The Twins finally had a bullpen they could lean on Thursday night, and the timing couldn’t have been better.
After a stretch of offensive quiet, Minnesota found just enough late to steal a 4-3 win over the Royals in the finale of a three-game set at Kauffman Stadium. Brooks Lee delivered the swing that changed everything, lining a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning as the Twins ended a four-game losing streak.
The victory came with the kind of relief work Minnesota has been waiting to see. Andrew Morris handled the eighth with a clean 1-2-3 inning against the top of Kansas City’s order, and Yoendrys Gomez locked down the ninth for his 14th save.
It was a night when the Twins’ new-look relief group mattered. With A.J. Minter and Jeff Hoffman added at the Deadline, Morris and Gomez have not had to carry the load quite as heavily lately, and that freshened both up for a game the Twins needed to finish.
Bailey Ober gave Minnesota six solid innings, even if the stat line looked strange: no walks, no strikeouts. He still exited with the Twins down two runs after Kansas City starter Michael Wacha kept them in check for much of the night.
Minnesota had seen this script before against the Royals. Last week at home, the Twins rallied twice, and they showed that same fight again here. Royce Lewis got them on the board with a solo homer off Wacha in the fifth, part of a night filled with hard contact for the resurgent infielder.
Then came the decisive inning. Josh Bell opened the rally with a one-out RBI single to trim the deficit to 3-2, and Lee followed two batters later by driving a single through the right side to put Minnesota ahead for good.
In Other News...
Trevor Larnach Is Creating A Twins Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Trevor Larnach has quietly become one of the most important bats in the Twins lineup this season, and the way he has settled in as the primary leadoff hitter has changed the conversation around him. Minnesota went into the 2026 trade deadline expecting to move him, which made sense at the time given the clubs broader roster picture and its need to sort through younger talent. Instead, Larnach has kept producing enough at the top of the order to make his presence hard to overlook.
Now the Twins are left with a far less comfortable problem: keeping one of their best hitters in place while two of their most heralded prospects wait for a path. Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez are both still in Triple-A even though the organization views them as ready for the major leagues, and the lack of obvious playing time in Minnesota is part of what makes Larnachs status such a tricky one. The front office can like what it is getting from him and still feel the squeeze of what his emergence means for the next wave. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Catching Depth Gets More Interesting With Noah Cardenas Heating Up
Noah Cardenas spent the first chunk of the 2026 season trying to find his timing, but the Twins catching picture looks a lot more interesting now that he has started to settle in at the plate. Over his next 29 games, the St. Paul Saints catcher has pushed his batting average up and added more home runs, a welcome shift for a player whose defense behind the plate has already been solid. For a Minnesota organization that has long valued catching depth, any sign of offensive growth from Cardenas is worth watching closely.
The Saints power surge only adds to the intrigue, with the club leading pro baseball in home runs and pushing toward the Triple-A playoffs. Cardenas has said his teammates support helped fuel the turnaround, and his recent stretch gives the Twins another name to track if they need catching help down the line. What remains to be seen is whether this improved bat is the start of a real breakout or just a hot run at exactly the right time. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Fans Should Be Concerned About This Byron Buxton Update
Byron Buxtons recovery from a right hip impingement has become a little more concerning for the Twins, mostly because the timeline has started to drift. The center fielder is healing, but the process is moving slower than expected, which is never ideal for a player whose availability can reshape the middle of Minnesotas lineup and defense. He also received an unspecified injection last week, a sign the club is still trying to manage the injury carefully rather than simply racing him back.
There is at least another health-related wrinkle on the roster with right-hander Zebby Matthews, whose recent start was affected by a right foot blister that tore and worsened as the outing went on. The encouraging part for Minnesota is that Matthews is not dealing with anything more serious, but the Twins are still waiting on clearer progress from Buxton, and that is the update with the bigger implications for how the club handles the days ahead. [Read more 🡒]