The AL Central contenders all came out of the All-Star break looking flat, but Minnesota at least found a way to separate itself from the mess.
Chicago, Cleveland and the Twins dropped eight of nine games in the first stretch back, getting outscored 70-33, outhit 95-68 and outhomered 15-4. The division race didn’t exactly tighten while everyone else was stumbling, either. Detroit and Kansas City both handled their business, with the Tigers blanking Seattle twice and the Royals beating up on Minnesota again after the Twins had already been cooled off by the Mariners to open the road trip.
That’s why the week felt so frustrating around the division. Cleveland got swept by the Mets, a team that has somehow made itself into one of baseball’s strangest problems.
Chicago ran into a Red Sox club that has ripped off the single best 36-game stretch in the 126-year history of Major League Baseball, going 31-5 since June 25. All three contenders were active buyers at the deadline, and all three walked into the stretch run with a chance to seize control.
Instead, the gap stayed stubbornly in place.
For Minnesota, though, the lone win mattered. The Twins still finished the week a game closer to Cleveland and Chicago.
That’s not the leap they wanted, and it’s not enough to call the division chase changed. But when the clubs around you are all tripping over the same week, staying upright counts for something.
The most encouraging development for the Twins came from Dean Kremer, who made his first start for his new team and looked sharp doing it. The right-hander, now in red No. 13 after wearing orange No. 64, gave Minnesota five strong innings against Kansas City. He opened with a perfect first, then kept rolling, allowing one run on three hits.
Kremer’s debut stood out because the other new arms had rougher nights. Luis Castillo and Foster Griffin combined to give up ten runs in their first starts for Chicago and Cleveland, with both lasting only four innings despite getting plenty of support behind them. Castillo even avoided the loss thanks to Boston’s five separate comebacks.
It’s still too early to declare anything from a single outing, and the season is far enough along that one start can mislead just as easily as it can impress. But Kremer gave the Twins exactly what they needed in a game like this: stability. He quieted a Kansas City lineup that has been plenty annoying for Minnesota in 2026, and he did it well enough to hush Carter Jensen’s barbed bat.
On the other side of the ball, Royce Lewis continued to look like the hitter Minnesota can build around right now. Against Royals ace Michael Wacha, Lewis worked himself into a 2-0 count and then changed the feel of the game.
He finished the week in Kansas City with six hits in 10 at-bats, including four hits in Tuesday’s loss, and five of his last nine at-bats came off the bat at over 100 mph. That included the home run off Wacha.
That’s the kind of swing the Twins have been waiting for. With Buxton’s return from the IL still ahead, Lewis gives Minnesota a dangerous presence in the middle of the order, especially against left-handed pitching.
His homer wasn’t a walk-off or a go-ahead shot, but it mattered. It was loud, clean, and enough to start knocking some of the frost off a lineup that had been stuck.
The road trip isn’t done yet, and the final stop is a tough one. Milwaukee entered Friday night with 72 wins, a total that dwarfs what Seattle and Kansas City have done combined.
The Brewers can score in just about every way the sport allows, defend at a Gold Glove level, and run aggressively on the bases. Then there’s Sunday, when Minnesota could see a fastball that reaches 105 mph.
So the Twins didn’t gain the big ground they wanted. They also didn’t let the week spiral any further. And with Chicago and Cleveland set to play each other while Minnesota keeps grinding in Milwaukee, there’s still at least a path to some small progress in the AL Central race.
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