The Twins only tallied four hits — fewer than in their season-opening loss — but were able to manufacture four runs against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday afternoon. Combined with a strong performance from Shelton’s Magical Arm Barn, and Minnesota was able to earn their first win of the 2026 season, a 4-1 victory that evens the weekend series.
The bullpen had to cover 4.2 innings today, not due to poor performance by Taj Bradley, but high pitch count. It took Bradley 92 pitchers to work through
4.1 IP, during which he walked three O’s but struck out nine and only allowed three hits. The lone Orioles run was charged to Bradley during a second-inning stretch that saw Colton Cowser double and score on a Jeremiah Jackson ground ball single.
After that, it was a necessarily dominant performance by the pen. This afternoon’s game saw the Twins debut of Anthony Banda (0.2 IP, BB, 2 K) and Eric Orze (1.1 IP, BB), part of a quintet of relievers who kept Baltimore completely off the board. Kody Funderburk created a jam for himself, allowing the only two hits surrendered by Minnesota relief today, but struck out a pair of O’s and kept the home team from cashing in on a sixth-inning threat.
It may not be the most telling move in the world, but I still found it notable that in a reliever-heavy game, Cole Sands was reserved for the ninth. The Twins broke camp with a “closer by committee,” but to some degree, I wouldn’t be surprised if that situation works itself out over the first two months of the season. After all, there are going to be relievers in this pen who are simply trusted more than others; in the early stages, Sands is likely to be one of them.
Onto the offense. For the second straight game, Byron Buxton created a run all of his own accord. After a successful challenge got Buck aboard with an infield single, the speedster advanced to second on a sacrifice fly out to center, then took third when a pickoff attempt turned into an error credited to Adley Rutschman. Buxton scored on a Josh Bell sacrifice fly, tying the game in the fourth inning.
After a leadoff walk to Trevor Larnach, fans got an early-season morale boost by seeing Royce Lewis — still hitting out of the #8 slot — clobber a homer to left to open up a 3-1 lead for Minnesota. It was his only hit of the ballgame, but he’d walk and score again in the seventh, thanks in large part to a successful steal that put him into scoring position.
It was the kind of performance the Twins will need, from the kind of players they’ll need it from, if they’re to be successful in 2026. While the rest of the lineup floundered — Kody Clemens was the only other Twin with a hit — the usual suspects were able to contribute with enough force to keep the team in the driver’s seat.
The rubber game lands tomorrow afternoon, with an earlier start than most Sundays. A series win on the road against the Orioles would be a dandy way to start 2026! See you then.
STUDS:
SP Taj Bradley (4.1 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 9 K)
Bullpen (4.2 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 7 K)
CF Byron Buxton (2-for-4, R)
3B Royce Lewis (1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR, SB)
DUDS:
NO DUDS! TWINS WIN! TWINS WIN!
