Phillies throttle Twins, but lose Trea Turner to an injury late in the game

Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 15, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — In a span of 30 days, they hosted the All-Star Game followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees, traded for a three-time batting champion, displaced three-fourths of the infield and played a game in an Iowa cornfield.

And you think you’ve had a busy summer.

It’s been one thing after another for the Phillies, and the calendar isn’t slowing down. Next up: the wild-card race. So, after taking a day to catch their breath, they picked up where they left off at the Field of Dreams, with a 9-1 throttling of the Minnesota Twins here Saturday night.

The Phillies erased a run on a play at the plate — and a well-used challenge — in the fourth inning, then scored seven runs in the fifth. Bryson Stott smashed a three-run homer; Alec Bohm set a career-high with five hits; Jesús Luzardo continued one of the best three-month rolls of any pitcher in baseball.

It would’ve been an old-fashioned knee-slapper if Trea Turner hadn’t exited in the eighth inning after fouling a pitch off his right knee. His status was being evaluated.

Jim Leyland, Dave Dombrowski’s close friend and former manager with the Detroit Tigers, always said the pennant races began on Aug. 15.

In that case, the Phillies were right on time.

With a second consecutive victory over the Twins after back-to-back losses in St. Louis, the Phillies kept pace in what’s shaping up as a three-team — and perhaps even five-team — race for two wild-card spots. The San Diego Padres lost and the Arizona Diamondbacks won, leaving them both tied with the Phillies at 66-58, an 86-win pace.

The momentum turned in the fourth inning. Staked to a 1-0 lead, Luzardo gave up two-out singles to Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee. Twins third base coach Ramon Borrego waved Keaschall home on Lee’s hit, which split the gap in left-center field and deadened in the grass.

Derek Hill hit the cutoff man, and second baseman Luis Arraez fired a one-hopper to the plate. And after umpire Alex Tosi called Keaschall safe, J.T. Realmuto signaled to the dugout for a challenge. A replay showed he tagged Keaschall on the forearm, and the call was overturned.

Their lead intact, the Phillies teed off on Twins lefty starter Connor Prielipp an inning later. With two out and a runner on first, Turner, Bryce Harper and Arraez drew walks to force in a run. Bohm drove in another with a single before Edmundo Sosa’s two-run single and Stott’s homer made it 8-0.

Luzardo, meanwhile, pitched into the seventh inning for the fifth consecutive start. The only blemish against him came in the sixth on back-to-back doubles by Ryan Jeffers and Royce Lewis.

In his last 17 starts, Luzardo has a 2.19 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 106 2/3 innings. Since May 11, he ranks second among all pitchers in ERA and innings and third in strikeouts.