Twins foil NL East-leading Braves in 4-2 victory

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Aug 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MINNEAPOLIS — Manager Derek Shelton didn’t hide his frustration after the Minnesota Twins blew a five-run lead in their loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday, conducting a terse postgame news conference.

When Shelton walked through the clubhouse, where players were sitting at their lockers, he thought it was as quiet as he heard it after a game all year. He viewed it as a positive, players understanding they let a winnable game slip away.

One of the defining traits about the Twins this year is their ability to rebound after tough stretches. Monday’s series opener against the Atlanta Braves was no exception.

The Twins scored four runs before they recorded their first out against lefty Martín Pérez and they rode that early offense to a 4-2 victory at Target Field in their first game after the Phillies swept them in a three-game series.

Bailey Ober gave up two runs in 4 1/3 innings, and the bullpen covered the final 14 outs. Jeff Hoffman stranded two runners in the eighth inning, aided by a diving stop from second baseman Kody Clemens on a ground ball that left Michael Harris II’s bat at 108 mph.

The Twins sit a half-game out of a playoff spot in the mediocre American League wild-card race, and they’re mired in one of the hardest parts of the schedule with the Phillies, Braves and upcoming trip to play the San Diego Padres.

As many times as the Twins looked like they were falling apart — they were eight games below .500 on June 13, dealt with a four-game losing streak almost immediately coming out of the All-Star break and they’ve played poorly in August — they have found ways to stabilize themselves.

Luke Keaschall, who recovered from his own terrible start, batted leadoff for the first time this season. He opened the game with a double on Pérez’s third pitch, hitting a changeup below the strike zone in a 0-2 count and then sprinting ahead of a throw to second.

Pérez walked the next two batters before Josh Bell blooped a ground-rule double down the right-field line.

Royce Lewis followed with an RBI single on a first-pitch cutter and Clemens hit an RBI single on a first-pitch sinker.

It’s been a slow, yet steady ascent for Keaschall, who had a .245 on-base percentage and four extra-base hits in his first 106 plate appearances. Shelton attributed the slow start to Keaschall making his first Opening Day roster, a different type of internal pressure than starting the season in the minor leagues.

Since May 1, Keaschall ranks fifth in the majors with a .400 on-base percentage. In his last 15 games, he’s totaled three homers and five doubles.

“This whole season has been a slight incline,” said Keaschall, mimicking it with his hand. “It was pretty rough to start the year if we’re being honest. I said I wasn’t very happy with how I did. Now I’m happy with how I’ve bounced back and continued to get better and better each week, each month.”

Ober labored through a 27-pitch first inning, stranding two runners, and his pitch count remained inflated because there were a lot of foul balls. His fastball velocity dipped to 86 mph in the fifth inning, after he threw 90 pitches, and the Braves scored two runs.

After hits from Austin Riley and Drake Baldwin put two runners in scoring position with one out, Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a two-run single into left field off Ober. Atlanta didn’t have another baserunner until Matt Olson hit a double off Hoffman in the eighth.

The Twins loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth inning, through a hit batsman, a single and an error on a sacrifice bunt, but they couldn’t provide any additional offense. Keaschall fouled out to first base, Byron Buxton hit an infield pop-up to first base and Ryan Jeffers grounded out.

Twins closer Yoendrys Gómez pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth to earn the save.

____