Roden makes most of long-awaited 2026 moment with walk-off single

MINNEAPOLIS -- Alan Roden missed out on a roster spot with the Twins in Spring Training, a victim of a roster crunch and of the fact that he had Minor League options. So he went to Triple-A St. Paul, put his head down and did what he’s pretty much always done: Hit. It wasn’t enough.

After getting off to a strong start at St. Paul, he suffered a shoulder injury that almost certainly cost him multiple opportunities at a call-up. He was unavailable when Matt Wallner was optioned, and when James Outman was designated for assignment. He saw possible chances come and go, that he couldn’t capitalize on.

But he kept his head up, got back to full health, and, you guessed it, kept hitting. Roden waited more than three months for his chance. And when it finally came, he jumped all over it. The second-year outfielder laced a two-out, bases-loaded, walk-off single in the ninth inning to give the Twins a hard-earned 6-5 win as well as a series win against the Guardians at Target Field on Wednesday night.

It was the second RBI of the game for Roden, who had a game-tying single in the fourth. He was called up Tuesday to take the roster spot of Byron Buxton, who was placed on the injured list with a strained right hip. He’d never had a walk-off hit in the Major Leagues before.

“You've got to play baseball where you're at and that's how I've always viewed it,” said Roden. “It's just wherever I am I've got to play as well as I can and do it for my teammates. I'm really happy to be here. Finally feeling really happy to get the call. It's awesome.”

It hasn’t just been a long three months for Roden. His journey with the Twins goes back nearly a year. He was acquired at the Trade Deadline last year in the controversial deal that sent Louis Varland to Toronto. He was immediately added to the roster, but played in only 12 games before a thumb injury ended his season.

Roden enjoyed a strong Spring Training and on merit likely deserved to make the team. But Outman was out of options and the Twins didn't want to risk losing him, so Roden was optioned and Outman stayed. Roden hurt his shoulder in late April and missed six weeks, then came back and picked right up where he’d left off.

And still he waited, until Buxton was shelved on Tuesday. Roden sat that night and got his first game action of the Major League season on Wednesday, and he was ready.

“To be able to not only one, battle back injury-wise, to get back on the field, and then to be able to step up in a big moment against a team that’s ahead of us in the division I think is really important,” said manager Derek Shelton. “We know this kid can hit. Coming in, that’s the first thing I heard when we talked about Alan Roden. But, cool moment for him tonight.”

And it wasn’t just a big moment in the game, it was a big one in the season. The win was the Twins’ fourth straight, eighth in 11 games and 14th in the last 21. It pulled them within one game of .500 for the first time since the morning of May 27.

They have won four straight series and seven out of eight, and they pulled within a game of Cleveland for second place in the American League Central, two games behind the White Sox. They’re just one-half game out of the last American League Wild Card spot, and FanGraphs rates their playoff chances at 41.1 percent.

“It's really exciting,” Roden said. “I'm so happy to contribute to the team and this organization, to win us a game. It means a lot.”