The Twins are heading to Anaheim with little left to settle except the math.
Minnesota enters a four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday at 71-81, fresh off a win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday but still 10 games under .500 and losers of seven of its last 10. The trip opens the final road swing of 2026, and by the end of it the Twins could be officially done in both the AL Central and AL wild card races, depending on how they perform and how the clubs ahead of them fare this weekend.
At the moment, Minnesota sits 6.5 games back in the AL Central and six games behind the final AL wild card spot. That leaves the Twins in the familiar late-season territory of playing out the string.
The pitching matchups for the series are set on Minnesota’s side, even if the Angels have not announced theirs yet. Taj Bradley is slated to start Thursday for the Twins, with Connor Prielipp going Friday, Joe Ryan taking the ball Saturday and Dean Kremer closing things out Sunday.
Thursday: Twins: RHP Taj Bradley (11-6, 3.81) vs. Angels: TBD
Friday: Twins: LHP Connor Prielipp (5-7, 5.24) vs. Angels: TBD
Saturday: Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (6-10, 3.84) vs. Angels: TBD
Sunday: Twins: RHP Dean Kremer (3-5, 5.35) vs. Angels: TBD
Minnesota was active at the August trade deadline, but the moves haven’t changed the big picture. Kremer, one of those deadline additions, gets the nod in the series finale, while closer Jeff Hoffman was also brought in to help the stretch run. Even so, the roster still carried too many issues, including the hip injury to Byron Buxton that eventually required surgery.
The organization has also taken a look toward what comes next, promoting two of its top prospects, Kaelen Culpepper and Walker Jenkins. Both have given fans something to watch over the final weeks, but neither has been enough to push the Twins back into the race.
After Anaheim, Minnesota heads to San Francisco for a three-game series with the Giants starting Monday. The Twins then get an off day before finishing the regular season at home against the Texas Rangers.
That final series could still carry some bite. The Rangers are close to both the AL West lead and the final AL wild card berth, which gives Minnesota a chance to play spoiler before the year is done.
In Other News...
Twins Suffer Another Rough Night As Rookie Infielder Exits Early
Max Fried finally looked like himself again, and the Twins were on the wrong end of it. Fried went seven innings and allowed one run as the Yankees rolled to an 8-1 win, getting enough pop from Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones to keep pace in the AL East chase while Minnesota spent another night trying to find answers against a quality arm.
The bigger concern for the Twins may have been the health of rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper, who exited with left hamstring tightness. In a stretch where every game seems to carry a little extra weight, losing a young infielder early only adds to the frustration, especially with the club already trying to navigate the fallout from another lopsided loss. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Just Got Another Painful Reminder Of Their Biggest Problem
The Twins were already trying to patch together the middle of the infield, and now they have to do it without another young piece they had hoped would settle things down. Rookie shortstop Kaelen Culpepper landed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain, a move that ends his season and adds another frustrating chapter to a year that has repeatedly been interrupted by injuries. When healthy, Culpepper has shown enough promise to make the organization believe there is something to build on.
In the meantime, Minnesota turned to Ben Ross, recalling the utilityman from Triple-A St. Paul with the expectation that he will start at shortstop in the next game. It is a familiar sort of shuffle for a club that has spent too much time adjusting on the fly, especially at a premium position where stability matters. Culpeppers absence leaves the Twins waiting again for a clearer look at one of their younger players, while the stopgap solution becomes the latest test of how long they can keep getting by without their preferred answer. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Just Took Another Brutal Hit In Their Stretch Run
Kaelen Culpepper gave the Twins a needed jolt when they brought him up Aug. 7 and handed him the starting shortstop job, and he held his own right away over his first 31 major league games. For a club trying to stay afloat through a second-half slump, getting a top prospect to settle in and contribute was one of the few positive developments worth tracking as the season wore on.
Now that lift has been interrupted. Culpepper landed on the injured list with a hamstring injury, and the timing could hardly be worse for a Minnesota offense that has already struggled after the break and watched its record slide with it. With the stretch run tightening up, the Twins are left trying to absorb another blow from a roster that has already had too few answers at the plate. [Read more 🡒]