Twins thoughts: Taj Bradley, Trevor Larnach keep team tied for wild-card spot headed to break

MINNEAPOLIS — Though the Minnesota Twins are entering the All-Star break with nearly an identical record to last season, the attitude in the clubhouse is much different.

In a good way.

The Twins clinched their eighth series victory in nine tries on Sunday afternoon with a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels at Target Field. Taj Bradley shook off two solo home runs and pitched in soul-sucking heat to deliver seven strong innings, Andrew Morris went two frames for the save, and 2018 draftees Ryan Jeffers and Trevor Larnach powered the offense as the Twins won their sixth straight rubber match.

In doing so, the Twins improved to 48-49. They’re tied for the third and final wild card spot in the American League and hoping to force the front office to add talent ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

A year ago, the Twins were 47-49 at the break and already worried about becoming sellers.

“We’ve always believed in the team that we have,” Jeffers said. “I feel like that’s such a cliched thing to say, but we believe in who we are and the brand of baseball that we play. But we’re learning, we’re evolving, there’s constant shuffling in the infield. We’re trying to learn our identity and I feel like over the last couple of weeks, we’ve really figured that out.”

Signs of this team’s growth from spring training were everywhere in Sunday’s victory. Most of them exemplify selflessness and demonstrate how players on manager Derek Shelton’s squad are buying in.

— Ryan Kreidler, who began the season at Triple-A and has logged 19 games in center field, made spectacular defensive plays at shortstop in three consecutive innings. Embodying a versatile mindset like so many of his teammates by moving around defensively, Kreidler made a diving grab to end the fifth inning and turned a critical 6-4-3 double play on a slow grounder off Jo Adell’s bat to end the sixth, a play that helped Bradley escape unscathed from a first-and-third, no-out jam.

“They got quick hands in the middle of the infield,” Bradley said. “I ain’t worried about it. That’s why you saw me walk off (the mound). … That’s what Jeffers told me going out to the mound. ‘We get the double-play ball and we can get out of it.’”

— For the second time in three days, Morris, a byproduct of the open-tryout situation in the bullpen, provided two scoreless innings. Knowing Yoendrys Gómez and several others weren’t available to pitch, Morris returned after a quick eighth inning and stranded a pair of runners in the ninth to convert his third save, lowering his ERA to 3.33 with 48 strikeouts in 46 innings.

— Then there’s Larnach, who’s excelled when hitting in the leadoff spot, delivering two key hits Sunday. Prior to 2026, Larnach batted leadoff 33 times in his career and mostly struggled. Sunday’s game, one in which he produced a game-tying single and homered in the eighth to provide insurance, was Larnach’s 26th game hitting leadoff this season. He’s batting .344/.393/.367 with four homers and 15 RBIs in those contests.

“We’ve seen that left-handed swing tear up everybody out there,” Jeffers said. “Just getting that extra run was huge. He’s been crushing the whole year. … He fits well in that leadoff spot. He controls the zone well. He’s a really good player.”

Typically, clubhouses are in festive moods the last day before the All-Star break because players finally know they’re about to receive a few days to rest. Many race out of the clubhouse to catch flights to faraway destinations with their minds already on the beach, pool or lake. But numerous Twins stuck around a little longer on Sunday and made sure to say their goodbyes, perhaps to soak up the positive energy just a little longer.

“It’s really fun,” Bradley said. “I think people are becoming everyday players, everybody is (finding) their routines and roles and everything like that. It’s all coming together.”

Here’s several more thoughts as the Twins head into the break after another series victory.

— Shelton suggested that requesting players switch positions has become easier for coaches as the brand new staff becomes more familiar with the group. This season, the Twins asked Brooks Lee to move off shortstop to third base. Kody Clemens started at first base and right field, then briefly moved to center, and is now settling in at second base. Royce Lewis moved from third to first base and has appeared at second. And Luke Keaschall began at second base, moved to right field and now is in center.

The team’s current alignment is easily its most effective of the season and is impacting games positively after a rough start.

“We needed to take a look at guys in certain situations and certain spots,” Shelton said. “I think we’re settling into where our roster is. I mean, we’ll continue to look to upgrade it. But overall, we’re pleased with how everybody has adjusted to the movement.”

— The team rewarded Byron Buxton’s decision to accept an injured list stint with a 4-2 record on the homestand. If he’d insisted, the Twins might have given Buxton additional runway with his right hip strain, knowing how important it was to the three-time All-Star to avoid an IL trip.

But Buxton knew sitting now is for the better. Though he’s disappointed he won’t start in the All-Star Game, Buxton recognizes doing so is counterintuitive to what he wants to accomplish, especially after his experience in New York.

Buxton returned to the lineup last Saturday after four days off and re-injured himself on Sunday.

“The biggest thing is winning here,” Buxton said. “It wasn’t a hard thing for me. I’m still going (to Philadelphia). … It ain’t like we didn’t try. It was just the body telling me ‘You’ve got to make sure you take care of this if you want to be able to do the things you want to do.’”

Shelton, who was invited to be on the AL coaching staff and was traveling with Buxton and Joe Ryan to the All-Star Game, wouldn’t commit to his center fielder returning to the lineup when the second half resumes Friday. But Shelton is hopeful Buxton is ready to play either in Chicago or Cleveland during a seven-game trip.

— Cole Sands took another positive step back in his rehab on Saturday, throwing a scoreless inning for Triple-A St. Paul. For a second straight outing, Sands’ pitch velocities were all up from his yearly average.

But Sands must show the Twins more before they’re willing to bring him back, and its why he’s headed to Fort Myers to continue working. Saturday’s appearance arrived four days after Sands’ previous outing. The Twins need to see him pitch closer together than every four days, perhaps even working on back-to-back days before he would rejoin the major-league club.

— Buxton said he and Royce Lewis were both excited about the addition of reliever Tommy Nance, who arrived in Minneapolis early Saturday morning and allowed a run in his Twins debut that afternoon. Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday when the team was in San Diego, Nance has 174 strikeouts and a 4.28 ERA in 160 career innings.

The Twins acquired Nance and $250,000 in international bonus money from the Blue Jays in exchange for minor-league catcher Ryan Sprock. A day after trading Sprock, the Twins selected college catchers Vahn Lackey and Carson Tinney with their top two picks of the amateur draft.

“That’s one of those moves where it’s like, ‘OK, that’s exciting,’” Buxton said. “Me and Royce were talking. That was one guy we never wanted to face coming out of their bullpen. Little things like that get us sparked up in here.”