pitchers. It helps that they are the hottest team in baseball and about to complete one of the greatest division comebacks in recent memory. Well, not so fast. The Twins threw their hottest pitcher, Simeon Woods Richardson, at them today. That immediately went south, like (seemingly) everything these days. Steven Kwan got a fastball to his liking and smoked it 373 feet to begin the game 1-0. George Valera, who among Guardians fans ranked in the Jose Miranda/Edouard Julien space in terms of being just a massive, useless bust that wouldn't amount to anything just a few months ago, was hitting second, and walked. He reached third on a Kyle Manzardo single; Bo Naylor hit a sacrifice fly to bring him home and double the lead. Classic Guardians. Twins hitters had to contend with Joey Cantillo, who struck out nine the last time he faced them. During that game, Cantillo was actually rocked pretty hard, before settling in and reverting back to dominance. He looked good again today, outside of allowing a bloop double to Byron Buxton and a subsequent RBI single to Kody Clemens in the third. Woods Richardson kept the Guardians off the board the rest of the way, and in the sixth (following a double from Luke Keaschall), Brooks Lee launched a 411-foot home run to flip the game and give the Twins the lead. This came after Guardians manager Stephen Vogt chose to take out his lefty, Erik Sabrowski, to flip Lee to his "weaker" side with Matt Festa. It's weird when a strategy backfires against Cleveland. They always seem to have a horseshoe handy. This time, they got kicked. Strategy backfired again for Vogt in the seventh. Following a Clemens squibber and another infield single from Austin Martin, Royce Lewis was called upon to hit for Trevor Larnach against lefty Tim Herrin with two outs. Vogt called for his setup man, Hunter Gaddis, and Lewis made him pay, jumping all over the fourth straight slider of the at-bat and launching it 402 feet to extend the lead to 6-2. Lewis seemed pretty pumped: Kody Funderburk, Pierson Ohl, Cole Sands and Travis Adams pitched scoreless frames to seal the win. Other tidbits from this game: Remember when Ron Gardenhire batted Nick Punto second? I've been trying to find the logic behind the Guardians insisting on hitting their worst hitters in the number two spot in the lineup. Will Brennan and Amed Rosario have been assigned this duty in the past, and during this series, we've seen Daniel Schneeman and the aforementioned Valera in that spot. My theory on why teams like the Guardians and Brewers have done so well lately is that their analytics have gotten so advanced that they've moved past the need for some of them and are able to exploit other teams' over-reliance on said analytics. Perhaps there is an element of human psychology in putting a crappy hitter between Kwan and José Ramírez? Here are my best guesses: A bad hitter is 100% okay with giving himself up, either by sacrificing himself or by taking pitches without being concerned about falling behind in the count. That gives Kwan a couple of chances to steal a base if needed. Teams that game plan to focus entirely on Kwan and Ramírez might take the number two hitter for granted, especially if he has crappy numbers. The hitter prepares as if that is the case and waits for a fat pitch he can swing out of his shoes at. If he doesn't get it, it's no big deal; no one expects him to do anything anyway. How many clutch home runs have we seen the Quad-A Brennan hit over the years? Far too many. The ability to pinch-hit in the later innings is there. Jhonkensy Noel is always lurking, and being able to pinch-hit him late in the game has proven to be a winning formula. Not having to take a good player out in order to do so is the icing on the cake. Is Ryan Fitzgerald making a case for a role next year? Fitzgerald famously took forever to make his major-league debut, and even when the Twins brought him up after the fire sale, he wasn't playing much. But he has made the most out of limited opportunities, played decent defense, hit a few nice homers and has an .800-plus OPS to show for it. Brooks Lee certainly has more present upside, but the Twins aren't long on guys who can play competently at third, short and second and who possess a bat that isn't a pool noodle. Then again, if Lee doesn't amount to anything, maybe FItzgerald is one of those guys who figures something out after they turn 30. Maybe not José Bautista style, but maybe he can be a poor man's Scott Brosius? SWR: 2026 Ace of Staff? Stay with me here: If Joe Ryan and Pablo López are traded away, and Bailey Ober requires surgery to fix a hip labrum or something, I don't think the Twins have a starter more accustomed to getting big-league hitters out than Woods Richardson. His splitter is still new, and might get better. On that note, the Guardians really didn't swing at his splitter at all, and still couldn't score in innings two through five. Of course, the start against New York last week lingers in our minds and paints the righty in a better light, but he threw by far the best out of the starters against Cleveland, a team that cannot be denied. He's just been good since his recall (outside of that crazy parasite that sidelined him in August). The splitter plays, and with a newfound ability to miss bats, he might be a breakout candidate for 2026. Edouard Julien: Not that Bad? Stay with me again: Julien hasn't been particularly impressive, but he is striking out less than he ever has, his BABIP is the lowest of his career, and he hasn't seemed as overmatched as he looked earlier in the year. His batted-ball metrics indicate more of an average hitter than the black hole his surface-level stats would imply. He had competitive at-bats today. Maybe learning the league a little more has had an impact on a guy who does tend to get down on himself. If he is a .230/.330/.420 guy, that isn't the worst player to have at the end of your bench. I also think a confident Julien can act as something of a mascot for the team, a little like Bartolo Colón or José Iglesias. What’s Next: The Twins are off Monday, before heading to Arlington, Texas to play the fading Rangers. Zebby Matthews (4-6, 5.97 ERA) takes the ball. He was absolutely awful his last time out against the Yankees. Whether he was tipping pitches is irrelevant, because he was throwing batting practice against a New York team eager to make amends after getting shut out the night before. The Rangers were showing some life in August, but are now losers of six in a row and all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. Their starter hasn't yet been announced. Postgame Interviews: Coming soon Bullpen Usage Chart: WED THU FRI SAT 1 SAT2 SUN TOT Abel 0 0 0 0 71 0 71 Sands 15 0 25 0 0 20 60 Hatch 0 0 0 52 0 0 52 Funderburk 10 0 20 0 0 14 44 Adams 14 0 0 0 0 14 28 Cabrera 23 0 0 0 0 0 23 Ohl 13 0 0 0 0 9 22 Laweryson 0 0 20 0 0 0 20 Tonkin 0 0 17 0 0 0 17 View full article