Taj Bradley throws immaculate inning in 4-2 loss
Taj Bradley struck out 11 and threw the first immaculate inning in Twins history on August 25, but Minnesota still lost 4-2 to Oakland and dropped to 1-4 over its last five games.
Taj Bradley strikes out 11, but the Twins fall 4-2
Athletics9-6Athletics2-4Minnesota split its two games in Oakland. The Twins beat the Athletics 9-6 on August 24, then lost 4-2 on August 25 to fall to 64-69 and 1-4 over their last five games. Byron Buxton, now considered day-to-day, went 3-for-5 with a double, four runs scored and a walk in the win.
Taj Bradley took the loss in the finale despite one of his best starts of the season: 6.2 innings, 7 hits, 4 earned runs, one walk and 11 strikeouts. The Twins sit 3.0 games back in the AL Wild Card race, tied with Seattle and Toronto with an elimination number of 25.
Let's keep it going 📺 t.co/UHffFx7FCs
The first immaculate inning in Twins history
Bradley's strikeout day included the first immaculate inning in franchise history, and Barstool's baseball account was on it — @StoolBaseball posted that the '1st Immaculate inning in Twins History belongs to Taj Bradley.' @FoulTerritoryTV, citing MLB, and @TalkinBaseball_ both flagged the same franchise-first.
The feat came in a game Minnesota still lost 4-2, a reminder of how thin the margins have been for a club that is 1-4 in its last five games and 64-69 on the year.
Upcoming
Connor Prielipp (3-7, 5.57 ERA) starts as the Twins are at the Athletics tonight. He's coming off a loss to the Padres on August 21, when he allowed 6 earned runs on 8 hits over 6.0 innings with 7 strikeouts and 2 walks. Oakland counters with J.T. Ginn (8-8, 3.60 ERA), who also lost his last outing, giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits over 5.0 innings against the Astros on August 21. Twins manager Derek Shelton said Joe Ryan (glute) will throw a one-inning live batting practice session Wednesday, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic, a step toward reinforcing a rotation leaning hard on arms like Prielipp's.
The market favors the Twins on the road, and the total points to a high-scoring game — a fair read given Prielipp's 5.57 ERA and a Ginn outing that got touched up by Houston. For that number to hold, Minnesota's lineup, which put up nine runs on Oakland just two nights earlier, needs to keep hitting rather than lean on a rotation whose last two turns have each allowed at least three earned runs.