The Minnesota Twins still have time, but the margin is getting thin fast.
What looked like a promising late-season push took a real blow over the weekend, when Philadelphia rolled into Minnesota and left with a sweep. The Twins opened the series at The Field of Dreams and got handled 7-1, then came back to Target Field only to watch the Phillies finish the job. Minnesota had the finale in hand for a while, but a seventh-inning rally flipped the game and sent the Twins to a 7-5 loss.
That leaves the Twins sitting in a rough spot after dropping all three games and six of their last 10. FanGraphs now gives Minnesota just a 19% chance to reach the postseason.
The numbers are split between two paths that both look uphill. The Twins’ chances of winning the AL Central are 10.9%, and their Wild Card odds are 8.1%. The division race has gotten even tougher after the Chicago White Sox swept the Detroit Tigers.
Now the schedule turns immediately toward another challenge. Minnesota opens a three-game set Monday at Target Field against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves, who come in at 74-50 after taking a series from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
There was at least one encouraging sign for the Twins against Philadelphia: the offense finally woke up in the finale, putting up five runs after scoring just two total over the first two games of the series. But the bullpen problems that have popped up lately are still hanging over this team, and those are the kinds of innings that keep turning close games into losses.
That’s the frustrating part for a club that added help at the MLB Trade Deadline, including A.J. Minter for the bullpen. The talent is there on paper, but the results haven’t matched the expectation of a team built for a playoff run.
With 37 games left in the 2026 regular season, the Twins still have room to change the story. They’ll just need to start doing it quickly. First pitch against Atlanta is set for 6:40 CDT.
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The trouble is that the glove has not given the Twins a clean answer yet. Keaschall has struggled at second base and in the outfield, with negative Outs Above Average and Defensive Runs Saved piling up, leaving the club to keep weighing how much offense it can carry while it searches for a long-term defensive home that still makes sense on the roster. [Read more 🡒]