The Twins went with an opener tonight, Andrew Morris got the first inning with Connor Prielipp taking over from there. It worked out well, as you can see from the score in the ***** le, as the Tigers only managed one run in the first, with Prielipp shutting them out in his five innings tonight.
Kody Clemens wasted no time tying the game up with his 24th homer of the year, a solo shot to right in the bottom of the first inning.
Tigers' starter Troy Melton held the Twins in check until the fifth inning. A walk and a double put two in scoring position for Walker Jenkins. He grounded into the drawn-in infield, Trevor Larnach got into a run-down going home, and the catcher threw it into left field allowing 2 to score on the error. Luke Keaschall put the Twins up 4-1 with an RBI double, capping off a 3 run inning.
Then the Twins scored 10 in the 6th, starting with an out. It went something like this unreadable sentence:
Josh Bell single, Larnach hit by pitch, Royce Lewis three run homer, Kaelen Culpepper double, Walker Jenkins walk, Keaschall single, Brooks Lee sac-fly-RBI, Kody Clemens walk, Ryan Jeffers three run homer, Josh Bell walk, Trevor Larnach single, Royce Lewis single, Kaelen Culpepper 2 run single, and finally Jenkins grounded out to end the inning. That monster inning put the Twins up 14-1, which is a pretty comfortable place to be in a baseball game, I feel.

#single #jenkins #larnach #double

First Pitch (CT): 6:40 PM
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN/830 WCCO/102.9 The Wolf /Audacy App
Know Yo' Foe: Bless You Boys
The Twins' postseason hopes aren't dead yet, but a disastrous 8-17 August has put them firmly as a long shot. They are only four games out of a playoff spot, but teams like the Guardians, Blue Jays, and Orioles are trending in the right direction while the Twins and Mariners fade out of the picture.
At this point, the Twins need to pivot to 2027 evaluation mode and if a few bonus wins come, all the better. Walker Jenkins and Kaelen Culpepper should be in the lineup nearly every day from here on out, Gabriel Gonzalez should see every possible PA against lefties, and Emmanuel Rodriguez and Alan Roden likely need to start taking playing time away from Trevor Larnach and Josh Bell when rosters expand tomorrow.
Part of the issue recent Twins teams have run into is simply not knowing whether certain young players are truly ready to take on a bigger role, and they can't afford that heading into 2027 on a team in need of upgrades in both the lineup and pitching staff.
Speaking of pitching, after 2027, Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, Dean Kremer, and Bailey Ober are all free agents. Connor Prielipp and Zebby Matthews have shown flashes of brilliance this season, while Mick Abel and Kendry Rojas will be back from injury with nothing left to prove in AAA, to say nothing of pitching prospects like Riley Quick, Ryan Gallagher, and Adrian Bohorquez who will likely be ready at different points next season. Jeremy Zoll and Co. will need to sort through who of that group is worth keeping, who should be traded, who could thrive in the bullpen, and who (looking at you, Ober) maybe shouldn't be tendered a contract at all.

#twins #ober

I didn't see much of today's action, what with my five year old nephew demanding some birthday attention this afternoon. But after checking in on Gameday early-on and seeing a big lead I thought "good—at least we'll salvage one game from this series". Alas, there was no more joy in Mudville to be found as Dean Kremer collapsed and the bullpen squandered the rest of the lead.
One would be hard-pressed to draw up a better beginning to this contest. After a Trevor Larnach walk and singles from Josh Bell & Kody Clemens, Brooks Lee launched one 353 ft and beyond the rim for a grand slam! 4-0 MIN.
A Grand time (for now). (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Not content with just the four-bagger, B3 saw Clemens crank his 21st tater of the season. 5-0 MIN.
Klobberin’ Kody (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

#turner

Tonight, Andrew Vaughn reminded Twins Territory why any player whose career has involved only the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee Brewers is bad news for a team based in Minnesota. Vaughn's tiebreaking eighth-inning single sealed the deal on a Brew Crew win, evening the series and handing the loss to recent acquisition Jeff Hoffman.
The Twins isolated their offense to the second inning tonight, rallying against Brewer starter Robert Gasser after a plethora of baserunners made it 1-0 Milwaukee in the home first. Luke Keaschall led off the inning with a double, then watched as Kaelen Culpepper filled first behind him on a HBP (the first of two tonight for the newcomer.) After a pair of quick outs, the threat was threatened (the heat was hot), until another bout of loose command — an Austin Martin HBP to load the bases, and a Ryan Jeffers walk to spin the carousel — tied things up for the Twins.
Then, it was a 3-1 lead, with Royce Lewis roping a double to left that plated a pair. Despite the concentration of runs, Gasser would still fail to make it through five innings, giving way after 90-some-odd pitches and seven hits allowed by the fifth inning, paired with two walks and two hit batsmen. The Milwaukee bullpen would go 4.1 shutout innings, and the Twins would not record a hit after Gasser's exit.
Meanwhile, a two-out Brice Turang single tied the score in the fourth, as Bradley — who hit a man and walked two of this own — was unable to get past five innings.
As mentioned, the winning run was manufactured in the eighth; with Hoffman on the mound, William Contreras led off with a single, then gave way to pinch-runner Brandon Lockridge, who stole his way into scoring position and came home happy on Vaughn's ground-ball single. And while Trevor Larnach gave one a ride to right in the ninth, there would be no more joy for Minnesota's side, as a fired-up Brewers squad locked down their 73rd win with a perfect ninth.

#first

One of the commenters on the Daulton Varsho lab asked if I would do a lab on Trevor Larnach. Usually, I don't pay much attention to what hasn't been done, but multiple reports have now indicated that a deal was in place to send Bryan Abreu to the Twins in exchange for Larnach. According to all of those sources, Jim Crane nixed the deal. Before I dive into numbers, we should probably look at the differences between the two deals.
Everyone has opined about the Varsho deal. The primary criticism is that you traded away a pitcher with years of control (can become a free agent following the 2029 season) for a player with no control beyond this season. However, Arrighetti had minimal present value. He was 7-5 with a 4.60 ERA, but virtually all of those wins came in a brilliant first month that saw him win the Pitcher of the Month Award. He was not currently in the Astros rotation and some would argue that he wouldn't likely rejoin it unless there were major injuries. So, this was a classic get something now for someone that could help in the future kind of deal.
As much as I have enjoyed covering performance in spurts lately, the overall numbers on Arrighetti tell a story. He is 15-23 with a 4.66 ERA. He had a really good month in 2024 and a really good month this season. Take those two months away and he is a 5.00 ERA pitcher. Naturally, the Blue Jays are thinking but what if he can become THAT pitcher again? The deal makes sense for them because they aren't going anywhere this season anyway, so why not trade for a lottery ticket?
The Larnach trade is different because you would have traded a pitcher that has an ERA near 2.00 since May 1st. Abreu is useful to you right now and certainly has been lately. The fact that the trade was vetoed by ownership means one of two things (both can be true at the same time). First, Jim Crane has little confidence in Dana Brown, so he is micromanaging him through the end of his contract. Secondly, Crane might actually be interested in re-signing Abreu and that wouldn't happen if he is dealt.
Both of those statements deserves some additional focus, but I will save that for another piece. In this piece, we will look at what Brown was thinking and whether there was some upside there. Larnach has only been a regular for three seasons, so we will go back three years instead of five like we did for Varsho. However, we are looking at the same numbers as yesterday's piece except I will jettison bases per out for now.

#abreu #numbers

As we close in on the August 3rd 5pm CT MLB trade deadline, this will be the place for trade news and rumor updates. It will be updated as more news and info comes out.
August 1: RUMORS
Now, I am including this rumor not because I believe it to be 100% true (the person reporting it has dubious credentials to say the least) but because of this report from Ken Rosenthal (who has impeccable credentials):
It would appear that Larnach was involved in discussions, and there may have been a deal that involved him that came undone, but it did not necessarily involve the Houston Astros. However the initial post get around the league very quickly, and led to the conversation between Larnach and his manager Derek Shelton.
At this point, I would only take this to mean the Twins would listen on Larnach and move him in what they considered the right deal, and that Minnesota is still looking to move one of it's LH hitting OFs for pitching.

#august #rosenthal

It was about as rough of a first inning as possible for rookie Connor Prielipp. Second baseman Cole Young doubled on Prielipp's first pitch of the game, and then he walked the next two Mariners on nine total pitches to load the bases with no outs. Julio Rodriguez then singled on the first pitch HE saw and it was 1-0 Seattle before Prielipp even worked up a sweat. He walked in one more run a few batters later, but the young lefty struckout the side in the midst of all this chaos to limit the damage.
Seattle got one more in the second inning thanks to a solo homer by Randy Arozarena to make it 3-0, but from there, Prielipp was completely locked in. It took him 55 pitches to get through the first two innings, and then 33 to finish the next 3.1 frames. That's the exact kind of development you want to see from a rookie starting pitcher and why so many people within the Twins are high on his long term outlook. The Mariners did mount another threat in the fifth inning with two men on and one out, but Prielipp successfully worked his way out of that jam and got Josh Naylor to start the sixth for a cherry on top.
On the other half of the game, the Twins had yet another slow start against an opposing starter. If it feels like Minnesota has been playing from behind often you'd be correct. Setting aside the three and four error slop-filled games last week, the Twins have scored just eight total runs in first five innings of games since the All-Star Break. They've taken the first lead in just two of those games as well. It was more of the same against Logan Gilbert and Seattle today.
The Twins had just one hit and baserunner through the first four innings before a Luke Keaschall solo shot got rid of the goose egg on the scoreboard. Trevor Larnach added a bomb of his own in the sixth, and then the Twins played some good small following a Brooks Lee leadoff double and finally worked their way to a 3-3 tie. Minnesota then had a great opportunity to take the lead in the eighth with two runners in scoring position and one out, but Kody Clemens and Royce Lewis struck out to end the threat.
Then, a weird ninth inning happened. With Andrew Morris in to try to send things to extras, Arozarena led things off of with a sharp double and advanced to third on a fly ball. Morris then intentionally walked Julio Rodriguez to put runners on the corners with one out. The Twins brought the infield in for Cal Raleigh, hoping to either get the runner at home or set up a quick double play, and they got exactly what they needed with a hard ground ball hit directly to Royce Lewis at first. Lewis, still fairly new to the position, went to step on first base, but seemed to realize the problem with that mid-play, as you can see below.

#Seattle

Spoiled by what you ask? Well, pretty much everything. Slade was normal bad today. Not as bad as the 7 runs allowed suggests. He was let down gravely by, succintly, a couple very bad Manzardo mistakes in the field.
Cecconi started off the game (his first start in two weeks) with a leadoff homer to Larnach. No matter, the Guardians got the run right back in the bottom of the 1st. Manufactured by whom, you ask?
A little Hosey hustle manufactures a run.

We're so back.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/qGYTpVSFMV
— Cleveland Guardians (CleGuardians) July 22, 2026
Shocking, I know. Jose singled on a ball to right, advanced to second on a DeLauter flyout to left (lol), and then scored on this play. Right back into action for him.

#back #larnach

Twins have been Erie-bound, two games past:
Stumbled fast and they’d go down.
Weary-facing today, but coming to play,
Cleveland, we say: we’re in town.
They went down two,
But then look who
Came up with thunder:
A Larnach bomb into the sky,
A three-run blast from Lee is why
We know we’d all walk a thousand miles
To watch the Twins beat you
Tonight.
Still scary early on when they gave up two
And we wondered if they’d ever win again.
But Lee, a solid hit, and they didn’t quit;
Tied it up so we could grin again.
It was even:
We’re believin’,
And now the thunder:

#cleveland #tonight

It’s never a good sign when your first mile feels like you’ve already run a full marathon. For Tatsuyi Imai, the outing was quick and ugly. Twins 8 Astros 3.
Imai’s early game struggles were on full display before an announced crowd of 29,179. In the opening several minutes, Trevor Larnach would double and Josh Bell would hit a ball to dead center that’s still traveling. Bell’s blast would officially become the fifth longest ball hit to center field since the ballyard at 501 Crawford Street opened its doors in 2000. Just like that, it was a 2-0 lead, and the following inning Minnesota would continue the **** ault.
Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee would reach on walks, and then Kody Clemens would do his version of a deep shot to center, and the Twins had put five runs on the board. Clemons has now hit 14 homeruns this season. For good measure, Imai would issue another walk to Josh Bell and mercifully the curtain would come down. Imai’s final line would read: 1.1 IP with 5 earned runs, 5 walks and 4 hits allowed, including 2 HR. In sharp contrast was his counterpart Taj Bradley would record a season high 11 strikeouts, at one point mowing down five in a row.
The Astros scored their initial run thanks to Jose Altuve’s leadoff walk of the game. Altuve would advance to third on Yordan Alvarez’s first hit of the night, eventually scoring on a double play groundout by Isaac Paredes.
The next time there would be signs of life would be in the 6th. Brice Matthews (who replaced Christian Walker, who left the game with lower back stiffness) and Cam Smith would reach base in consecutive fashion to start things. Then Joey Loperfido and Nick Allen would each notch RBI’s singles, cutting the deficit to 7-3 but that would be as close as they’d get.

HOUSTON (AP) — Taj Bradley struck out 11 to tie his career high, Josh Bell, Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 8-3 on Wednesday night.
Bradley (7-3) allowed a run and four hits and walked four in five innings. After Jose Altuve scored from third base when Isaac Paredes grounded into a double play in the first inning, Bradley recorded 10 consecutive outs by strikeout.
Bell has a career-high 16-game road hitting streak, the longest active streak of its kind in the majors. Trevor Larnach went 3 for 5 with a double and a two-run single.
The Twins have won three consecutive road series for the first time May of 2025.
After Larnach doubled to lead off the game against Tatsuya Imai (5-4) Bell hit a two-out, two-run homer. Clemens hit a 399-foot shot to make it 5-1 in the second.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Hunter Goodman hit three homers and drove in five runs, powering the Colorado Rockies to an 8-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night.
Goodman, who also went deep in his final at-bat Friday, launched a solo shot in the first inning and another in the third off starter Mike Paredes. After grounding out in the fifth, the slugger made it 6-2 in the seventh when he connected for his 25th homer this season, a three-run drive to left-center against reliever Kody Funderburk.
Kyle Karros added a two-run homer in the eighth.
Michael Lorenzen (3-9) allowed two runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings to earn his first win since April 24.
Trevor Larnach’s three-run double in the ninth made it 8-5 before Jimmy Herget came on to get two outs for his third save.

TWINS
DIAMONDBACKS
Trevor Larnach – LF
Ketel Marte – 2B
Byron Buxton – CF

The White Sox have lost back-to-back games to the Twins, falling 6-4 tonight. Davis Martin fought with his command all night, unable to make it through five innings. While the offense didn’t provide, the poor pitching performance certainly was a catalyst for a tough loss. The bullpen took control in the late innings, but loading the bases and leaving them stranded moments later also hurt the momentum this team carried into Minnesota.
There was not much action in the game until the third inning, just a pair of Twins singles that went nowhere. Connor Prielipp gave up a leadoff walk to Luisangel Acuña in the third, who stole second and third before reaching home on a throwing error, putting the first run of the game on the board. With one out, Chase Meidroth singled, and Randal Grichuk followed up with a double. Miguel Vargas would be the decision-maker, plating two runs with a single. Edgar Quero also singled, but two outs would quickly follow, including an unfortunate two-out bunt decision from Derek Hill.
Martin would also face a little trouble on the base paths in the bottom of the third. Tristan Gray singled and advanced on a questionable balk call. Alex Jackson singled, and Brooks Lee’s sac fly would send a run in. Martin was able to work through the rest of the inning, only giving up the one run despite some sloppy defense from his teammates.
Martin struggled again in the bottom of the fourth. Trevor Larnach doubled, and he gave up a walk to Austin Martin. Luke Keaschall doubled, giving the Twins another run with two on base and only one out. Gray gave the Twins the lead with an RBI single, sending in two runs before then getting to second base. Gray stole third and got home after a single from Jackson. Another base hit, this time from Byron Buxton, would get the bullpen stirring after Martin surrendered five hits in the inning. A double play would thankfully end any additional threat.
The Twins kept the White Sox in check for two straight innings, and Martin continued to wrestle with his command. Despite starting the fifth with a strikeout, he gave up back-to-back walks right after. Those free passes would haunt him when Keaschall singled, and Sam Antonacci couldn’t get the ball home in time. After the run, Martin stepped out for Sean Newcomb to take over and end the fifth. Alas, the Twins were up 6-3.