Twins fall to Athletics, 4-2, in 10 innings

Bobby Nightengale, Star Tribune on Aug 20, 2025

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — In a 4-2 loss to the Athletics on Wednesday, the lasting image may be Twins reliever Génesis Cabrera punching his glove after giving up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Shea Langeliers to begin the 10th inning.

Or it could be right fielder James Outman lining up underneath a fly ball in the ninth inning, losing his footing, falling to the ground and watching a ball sail past him for a double in the ninth inning.

Neither was the sole reason the Twins lost to the A’s, one of two teams that carries a worse record in the American League, in front of an announced crowd of 18,448 at Target Field. That probably falls on the offense, which produced two hits in 15 at-bats with a runner in scoring position.

The Twins have a 1-5 record on their current homestand against the A’s and Detroit. Some pockets of fans chanted, “Sell the team!” after Langeliers’ homer.

A 10-minute sequence that started in the bottom of the third inning was an encapsulation of the Twins’ season. James Outman hammered a leadoff double down the right-field line off Athletics right-hander J.T. Ginn, a heavy sinkerballer. Ryan Fitzgerald followed with a hit to right field, and he aggressively took second on a cutoff throw around first base.

Despite two runners in scoring position and no outs, the Twins turned it into nothing. Outman was thrown out at the plate, running on contact, when Byron Buxton hit a ground ball to third base. Buxton didn’t attempt to steal on the next four pitches before Trevor Larnach grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Two batters into the fourth inning, A’s left fielder Tyler Soderstrom hit a solo homer off Bailey Ober.

The Twins have been one of the league’s worst teams at hitting with runners in scoring position this year, and it’s an issue that resurfaced lately. They entered Wednesday with losses in six of their past eight games, and they hit .130 (9 for 69) with runners on second or third during that stretch.

Offered a bit of a mulligan in the fifth inning, the Twins finally took advantage and erased their two-run deficit. Outman opened with another double, his first game with multiple extra-base hits since a two-homer game on July 4, 2023, and Larnach delivered a two-out RBI single.

Brooks Lee, the next batter, added a game-tying RBI double to center, his sixth straight game with an extra-base hit. Lee has recorded nine RBIs over his last four games.

The Twins, who ran into three outs on the basepaths, didn’t have another runner in scoring position until the eighth inning. After Justin Topa stranded the bases loaded in the top half of the inning, striking out pinch-hitter Colby Thomas, Lee and Luke Keaschall hit back-to-back singles.

The potential rally fizzled with two fly balls to center and Matt Wallner bounced into an inning-ending groundout, spiking his helmet as he approached first base.

Ober, making his fourth start since he returned from a hip injury, pitched with diminished velocity. He threw only two fastballs above 90 mph. Across the board, all his pitches were about 1 mph below his season average.

Yet, it didn’t bother him.

He permitted three hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out seven batters, matching his highest total of the season. A’s batters whiffed on 40% of their swings, as Ober tallied a strikeout with five separate pitches (four-seam fastball, sweeper, slider, curveball and change-up).

It’s easier to ignore the radar gun when every hitter looks overwhelmed. Well, almost every hitter. Soderstrom opened the second inning with a double to center, and he later scored on a sacrifice fly. In the fourth inning, Soderstrom deposited a down-the-middle change-up over the wall in center field for his solo homer.

Soderstrom had two hits and two runs against Ober. The rest of the A’s lineup went 1 for 17 with a walk.