The Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies meet at Target Field on Saturday night with both clubs trying to work through crowded injured lists before the series gets going. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET, and the matchup on the mound is Connor Prielipp against Jesús Luzardo.
Minnesota enters the series at 60-63, while Philadelphia comes in at 65-58. The Sunday game is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. ET, with Dean Kremer set to face Andrew Painter.
The Twins’ injured list includes Joe Ryan, who is on the 15-day IL with a glute injury. He has a 2026 line of 6-8 with a 4.08 ERA and 9.9 K/9.
Minnesota also has Pablo Lopez, David Festa, Cole Sands, Mike Paredes, Anthony Banda and Mick Abel on the 60-day IL. Lopez is out with an elbow injury, Festa with a shoulder injury, Sands with an elbow injury, Paredes with an oblique injury, Banda with a lat injury and Abel with an elbow injury.
Sands has a 2026 line of 1-1 with an 8.25 ERA and 8.3 K/9, Paredes is 0-3 with a 4.72 ERA and 5.0 K/9, Banda is 2-0 with a 4.46 ERA and 8.7 K/9, and Abel is 1-2 with a 3.98 ERA and 10.2 K/9.
Philadelphia’s injured list is led by Rafael Marchan, who is on the 10-day IL with a knee injury. His 2026 line is .102/.141/.170 with 2 HR and 6 RBI.
Caleb Kilian is on the 15-day IL with an oblique injury and has a 2026 line of 4-7 with a 4.91 ERA and 10.6 K/9. Johan Rojas, Brad Keller, Adolis Garcia and Tanner Banks are all on the 60-day IL.
Rojas is out with an elbow injury, Keller with an elbow injury, Garcia with a lat injury and Banks with a forearm injury. Keller has a 2026 line of 2-1 with a 4.02 ERA and 9.2 K/9, Garcia is hitting .195/.270/.329 with 7 HR and 21 RBI, and Banks is 0-4 with a 7.14 ERA and 9.9 K/9.
Over their last 10 games, the Twins are 4-6 with 9 home runs, a .249 average, a .332 on-base percentage and a .377 slugging percentage. Their team ERA in that span is 4.55, with a .257 batting average against and 8.4 strikeouts per nine.
The Phillies are 5-5 over the same stretch with 8 home runs, a .253 average, a .353 OBP and a .390 SLG. They’ve posted a 3.79 ERA, held opponents to a .232 batting average and struck out 10.1 per nine.
In Other News...
Derek Shelton Is Testing What Really Held The Twins Back
The Twins entered the offseason with a clean break at manager, moving on from Rocco Baldelli after the 2025 season and turning the clubhouse over to Derek Shelton. Early in Sheltons first year, the most noticeable shift has been less about lineup cards and more about tone, with a new emphasis on edge, accountability and a different kind of day-to-day energy around the team.
Josh Donaldson recently added an outside voice to the discussion of what had been holding Minnesota back, pointing to a broader issue with the organizations identity under Baldelli. Sheltons challenge is to prove the change is more than cosmetic, and the early signs suggest he is trying to build something that asks more of players while also trusting them more, which is exactly the kind of test this roster and front office will be watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Be Overlooking A Right-Handed Bat They Could Use
Ben Ross has spent the season turning a difficult Double-A showing into something far more encouraging in the Twins organization. The right-handed hitter earned a promotion to Triple-A in 2026 and has carried that momentum to St. Paul, where his improved offensive approach has started to match the power and versatility that once made him an interesting name in the system.
For a Minnesota club that can always use more depth on the right side of the plate, Ross is beginning to look like the sort of internal option worth keeping an eye on. His recent surge suggests the bat is no longer just flashing in stretches, and if the Twins are looking for a player who can help at the major league level, he may be making his case a little louder with every week. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Still Have One Big Polanco Trade Question Left
When the Twins acquired Justin Topa as part of the trade that sent Jorge Polanco away, the hope was that the right-handed reliever would be one of the useful pieces that made the deal feel more balanced over time. Instead, Topas stint in Minnesota ended with a designation for assignment and release after he struggled to an 8.05 ERA over 19 innings in 2026, a reminder that the return in a trade is often judged as much by the development curve as the original headline.
Topa has since moved on, signing minor-league deals with the Blue Jays, Royals and Yankees, with New York sending him to Triple-A. For the Twins, the bigger question now is how the rest of the Polanco return settles in, because these kinds of trades are rarely decided by the first impression alone and the final verdict often depends on whether the other pieces eventually help Minnesota in a more meaningful way. [Read more 🡒]