The Twins finally put together the kind of game that can steady a season, at least for one night. They jumped on the A’s early, kept stacking runs in the middle innings, and built a lead that looked safe until the ninth. Even then, Minnesota survived the wobble and walked away with a 9-6 win in Sacramento.
It started with the bats doing exactly what the Twins have struggled to do lately: keep pressure on after the first punch landed. Byron Buxton drew a walk and Ryan Jeffers singled to set up Josh Bell, who launched the first pitch he saw to left-center.
Bell thought he had a three-run homer, but the ball bounced off the very top of the wall for a double instead. Buxton scored anyway, and the Twins had the early lead they wanted.
Bell came through again in the first inning, though in much quieter fashion. With Buxton on third, he sent a ball about six feet and still drove in a run. That was enough to push Minnesota out front again, and it set the tone for a night when the Twins kept finding ways to add on.
The A’s chipped back in the third. Zebby Matthews opened the inning by allowing back-to-back singles to rookie Henry Bolte and veteran Jeff McNeil, but a Zack Gelof double play limited the damage. Lawrence Butler still brought in Bolte with a two-out single, trimming the margin, but Matthews kept the inning from turning into something bigger.
Minnesota answered right away in the fourth. Local Sacramento kid Ryan Kreidler led off with a solo homer, his first in nearly two months. Buxton and Jeffers reached again before Bell came up empty on his third straight at-bat with a chance to drive in a run, but Kody Clemens picked him up with a clutch two-out hit off a lefty to make it 4-1.
The sixth inning is where the game really got away from Oakland. The first four Twins batters reached, and Luke Keaschall delivered the big blow with a two-run double with the bases loaded. Bell added another RBI with a sacrifice fly, because of course he did, and Minnesota was suddenly sitting on a 7-1 lead.
They weren’t done there. The Twins kept putting the ball in play and the A’s kept failing to turn it into outs.
In the eighth, Buxton, Clemens, and Culpepper all singled to drive in two more runs. Culpepper’s hit was his fourth of the night, and it stretched the margin to 9-1.
For most of the evening, Matthews made the whole thing look routine. He worked seven strong innings, stayed in the zone, kept the ball down, and got the kind of double plays that let a pitcher breathe. The A’s lineup wasn’t exactly at full strength - All-Stars Nick Kurtz, Jacob Wilson, Brent Rooker, and Shea Langeliers were all on the IL, along with regulars Tyler Soderstrom and Denzel Clarke - but Matthews still did what he needed to do for a bullpen that’s been taxed lately.
Then the ninth happened.
Tommy Nance came in with a 9-1 lead and lost the feel for his slider, allowing a run. Derek Shelton then went to closer Yoendrys Gomez, who hadn’t pitched in nearly a week, and the rust showed.
Gomez got two outs quickly, though both line drives were hit straight at Kody Clemens, and then things unraveled. The next five A’s batters reached with one out left, cutting the lead to three and putting the tying run in the on-deck circle.
Rookie Andrew Morris was forced in to clean it up, and he finished the game on one pitch.
So the Twins got the kind of win they needed, even if the last inning made it far messier than it had to be. After being swept by the Phillies, Braves, and Padres over the last 10 days, they’ll take any night that lands them back in the “all” category. The bigger lesson was obvious: this lineup has to keep scoring in the middle innings, because one big lead can vanish fast if the bullpen gets shaky.
The standings added a little more texture to the night. In the AL Central, the White Sox are 68-63, the Guardians are 66-66 and 2.5 games back, and the Twins are 64-68 and 4.5 back.
In the AL Wild Card race, the Guardians are in front, the Astros are 0.5 back at 65-66, and the Twins sit 2 games back alongside the Blue Jays at 64-68. The Orioles are 2.5 back and the Mariners are 3 back.
Elsewhere, the White Sox lost to the Rangers, who moved into the AL West lead and pushed Houston back into the Wild Card picture. The Guardians beat the Angels, and the Mariners kept their up-and-down week going with a 9-2 win over the Phillies.
The Tigers are 1-9 in their last 10 and are being dropped from the updates for now. The Twins, meanwhile, have an incredibly easy schedule in September, with only the Guardians having an easier path to October among the teams they’re chasing.
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