We ought to have a boilerplate template for 2026 Twins recaps, because it feels like every time the Twins lose this season, it’s for exactly the same reasons as I am about to describe. Another encouraging start from a young arm was emphatically erased by possibly the most predictably incompetent bullpen you’ve ever seen in your life, rendering any offensive contributions almost entirely meaningless. Sound familiar? Well, these were the same beats that played out in Saturday afternoon’s 11-4 Blue
Jays victory, the 20th loss of Minnesota’s season, and another defeat that transpired for reasons that anyone could have seen coming.
In his third major-league start, Connor Prielipp went another five innings and only allowed three hits, although two were homers (Lenyn Sosa and Myles Straw, both in the second inning.) The Jays generated five hard-hit balls off the young lefty, who walked two and only struck out four in a 91-pitch outing, which is the longest of his professional career.
When he left, Minnesota even had a 4-2 lead. Byron Buxton had started the game with a leadoff bomb to right, his 10th homer of the year, and latest offensive outburst in a scorching-hot stretch that has raised his OPS back up to .857. The Twins added two more in the second, with a pair of runners scoring on a Brooks Lee single + Vladdy Jr. throwing error. Add on an RBI single from Trevor Larnach in the fifth, and Minnesota had pole position going into the later innings.
This has happened before, and it will happen again, and the usual suspects will be involved.
Toronto got one back as soon as the doors to Derek’s Magical Arm Barn opened; the homer-happy Kazuma Okamoto tagged Justin Topa for his 8th of the year with one out in the sixth. Okay, 4-3, you say. Not bad.
Bad!
BAD!!!
It could have been 10-3. It could have been 10-3, brother. And the Twins would have lost this game anyway.
That’s because the wheels came off completely in a marathon 8-run 8th inning for the third-place Jays. It’s an inning that behests bullet-pointing brather than a bregular baragraph. Let’s take a look at the highlights real quick before we get you the heck out of here.
- Eighth inning begins. Luis Garcia enters. (Why?!)
- Ernie Clement singles
- Vladdy Jr. walks
- Okamoto ties the game with a shot back up the middle off Luke Keaschall. 4-4.
- Lenyn Sosa drops an infield single into the mix and scores Vladdy from third. 5-4.
- Anthony Banda comes in. At least we tried, Luis!
- Daulton Varsho reaches and everybody’s safe on a fielder’s choice attempt that ends in an Anthony Banda error.
- Myles Straw walks and everybody moves up. 6-4 Jays.
- Davis Schneider smacks a two-run double to left. 8-4 Jays. Two runners still in scoring position.
- Brandon Valenzuela ropes a three-run homer to center. 11-4 Jays, although at this point, it would be reasonable to assume that nobody is keeping score anymore.
- Three quick outs are then recorded. Presumably the Jays got bored.
It may not surprise you to learn that the Twins did not reach base for the rest of the game.
The team is ass.
STUDS:
RP John Klein (IP, 0 R in his major-league debut. For this bullpen, stud-worthy.)
LF Trevor Larnach (2-for-4, RBI, 2B)
DUDS:
DH Josh Bell (0-for-4, K)
RF Matt Wallner (0-for-4, K)
RP Justin Topa (0.2 IP, H, ER, K, HR)
RP Luis Garcia (0.0 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, BB)
RP Anthony Banda (IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, HR)
