Twins enter All-Star break on high note after series win over Angels

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jul 12, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — Taj Bradley, protecting a two-run lead in the sixth inning Sunday, showed his maturity as a pitcher with the way he navigated the middle of the Los Angeles Angels lineup.

Bradley surrendered consecutive singles to Mike Trout and Nolan Schanuel, putting runners on the corners with no outs.

He responded by inducing a shallow flyout to right field, not deep enough for Trout to tag up from third base, before Jo Adell grounded into an inning-ending double play. Bradley’s strong start propelled the Twins to a 4-2 win over the Angels on Sunday at Target Field.

Andrew Morris pitched the final two innings behind Bradley, dancing around two baserunners in the ninth inning to earn his third save.

The Twins, winners in six of their last eight games, enter the All-Star break with a 48-49 record, tied for the American League’s third wild-card spot and three games back in the AL Central division standings. They’ve won eight of their last nine series, including five in a row.

They put themselves in a fringe playoff position with their play throughout the past month. When they resume playing Friday, beginning with a seven-game road trip against the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Guardians, they will have two weeks to influence the front office ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

General Manager Jeremy Zoll already showed a willingness to act as a buyer, acquiring reliever Tommy Nance from Toronto on Friday. The Twins have reached this point with one of the worst bullpen ERAs in the majors, and a poor infield defense that has already been shuffled multiple times.

“We put ourselves in a good position to make a push,” said Twins designated hitter Josh Bell. “We have to keep playing our game. We have to keep scoring runs for these guys.”

The Twins have the highest-scoring offense in the AL, and it provided just enough support Sunday. They scored three runs in the third inning after five consecutive batters reached base against Angels right-hander José Soriano.

Luke Keaschall started the rally with a line-drive single to center before Ryan Kreidler rolled a single to left field. Trevor Larnach hit an RBI single on a ground ball through the right side of the infield, and Ryan Jeffers followed with a two-run double that he poked down the left-field line for a 3-1 lead.

Larnach added a 405-foot, solo homer in the eighth inning against Angels reliever Ryan Zeferjahn.

The Twins are encouraged with how well they’ve hit despite key injuries. Jeffers returned from hamate surgery on Friday. Byron Buxton, in a best-case scenario, could return as early as the first game out of the break.

Bradley’s strong season has helped the starting rotation perform to expectations. He’s allowed two or fewer runs in five straight starts.

Against the Angels, Bradley yielded six hits and two runs in seven innings while totaling six strikeouts and two walks. He gave up a solo homer to Josh Lowe in the second inning and a two-out solo homer to Denzel Guzman in the seventh. Both homers came on the first pitch of an at-bat.

There are plenty of areas the Twins need to improve, starting with their bullpen. Their group of relievers look a lot better, though, with the way Morris has pitched in the late innings.

“We have some young kids that are starting to get better,” manager Derek Shelton said. “It needs to be better. I’m not going to hide behind that in any way and I think that’s why we made the trade.”

The Twins were eight games below .500 on June 14, and seven games back in the division. Their June swoon spoiled their season last year, and it felt like they may be on the same path.

Since then, they have a 16-9 record and a lot of momentum riding into the All-Star break.

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