As we come down the stretch of the MLB regular season, series and games continue to get more and more important every passing day. The Twins are currently scrapping to stay relevant in the AL Central with their deficit in the standings ping-ponging anywhere from three to six games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox. Minnesota has proven to be one of the streakiest teams in the league. They can look like the 2021 World Series Braves for one series, then look like the 2024 White Sox that lost 121 games the next. Sustained consistency is not exactly in this teams repertoire. However, despite that fact, one Twins pitcher has been the model of consistency here in 2026. Taj Bradley proved that again last night against the A’s with a little bit of Twins history.
It was truly a shame that Bradley, who has been Minnesota’s best pitcher this year, did not get selected to this year’s All-Star roster. He leads Minnesota in innings with 147.1 IP, has started more games than anyone else in the rotation, and has three more wins than Joe Ryan, the only Twins All-Star arm. Bradley has been the workhorse, and last night he did something no other Twins pitcher has accomplished.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, facing the 8-9-1 hitters for the A’s, Bradley threw what is known as an immaculate inning. For those not familiar, that is when you strike out all three batters, throw the minimum nine pitches. Three up, three down, nine straight strikes for Bradley. He got Carlos Cortes swinging on a 92.3 mph 0-2 splitter down out of the zone. Then with another 0-2 count, he got Brian Serven to chase a curveball. And he finished off the feat against leadoff man Henry Bolte, getting a called strike on a perfectly located 0-2 fastball, 99.8 mph at the very bottom of the strike zone.
It is hard to believe for a Twins organization that is as storied as they are that this has never occurred. Though to be fair, only 122 immaculate innings have ever been thrown in the history of the MLB. Even though it came in a 4-2 loss, it was a bright spot for a team that needs every boost of confidence they can get right now.
The Twins season will essentially be defined over their next five series. After wrapping up with the A’s today, it is five straight series featuring AL Central opponents. Currently sitting 5.5 games out of first, they will see the first-place White Sox twice in that span. It will either be an opportunity to close the gap, or will have them putting together vacation plans for October. Twins and A’s will wrap the series tonight at 8:05 PM CT on KGFX.
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