Cory Moen

Image courtesy of Peter Aiken - IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Box Score Starting Pitcher: Dean Kremer - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (88 pitches, 52 strikes (59.1% strikes)) Bottom 3 WPA (via Fangraphs): A.J. Minter (-0.15), Victor Caratini (-0.13), Trevor Larnach & Ryan Jeffers (-0.11) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) After dropping the first game post-trade deadline, the Twins looked to bounce back and get into the win column. Trade acquisition Dean Kremer toed the rubber for his Twins debut while the Royals sent LHP Noah Cameron to the mound to face off with the Twins after shutting them out for eight innings last week. The Twins got their first hit against Cameron much earlier in this game, with Ryan Jeffers getting a one-out single in the top of the first inning. The Twins weren’t able to string together any other hits, so Cameron was able to get out of the top of the first unscathed. Kremer’s first inning as a twin went about as well as hoped, sending the Royals down 1-2-3 over 12 pitches. Both starters appeared to be settling in, keeping the game scoreless through three innings, each giving up one hit and recording one strikeout. In the top of the fourth, the Twins were able to get their first three runners on base, loading the bases on a walk and two singles, one on a Royce Lewis bunt. The Twins took a 1-0 lead on a groundout double-play off the bat of Victor Caratini, leaving a runner on third with two outs. Cameron was able to limit that to the only damage the Twins were able to do in the inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Royals made some noise against Kremer, loading the bases with one out and Kyle Isbel finally got the Royals on the board with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one. The game stayed tied at one until the bottom of the seventh when Michael Massey hit a solo home run off of A.J. Minter giving the Royals a 2-1 lead. The Twins offense went completely silent against Noah Cameron after scoring in the fourth inning, not getting a single baserunner against him from innings five through eight. Cameron finished eight innings with nine strikeouts, allowing just five baserunners. In the bottom of the eighth inning, trade deadline acquisition Jeff Hoffman made his Twins debut, striking out two over a scoreless frame. Former Twins prospect Steven Cruz came in for the save opportunity in the top of the ninth, finishing off the Twins, earning his third save of the year. Other Notes: Joe Ryan headed back to Minnesota to be evaluated for a lower back/glute injury. His next start which is scheduled for Sunday is now in question. Post Game Interview: What’s Next? The Twins will play one more game in Kansas City against the Royals, with Bailey Ober (7-3, 4.45 ERA) starting for the Twins and RHP Michael Wacha (5-8, 3.51 ERA) starting for Kansas City. Ober face off against the Royals last week, throwing six innings giving up three runs (two earned). He struck out three and walked two in that start. After the series finale tomorrow, the Twins will head to Milwaukee for a three-game series over the weekend for a border battle with the first place Brewers. BULLPEN CHART SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Gomez 0 19 0 0 0 19 Funderburk 3 0 0 14 0 17 Adams 11 0 0 20 0 31 Rogers 14 0 0 14 0 28 Nance 16 0 0 0 7 23 Minter 1 19 0 0 12 32 Morris 12 0 0 0 0 12 Hoffman 0 0 0 0 11 11 View full article

The Twins have released RHP Cody Laweryson. He was designated for assignment on August 1 after the Twins needed room on the 40-man roster after acquiring A.J. Minter to bolster the bullpen. Laweryson made 15 appearances with the Twins this season, throwing 16 2/3 innings, recording 18 strikeouts and eight walks. He's recorded a 4.86 ERA and a slightly worse 5.08 FIP along with a 1.380 WHIP. He made his major league debut in 2025 and was DFAed during the offseason. He was claimed by the Angels, but the Twins brought him back in mid-February. He has also made eight relief appearances with Triple-A St. Paul, throwing nine innings, with eight strikeouts and three walks. Laweryson will now look for his next opportunity, whether that be re-signing with the Twins or taking a new opportunity elsewhere. View full rumor

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Joe Ryan - 6 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (93 pitches, 60 strikes, (64.5% strikes)) Bottom 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Joe Ryan (-0.14), Victor Caratini (-0.09), Trevor Larnach (-0.08) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins got back to .500 Tuesday night, for the first time since early April. Baseball never lets anyone spend very long digging themselves, though. The Twins sent All-Star Joe Ryan to the mound Wednesday, hoping to reassert themselves as a winning team, outright. The Royals countered with old friend Randy Dobnak, who faced off against the Twins for the first time in his six seasons in the big leagues. Ryan started strong, striking out two in a one-two-three top of the first inning. That was a relief, after he'd given up six home runs in a start in Cleveland and had this outing pushed back twice to allow time to recover from fatigue and to address some mechanical issues. But the relief didn't last. The Royals led off with two singles in the top of the second inning and had runners on first and third with no outs. Bearing down, Ryan induced weak contact three times in a row to escape the jam. He wasn’t so lucky in the top of the third inning, however. Tyler Tolbert led off with a solo home run to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. The Royals added a second run in the top of the fourth inning after a Salvador Perez lead-off triple (yes, you read that correctly) and a Nick Loftin sacrifice fly. It probably shouldn't have been a triple; Luke Keaschall misplayed the ball. But Ryan still gave up the hard contact, and this time, he couldn't wriggle off the hook. The Royals added to their lead in the top of the fifth on a Carter Jensen double. Later in the inning, Jac Caglianone added a two-out RBI single, giving the Royals a 4-0 lead. Meanwhile, Dobnak was able to stymie the Twins offense over seven innings, recording just four strikeouts, but plenty of soft contact. The hard-hit balls were often hit right at fielders, so the offense didn’t make much noise, with just five baserunners in those seven innings. The bats weren’t able to do anything against the Royals bullpen, either, as Daniel Lynch IV and Steven Cruz each threw a scoreless inning to complete the shutout. On a positive note, Kendry Rojas came into the game in relief and threw three shutout innings, recording four strikeouts and two walks. This could be a positive over the next couple of days, as it gave the rest of the bullpen a rest. Rojas is settling into the majors nicely, and will fit even better into the bullpen hierarchy if and when the team improves the relief corps later this week. Other Notes: Byron Buxton was placed on the injured list before Wednesday’s game with a hip injury. It's the same hip that has sidelined him earlier this year. Tristan Gray was called up to replace Buxton on the roster for the time being. No timeline has been given on how long Buxton may be sidelined this time. What’s Next? The Twins and Royals will play the rubber match of the series tomorrow at 12:40 PM CT, with Bailey Ober (7-3, 4.56 ERA) pitching for the Twins. The Royals will turn to sophomore southpaw Noah Cameron (5-8, 4.93). BULLPEN CHART SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Morris 26 0 0 0 0 26 Adams 0 15 0 11 0 26 Rojas 56 0 0 0 52 108 Funderburk 0 17 0 27 0 44 Rogers 30 0 0 0 0 30 Nance 13 15 0 0 0 28 Anderson 0 0 0 13 0 13 Gomez 8 0 0 0 0 8 View full article

The Twins have activated LHP Connor Prielipp and reliever Cole Sands. Prielipp will start Sunday's finale versus the A's. Sands has been out since April 28 with a forearm strain so the Twins hope he will bolster a bullpen that has had its ups and downs throughout the year. To make room on the 26-man roster, Jack Anderson was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul and Mike Paredes was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain. View full rumor

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Kendry Rojas - 2 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (47 pitches, 28 strikes (59.6% strikes)) Bottom 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Victor Caratini (-0.14), Mike Paredes (-0.13), Luke Keaschall (-0.12) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) After a series loss against the Cubs over the weekend, the Twins had a game they will hope to soon forget in the first game against the Guardians. They were looking to bounce back Tuesday after two games where they gave up 10 and 13 runs, respectively. The Twins sent rookie lefty Kendry Rojas to the mound to face off with Guardians’ lefty Parker Messick. The visitors got on the board early when Ryan Jeffers hit a curveball that Messick left up into the seats in left field. Rojas got through the first two innings with only one baserunner allowed, but the Guardians were able to tie the game in the bottom of the third on a one-out Steven Kwan double, which chased Rojas from the game. Mike Paredes came into the game in relief of Rojas, and Brayan Rocchio greeted him with an RBI single to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead. Paredes was able to finish the inning without giving up another run despite another hit, due to an inning-ending double play off the bat of Rhys Hoskins. The Guardians' lead didn’t last long, as the Twins were able to score on an odd play where both Messick and second baseman Travis Bazzana were charged with errors. Messick failed to field a squibber from Royce Lewis, and then Bazzana threw away his chance to save the play. It looked like the Guardians may score in the bottom of the fifth, with runners on first and third with one out, but Paredes was able to tightrope out of danger with a short fly ball off the bat of Chase DeLauter and a pinch-hit flyout from Kyle Manzardo. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the first three batters reached versus Paredes, and Guardians catcher Austin Hedges was able to take a high breaking ball and hit a sacrifice fly, which gave the Guardians a 3-2 lead. Derek Shelton went to Taylor Rogers to try to escape without further damage, but on a shallow fly ball to center, Travis Bazzana took off for the plate. Byron Buxton's throw was slightly offline, pulling Ryan Jeffers to the first-base side of the plate, and Jeffers's valiant dive back toward Bazzana missed its mark until it was too late. The initial call was out, but it was changed on review. 4-2, Guardians. The hosts added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning, on a Bazzana check-swing flare that drove in Manzardo to stretch the Twins' deficit to three runs. The Twins offense went lifeless over the final two innings, going down 1-2-3 in both frames. Kahlil Watson made a nice play to end the game in the right-field corner off the bat of Luke Keaschall, but the outcome of the game wouldn't have been altered even if he hadn't gotten to the ball. The Twins have dropped four straight games and are now 1-4 since the All-Star break. Other Notes: Jack Anderson made his Twins debut, throwing 1 ⅓ innings and recording one strikeout. The Twins hope he can bolster a bullpen that has had its fair share of struggles this year. Josh Bell celebrated reaching 10 years of service time today, which is a significant milestone for any player in their major-league career. What’s Next? The Twins will play two more in Cleveland, with Bailey Ober (7-3, 4.32 ERA) toeing the rubber for tomorrow’s game. Slade Cecconi (4-6, 4.55 ERA) will pitch for the Guardians. In Ober’s last two starts, he has given up three earned runs over 10 ⅓ innings pitched, with his most recent start earning a win in the first game out of break against the Cubs. BULLPEN CHART FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Nance 25 0 0 36 0 61 Gómez 22 0 0 0 0 22 Morris 14 0 0 0 0 14 Rogers 2 0 0 0 28 30 Rojas 0 18 0 0 47 65 Anderson 0 0 0 0 8 8 Adams 0 0 45 0 0 45 Funderburk 0 0 14 16 0 30 Alex Jackson 0 0 0 11 0 11 Paredes 0 40 0 0 49 89 View full article

That is definitely a fear. I was worried about the same thing. I hope it isn't, but it's definitely possible, unfortunately.

Twins GM Jeremy Zoll reported that Mick Abel and David Festa are both unlikely to pitch this year. Abel had arthroscopic elbow surgery on July 1. He looked good before going on the injured list. In his two starts before going on the injured list, he threw 13 innings, giving up zero runs and recording 16 strikeouts with just three walks. The hope when he went on the injured list was that he would be back later in the summer, but after surgery, it looks unlikely he will pitch again in 2026. Unfortunately for Festa, he has been on the injured list all year after dealing with a shoulder impingement in Spring Training. He was starting to work back, and in unfortunate circumstances, symptoms resurfaced, which put his rehab on pause. Zoll stated that Festa may be dealing with thoracic outlet syndrome, but the team would know more once he visits a specialist. Festa dealt with thoracic outlet syndrome in September of last season, so the hope is that this isn't a recurring issue but something else. With this news, the Twins rotation loses potential depth options, and maybe this leads to the Twins adding a starter if they do decide to buy at the trade deadline in a few weeks. View full rumor

Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews - 3 IP, 9 H, 10 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (87 pitches, 61 strikes (70.1% strikes)) Bottom 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Zebby Matthews (-0.35), Ryan Kreidler (-0.07), Kody Clemens/Josh Bell/Austin Martin (-0.03) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Coming out of the All-Star break, the Twins and Cubs split the first two games of the series. The Twins, looking to climb back to .500, sent Zebby Matthews to the mound to face off against the Cubs in the rubber match at Wrigley Field. The Cubs countered with lefty Shota Imanaga. Imanaga threw a scoreless top of the first inning, and it looked like Matthews might be able to pitch around a one-out Seiya Suzuki double, but hanging a breaking ball to Alex Bregman typically doesn’t end well. Bregman hit a home run to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead. The Cubs were able to add to their lead in the bottom of the second on a one-out single by Carson Kelly after a Pedro Ramírez double that (a theme to watch) maybe could have been caught, extending the Cubs lead to three. Things got ugly in the bottom of the third inning, where the Cubs added four more runs. Three of them came on a Nico Hoerner triple that got past Luke Keaschall in center field. ("Triple.") The fourth run came on a single by Ramírez, which gave the Cubs a 7-0 lead and put things on ice early. The Cubs offense wasn’t done, adding more runs in the bottom of the fourth against Matthews. The first four batters reached, giving the Cubs two more runs, which led to Matthews being removed from the game without getting an out in the fourth. The Cubs were able to squeak another run across, giving them a 10-run lead at the end of four innings. Those proved to be way more than enough for Imanaga, who pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out four and giving up just seven base runners. While the first seven innings were not great for the Twins, they were able to have some success at the plate in the top of the eighth inning against reliever Phil Maton, breaking through on a Royce Lewis sacrifice fly, cutting the lead to 10-1. One other positive from the game is that the Twins bullpen threw five scoreless innings, so that is success the Twins hope will continue going forward. What’s Next? The Twins head to Cleveland to face off with the Guardians in a four-game series. In Monday’s game, the Twins will send All-Star Joe Ryan (6-5, 2.85 ERA) to the mound, while the Guardians will send Tanner Bibee (3-9, 3.90 ERA). Ryan’s most recent outing was in the All-Star Game, where he threw one scoreless inning as part of an American League shutout. Prior to the All-Star break, Ryan had two starts of seven and six innings respectively, giving up two runs over those 13 innings. BULLPEN CHART WED THUR FRI SAT SAT TOT Nance 0 0 25 0 0 25 Gómez 0 0 22 0 0 22 Morris 0 0 14 0 0 14 Rogers 0 0 2 0 0 2 Rojas 0 0 0 18 0 18 Go 0 0 0 0 23 23 Adams 0 0 0 0 45 45 Funderburk 0 0 0 0 14 14 Paredes 0 0 0 40 0 40 View full article