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Twins Takeaways: Twins Lose to Athletics as Byron Buxton Exits With Injury

Minnesota fell to 64-69 and watched Byron Buxton exit with an injury as its offense struggled in West Sacramento.
Matthew Nethercott|
Aug 25, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Taj Bradley (26) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images
Aug 25, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Taj Bradley (26) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins lost the middle game of the three-game series against the Athletics 4-2. On the season, the Twins dropped to 64-69. The Twins' offense was shut down by A’s lefty Gage Jump, and though Taj Bradley had good stuff, he suffered the loss.

Taj Bradley’s Outing

Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley (26) throws to Phillies batters Aug. 13, 2026 at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa.
Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley (26) throws to Phillies batters Aug. 13, 2026 at the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Tuesday was a mixed-bag outing from Bradley. On one hand, he surrendered four earned runs over six innings of work, but on the other, he made Twins history. In the fifth inning, Bradley pitched the first ever immaculate inning by a Twin. 

Bradley’s outing was better than the line indicates. He struck out eleven batters over his six and two-thirds innings of work, which ties a career high and season high in strikeouts. It was really one bad pitch in the first inning to Carlos Cortes for a two-run homer that put the Twins in a hole, and then three straight two-out hits in the sixth inning that gave the A’s two more runs.

His stuff was good tonight, and he executed a fair amount. The next step is consistency, and it certainly did not help that he was pitching in the offensive environment he pitched in.

"Stuff was really sharp." Twins manager Derek Shelton said of Bradley's outing postgame to Twins.TV. " I mean, six and two-thirds did a good job. I mean, made a bad pitch to Cortes for the two run homer, but overall, I thought the stuff was as good as we've seen in a while. He was able to execute all those pitches. I thought the curveball was better than we've seen in a while, which is an encouraging sign."

Twins' Offense

Twins short stop Kaelen Culpepper (12) hits a RBI double against the Athletics during the seventh inning
Aug 25, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Minnesota Twins short stop Kaelen Culpepper (12) hits a RBI double against the Athletics during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Twins' offense was quiet for the first six innings, recording just one hit, on a dropped infield popup. They had no answers for Jump, who was flat-out dominant. That was not the case in the seventh inning that saw the Twins score 2 runs on three hits, with some help from the A’s dropping their second popup of the night, this time in the outfield. 

Kaelen Culpepper continues to impress, getting the Twins on the board with an RBI double in the gap, followed by a bloop double off the bat of Brooks Lee. An RBI groundout by Victor Caratini gave the Twins their second run.

The Twins offense went six up, six down in the final two innings against an Athletics bullpen that has the worst ERA in baseball. Not exactly the most encouraging signs from the offense on the whole tonight, especially with Sutter Health Park being a pitchers' park.

"We got pitched through tonight." Shelton said postgame. "I mean, game Jump, we knew coming into this has really good stuff, the issue's been command and being on the plate, and tonight we saw a kid with really good stuff on the plate, and we just unfortunately couldn't battle back."

Buxton Leaves with Injury

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) looks on after striking out during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies
Aug 15, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton (25) looks on after striking out during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With two outs in the seventh inning, Athletics center fielder Henry Bolte lined a ball into the gap. Byron Buxton ran to cut the ball off and, in his attempt to do so, appeared to injure his right hip, which has landed him on the IL twice previously this season. Shelton said postgame that Buxton would not have been in tomorrow's lineup regardless, as it was a scheduled off day for him. There was no update postgame on Buxton.

Losing Buxton for any stretch of time could be absolutely detrimental to the Twins' playoff chances that are slipping away with every loss, especially with 12 straight games against the AL Central coming up starting Friday. The Twins will send Buxton for further testing tomorrow.

What’s Next?

The Twins will wrap up their series and road trip in West Sacramento on Wednesday before a Thursday off day. For the Twins, it will be LHP Connor Prielipp, who is 3-7 with a 5.57 ERA. For the Athletics, it will be RHP J.T. Ginn, who is 8-8 with a 3.60 ERA. First pitch Wednesday will be at 8:10 P.M. CT on TwinsTV.

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Matthew Nethercott
MATTHEW NETHERCOTT

Matthew is a writer covering the Twins for On SI. He has experience covering rumors and transactions, as well as editing, for Last Word on Sports, as well as covering MLB labor negotiations and other rumors for DiamondCentric. Matthew is close to completing a bachelor's degree in communications with a minor in sports studies from Manhattanville University.

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