Josh Bell kept swinging, Kaelen Culpepper made a first impression he’ll never forget, and the Minnesota Twins clawed all the way back in Milwaukee.
Bell finished 4 for 5 with a homer, Culpepper went deep in his major league debut, and the Twins erased a four-run hole to beat the Brewers 8-6 on Friday night. Minnesota was down 4-0 after two innings, but kept answering back with two runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth to flip the game.
The biggest swing came in the sixth, when Minnesota broke a 6-all tie with a two-out rally. After Antonio Senzatela (9-3) got the first two outs, Ryan Jeffers and Royce Lewis ripped back-to-back doubles. Bell then singled home Lewis for his third RBI of the night.
Milwaukee had chances to steal it back, but couldn’t cash in. The Brewers loaded the bases in the seventh before Jeff Hoffman struck out Luis Lara, then put runners on first and second in the eighth only to watch Jackson Chourio ground into an inning-ending double play.
Yoendrys Gómez closed it out with a perfect ninth for his 16th save in 16 chances.
The Brewers built their early lead behind Chourio’s solo homer in the first, his third in his last four games, and then got a boost from a Minnesota error in the second that opened the door to three unearned runs. But the Twins started chipping away right away. Bell’s two-run homer with two outs in the third cut the margin in half, and Culpepper followed in the fourth by launching a solo shot on an 0-2 pitch.
Minnesota tied it later in that inning on Austin Martin’s RBI double, though Ryan Kreidler was thrown out at the plate trying to score from first on the same play. The Twins grabbed the lead in the fifth, only to see Milwaukee answer with two runs in the bottom half and knot the game again at 6.
Zebby Matthews started for Minnesota and exited with a blister in his right foot as he came out for the sixth. He allowed six runs, three earned, and seven hits in five innings.
On the other side, Milwaukee starter Shane Drohan gave up nine hits and six runs in five innings.
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 🡒]