3 takeaways after Twins' first home series of 2026

MINNEAPOLIS – A strong start from Simeon Woods Richardson ended in a disappointing finish as the Twins dropped their third straight series to open the season Sunday, losing 4-1 to the Rays in 10 innings. Here are three takeaways from the game and the first home series of the year.

1. SWR deserves respect
He can be a bit of a forgotten man between veterans Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober and hard-throwing trade acquisitions Taj Bradley and Mick Abel, but Woods Richardson just keeps turning in steady outings. He went 6 2/3 on Sunday, the longest outing by a Minnesota starter this year, holding the Rays to one run.

Dating back to last June, Woods Richardson has a 2.90 ERA over his last 16 starts. He doesn’t throw hard for a right-hander, and he doesn’t always miss a lot of bats, but that’s a lengthy stretch of effective pitching.

“I think in our game today, we get enamored with strikeouts,” said manager Derek Shelton. “And we get enamored with big velocity. There are guys that have the ability to pitch and stay off the barrel, and I think Sim is one of those guys.”

Woods Richardson has done it while largely phasing out his curveball and incorporating a splitter much more regularly, adjusting his arsenal on the fly in the Major Leagues. That’s not an easy task, but he relishes the challenge of problem-solving on the mound.

“That’s pitching,” he said. “At the end of the day, that’s what I grew up watching. I don’t have 100 [miles per hour]. I can look up on the board and see I don’t have 100. So you’ve got to get creative in different ways.”

2. Somebody needs to get some hits
The Twins' offense has some power, and the lineup has shown a good approach in the early going. They’re just not doing the most basic thing: getting base hits. As of 8 p.m. CT Sunday, Minnesota is tied for eighth in the Majors in walks (40), tied for 13th in home runs (nine) and tied for 15th in runs (38). But with one run each of the last two days, it’s clear that not everything is going great with the offense. In four of the nine games, Minnesota has been held to one run.

If there’s one thing that’s missing, it’s singles. Twins hitters have had a tough time getting the base hit to keep the line moving. They’re hitting .192 as a team (29th) and .202 with runners on base (27th).

“I think it’s just guys that are guys that are just trying to have a really good start and maybe it’s a little bit of that rather than just trusting yourself and not trying to do too much,” said Kody Clemens.

It doesn’t get any easier. The Tigers will roll out Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez the next three nights. It’s probably too early to start looking at personnel adjustments, but before too long, it wouldn’t be shocking if internal discussions begin about players like Kaelen Culpepper (Minnesota's No. 2 prospect, No. 49 overall) and Alan Roden, who are off to strong starts at Triple-A St. Paul.

3. The bullpen is a work in progress
Zak Kent was optioned and recent pickup Garrett Acton was added to the roster on Sunday, and that’s not going to be the last move you see. Sunday was the fifth game in a stretch of playing on 15 straight days for the Twins, and for the most part their starters are not going deep in games. That puts strain on a bullpen, and means that pitchers with options are very much in jeopardy of having those options used.

As for the pitchers who are around, there was good and bad over the weekend. Kody Funderburk and Cole Sands turned in strong performances Sunday, and Eric Orze has turned in a couple of nice showings. But the 10th was ugly in Sunday’s loss.

What they’re still lacking is the ability to miss bats. Twins relievers are 23rd in the Majors in strikeouts per nine innings and 26th in strikeout-to-walk ratio.