Athletics Rally to Stun Twins

Lawrence Butler of the Athletics celebrating a home run against the Twins

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

August 26, 2026

Athletics 7, Twins 4

The Athletics rebounded from an early 3–0 deficit to overcome the Minnesota Twins, 7–4, Wednesday night in West Sacramento.

Athletics starting pitcher J.T. Ginn allowed four runs on six hits, with three of the hits being solo home runs. Additionally, he walked two and struck out three. Twins starter Connor Prielipp lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He also had one walk and five strikeouts.

Athletics – Twins Game Summary

The Twins took the lead when the second batter of the game, Brooks Lee, ripped a screaming liner down the right field line. It landed well up the berm for a solo home run. It became a 3–0 game in the top of the second thanks to back-to-back solo homers with two outs. The first was a missile into the Athletics bullpen in right-center by Trevor Larnach. Kaelen Culpepper followed with a deep drive well over the fence in left-center.

The Athletics got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth. A leadoff walk by Lawrence Butler and a one-out single by Tommy White put runners on the corners. Michael Stefanic drove in Butler and sent White to third with a line-drive double to the left-field corner. Brian Serven plated White with a groundout to the shortstop.

Athletics Take the Lead

A one-out sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth by Royce Lewis made the score 4–2. That was the last Twins lead of the night, however. In the bottom of the inning, a one-out single by Jonah Heim knocked Prielipp out of the game. Reliever Andrew Morris poured gasoline on the fire by allowing two straight hits, a Tommy White single and a Jeff McNeil double. The latter brought in Heim, making the score 4–3. After a strikeout by pinch-hitter Carlos Cortes, Alika Williams tripled White and McNeil home, giving the Athletics a 5–4 lead. Darell Hernaiz made it 6–4 when he followed with a single up the middle. Butler added to the lead with a one-out solo in the bottom of the seventh.

Meanwhile, Brady Basso and Elvis Alvarado protected the Athletics lead with scoreless relief. Basso tossed a scoreless seventh and eighth, with a one-out bunt single by Alan Roden being his only baserunner. Alvarado pitched a scoreless ninth to seal the 7–4 win, rendering a Larnach single and Culpepper walk harmless.

What Went Right for the Athletics

Offense

The Athletics cracked 12 hits in their comeback victory. White went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Three players went 2-for-4: Heim, Williams, and Hernaiz. Heim and Hernaiz each had two singles. Williams had a double and a triple. Williams and Heim also scored one run each. Butler went 1-for-3 with a solo home run. He scored two runs, coming around to score after drawing the team’s only walk. Stefanic and McNeil both went 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI, with McNeil also scoring a run.

Starting Pitching

It didn’t go down statistically as a Quality Start, since he allowed four earned runs. Nonetheless, Ginn kept the Athletics in the game with his six-inning effort.

Shutdown Relief

Basso and Alvarado continued their post-Trade Deadline hot streaks with their efforts between the seventh and ninth. Basso has held opponents scoreless in five of his six appearances since the August 3 Trade Deadline (83.3%; AL average at the end of play Tuesday was 72.5%). Additionally, he has a 0.577 WHIP (5 H, 0 BB), with the only run he’s allowed coming on a solo home run. That came from Taylor Walls of the Tampa Bay Rays in the 6th inning August 11 in a mop-up outing. Alvarado has held opponents without an earned run in 11 of his 12 outings since the Deadline. His only runs came on a two-run homer by Victor Mesa Jr. later in the same game.

What Went Wrong for the Athletics

Early Deficit

One blemish on this game was the fact that the Athletics fell behind in the first place. Yes, it made the game more exciting and more memorable, but Ginn and the Athletics obviously would have preferred not to have fallen behind in the first place.

Runners Left in Scoring Position

The Athletics came through with three two-out RBI. However, they did leave three other runners in scoring position.

Looking Ahead

Ginn (9–8, 3.71 ERA) earned the win as Morris (4–6, 3.79 ERA) took the loss in relief. As mentioned earlier, Alvarado notched the save.

Both the Twins (64–70) and Athletics (53–81) are off on Thursday, and both will be home Friday. The Twins will open a three-game series against their divisional leaders, the Chicago White Sox (70–63). On Friday, right-hander Dean Kremer (2–4, 5.22 ERA) will take the mound for the Twins against White Sox righty Luis Castillo. Castillo is 4–10 with a 5.19 ERA on the season. Since joining the White Sox, he has started four games (1–1, 5.89 ERA, 18 1/3 IP).

The Athletics, meanwhile, will open a three-gamer against the Baltimore Orioles (65–68). Neither team had announced a starting pitcher as of press time. The Orioles will be coming to West Sacramento the day after finishing a three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals (66–68).