MINNEAPOLIS — The opportunities for the Minnesota Twins were plentiful late Wednesday night, and so too were the disappointments.After earlier rallying from a four-run deficit, the Twins were on the cusp of victory three times only to fall short in an 11-6 loss in 12 innings to the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. With a chance to complete a series sweep of the moribund Tigers and gain ground in the American League wild-card race, the Twins instead headed home empty-handed.Though they remain 3 1/2 games behind in the wild-card race, the Twins enter a day off Thursday knowing a hard-fought victory narrowly eluded them.The team finished 4-for-21 with runners in scoring position.“We gave ourselves a bunch of opportunities and unfortunately we weren’t able to capitalize on those opportunities,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “We had a chance to win the game at multiple spots, and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.”No chance was bigger than in the 11th inning when the Twins rallied to tie the score at 6-6 on a Luke Keaschall single and then frittered away an opportunity with runners on the corners and one out.
TIE GAME!!! pic.twitter.com/zbUlBRSok9
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 3, 2026With the speedy Keaschall on third base, Kyle Finnegan on the mound and Detroit utilizing a five-man infield, the Twins simply needed a fly ball from Kody Clemens. He fouled off three two-strike pitches but couldn’t catch up to a 96.7 mph fastball up and in and struck out. Catcher Ryan Jeffers, who earlier doubled in the team’s first run, grounded out to end the inning.“It’s not a good feeling,” Clemens said. “I got a few good pitches to hit there. Just trying to get the ball in the air with the five-man infield, and he has a carry fastball. But regardless, I just got to get the job done for my team, and unfortunately, I didn’t.”
