SAN DIEGO -- For the first time in a while, the Twins had momentum on their side.
They flew into San Diego ahead of their weekend set against the Padres having just swept a first-place Braves squad at home, tied for the third and final American League Wild Card spot with the Rangers.
Their much-improved bullpen was dealing. Their lineup was clicking. It felt like the start of a turnaround in the middle of what has been a rough month. But, just when it seemed like a sustainable late-season run might be materializing, the Twins fell flat.
Minnesota was swept by the Padres to open its six-game West Coast road trip following an 8-1 loss in Sunday afternoon’s finale at Petco Park. It dropped the Twins (63-68) two games back of that final AL Wild Card spot, with the Guardians, Rangers and Blue Jays all in front of them, as Minnesota fell to 7-13 in August.
“They beat us in all facets of the game,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “They beat us. … We’ve got to rebound after that.”
It was a series that featured some important positives, unlike what we saw when the Twins were swept by the Phillies last weekend.
Trade Deadline acquisition Dean Kremer and Bailey Ober turned in solid starts on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Switch-hitting third baseman Brooks Lee continued to heat up (batting .327 with a .986 OPS since Aug. 9) from both sides of the plate. Luke Keaschall continued to excel at the top of the order (4-for-12 with a home run in the series).
There wasn’t much else to speak of outside of that, though.
Compare that to everything that went well during the Twins’ last set against Atlanta, and it couldn’t have been more opposite. These drastic swings of inconsistency have been all too familiar this season for the Twins, who have failed to win more than four consecutive games at any point in 2026.
Did this weekend considerably tank their postseason odds? Definitely not. With 31 games remaining, there’s still a little more time to go on a serious run. And given the collective shakiness of the field vying for the third Wild Card spot, who knows what might happen?
But the Twins can’t rely on others to determine their fate. Time is running out.
“I think we just need to find some consistency,” Ober said. “Obviously, we're out there [giving] our best effort. I think we just need to lock in and go out there and try to win the day. You can't worry about too far ahead, and looking at the end of the year and standings and stuff like that. I think we just need to go out there and handle business each day.”
It didn’t help that they ran into a scorching-hot Fernando Tatis Jr., who virtually took over the weekend by going 9-for-14 with a pair of homers (both of which came on Sunday) and six RBIs.
Padres pitchers held the Twins’ lineup to just two walks over the three games, a primary indicator of just how effective they were at keeping Minnesota off the bases and out of the run column.
"They're a great team, and probably the hottest team since the [All-Star] break, honestly,” Royce Lewis said. “We ran into Fernando Tatis, and when he's hot, he can carry a whole lineup -- and that's what he did this whole series, unfortunately for us."
The Twins head to West Sacramento for three games against the A’s starting Monday, before returning home for a crucial homestand against the White Sox and Tigers.
Minnesota is counting on center fielder Byron Buxton reestablishing his elite form at some point -- he’s scuffled mightily since returning from a nagging right hip injury earlier this month, going 4-for-31 (.129) since coming off the injured list on Aug. 13. It also hopes to get right-hander Joe Ryan (mild left glute strain) back at some point to help stabilize the rotation down the stretch.
More important than all of that, though, is the Twins finding that momentum again, and this time, seizing it.
“We're gonna play good teams from here on out,” right-hander Jeff Hoffman said. “So we’ve got to do what we do. And on the pitching side, get ahead, stay ahead and put guys away. The hitters got to do what they got to do. If we stick to our [strengths], we'll be fine. Obviously, you don't want to ever do that -- what we just did -- but we’ll turn the page and get ready to play tomorrow.”