Twins rely on their youth to win first road series since July

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Sep 23, 2026

Published in Baseball

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The Minnesota Twins turned their attention to their younger players after they fell out of the playoff picture, and the kids carried them to a series victory at Oracle Park on Wednesday.

In a 4-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants, Luke Keaschall hit a solo homer. Ben Ross hit a triple and scored. Walker Jenkins delivered a pinch-hit, go-ahead RBI single. And left-hander Connor Prielipp allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings in the final start of his rookie season.

"Overall, I was really pleased not only with today's outing but the growth of Connor Prielipp throughout the year," manager Derek Shelton said. "When you have young players that have had success and have had peaks and valleys, you want to make sure they end on a peak."

The Twins (75-84) finished their final road trip of the season, through Anaheim and San Francisco, with a 4-3 record. Taking a series from the Giants, it was the first time the Twins won a road series since winning two of three games at Yankee Stadium from July 3-5.

Prior to Wednesday’s win, the Twins lost or split their previous 10 road series. Their failures on the road, ending the season with a 35-46 record away from Target Field, was one of the reasons they collapsed over the final two months of the season.

After Keaschall homered in the third inning, his 10th of the season, Prielipp gave up two runs in the fourth inning. Bo Davidson and Andrew Knizner put up back-to-back hits off Prielipp, putting two runners in scoring position, and Marcelo Mayer drew a two-out walk.

With the bases loaded, Shay Whitcomb blooped a first-pitch sinker down the right-field line that dropped between Keaschall and first baseman Aaron Sabato for a two-run single.

The Twins immediately responded.

Ross clubbed a triple off the left-center wall against Giants starter César Perdomo and Keaschall followed with a tying sacrifice fly to center. Ross has four hits in 21 at-bats to begin his major league career, with two doubles and a triple.

The Twins added two runs in the seventh inning against the Giants’ bullpen, benefiting from sloppy defense.

After Emmanuel Rodriguez drew a leadoff walk, Kody Clemens bounced a grounder to first base that should have been a double play. Instead, Giants shortstop Christian Koss fired a throw into the Twins’ dugout, allowing Clemens to advance to second on a throwing error.

Jenkins delivered a go-ahead, pinch-hit RBI single to right field. After lefty Sam Hentges issued a four-pitch walk to Brooks Lee, Josh Bell dropped an RBI single to center for a two-run lead.

"It's something we've talked about over the last few years is how do you teach guys to [pinch hit]? You can't," Shelton said. "It's not the same in the minor leagues as the big leagues. Big hit for us right there."

Behind Prielipp, Twins relievers Yoendrys Gómez, A.J. Minter and Andrew Morris covered the final 11 outs. Morris pitched around a single and a walk in the ninth inning to secure the save.

The Twins will conclude their 2026 season with a three-game home series against the Texas Rangers, beginning Friday.

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