Are the Twins the Bad Team That Only Beats Great Starting Pitchers?

Minnesota's next five games are against former All-Star starting pitchers, which, if the trend continues, could lead to a winning streak.

Apr 27, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo (58) delivers a pitch against the Minnesota Twins in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

The Twins just keep doing it. On Monday night against the Mariners, the Twins, who have morphed back to being awful after winning eight of nine, rocked a decorated starting pitcher and claimed an, at least of late, rare victory.

It has become a trend this season for the Twins to beat very good, and even great, starting pitchers. Mariners righty Luis Castillo is a three-time All-Star and is coming off a season in which he struck out 162 batters in 180.2 innings of work, while holding those batters to a .244 average. Yet, when facing the prodigious Twins lineup on Monday, Castillo gave up seven runs on seven hits, walking two, and tallying just three strikeouts in five innings. Minnesota went on to win 11-4 for their 13th win of the season.

It was just the fourth time in the last two weeks that the Twins have won a game, but Castillo is the latest former All-Star to fall victim to Minnesota this season.

Of Minnesota's 13 wins, eight have come against former All-Stars, with two of those being against Cy Young winners Tarik Skubal and Max Scherzer. In fact, neither Skubal nor Scherzer made it past five innings in their starts, giving up a total of 12 runs in seven combined innings.

We've ranked all 29 starters the Twins have faced this season, and you'll notice a strange dynamic unfold as Minnesota keeps beating the best starters while losing to lesser arms. These rankings are subjective, but they're certainly fair and do a good job of showing the odd dynamic of most of the Twins' wins coming against high-end arms.

1. 4-2 W vs. Detroit - Tarik Skubal
2. 13-6 W vs. Boston - Garrett Crochet
3. 8-6 W vs. Detroit - Framber Valdez
4. 6-0 W vs. Boston - Sonny Gray
5. 5-3 W @ NY Mets - Nolan McLean
6. 5-1 W @ Kansas City - Cole Ragans
7. 11-4 W vs. Seattle - Luis Castillo
8. 3-1 W vs. Detroit - Jack Flaherty
9. 8-2 W @ Toronto - Max Scherzer
10. 7-3 W vs. Detroit - Casey Mize
11. 6-1 L @ Tampa - Shane McClanahan
12. 3-2 L @ NY Mets - Clay Holmes
13. 6-2 L @ Tampa - Drew Rasmussen
14. 10-4 L @ Toronto - Patrick Corbin
15. 9-5 L vs. Boston - Connelly Early
16. 5-4 L vs. Cincinnati - Andrew Abbott
17. 2-1 L @ Baltimore - Trevor Rogers
18. 3-1 L @ Kansas City - Kris Bubic
19. 13-9 L @ Kansas City - Noah Cameron
20. 4-1 W @ Baltimore - Kyle Bradish
21. 4-1 L vs. Tampa - Nick Martinez
22. 7-1 L vs. Tampa - Steven Matz
23. 7-4 W @ Toronto - Eric Lauer
24. 7-4 L vs. Cincinnati - Brady Singer
25. 8-6 L @ Baltimore - Shane Baz
26. 2-1 L vs. Cincinnati - Brandon Williamson
27. 10-4 W vs. Tampa - Joe Boyle
28. 4-2 L @ Tampa - Bullpen Day
29. 10-8 L @ NY Mets - Bullpen Day

How is it that Minnesota is doing so well against star pitchers while slumping against nearly everyone else? Admittedly, it's early in the season, and some of the great pitchers they've beaten are having rough starts. Crochet has a sky-high 6.30 ERA this season, although that's mostly due to the Twins rocking him for 10 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. Scherzer has looked every part of his 41-year-old self, and Castillo isn't off to a strong start.

Either way, it's a notable trend that this Twins lineup can wake up against big-name pitchers. If they could find a way to get those performances against everyone else, then this might turn into a fun summer of baseball in Minnesota.

Up next? It sounds like success as Minnesota faces Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Kevin Gausman, Patrick Corbin, and Dylan Cease in the next five games. All of them are former All-Stars, and you know what that means...