First Pitch: 5:05 pm CDT
TV: Twins.TV
Radio: TIBN / WCCO 830 / The Wolf 102.9 FM / Audacy
KNOW THINE ENEMY: The Good Phight
Every year, for quite a long time now, I write a preview for Game 161. Something
about the nature of this game is more melancholy to me than Game 162; that game is final, the foregone conclusion of a long season. Game 161 is more of an acknowledgment — and for some reason, the feeling that something is almost over can be more sentimental than the actual finish.
Today we get to experience that “almost-over” feeling, as this is the last Twins game of the year before the last one, period. It’s usually a game ripe for waxing poetic, an effect amplified by the fact that former Phillie starter Mick Abel will be squaring up against the likes of Jhoan Duran, Harrison Bader, and Max Kepler, in what would have been a head-scratching matchup about 12 months ago.
The Twins are playing mostly to avoid 93 total losses — the tally stands at 91 — as well as get a couple of last looks at some of the guys who might actually be here in 2026. Abel is one, but the lineup is full of question marks, as it’s comprised entirely of fringe major-leaguers and winter trade candidates.
For now, they remain, and this evening at Citizens Bank Park, they play a much more interesting ballclub who is about to make some noise in their fourth straight postseason following an 11-year hiatus.
GO TWINS GO!
