Padres on deck: Visiting the trade-depleted Twins

by Jeff Sanders

San Diego Padres at Minnesota Twins

Game 1: 5:10 p.m. Friday (Padres.TV)
Game 2: 4:10 p.m. Saturday (Padres.TV)
Game 3: 10:05 a.m. Sunday (Roku)

In the standings

San Diego Padres (74-57, T-1st in NL West)

The Padres are coming off a series loss in Seattle that has dropped them two games behind the Dodgers in the division. The Padres are just one game behind the Cubs in the race for the NL’s top wild-card spot and have a three-game cushion on the Mets, the current No. 3 wild-card team. The Padres’ next nine games are against teams with a losing record, part of the calculus that has their postseason odds at 99.6%, according to Fangraphs.com.

Minnesota Twins (60-73, 4th in AL Central)

The Twins are 17 games behind the division-leading Tigers and 11½ games out of a wild-card spot. The Padres took two of three from the Twins last year in San Diego. Minnesota won 82 games last year, but a disappointing 2025 season led to the team selling at the deadline, moving the likes of shortstop Carlos Correa, starting pitcher Chris Paddack and relievers Jhoan Duran, Danny Coulombe, Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart off the roster. They’ve since lost 16 of 25 games.

San Diego: With Jackson Merrill on the injured list (see trainer’s room), DH Gavin Sheets is making the most of his opportunity as he’s hitting .350/.409/.725 with three homers and six RBIs in 15 games in August. New OF Ramón Laureano (.968 OPS in August) leads the team with six homers and new 1B Ryan O’Hearn (.815 OPS) also has three homers. Meantime, 3B Manny Machado (.596 OPS) and 1B Luis Arraez (.577 OPS) have cooled considerably this month.

Minnesota: The Twins have a .693 OPS since the trade deadline and a 5.06 ERA this month. OF Matt Wallner has seven homers and a .990 OPS, while rookie 2B Luke Keaschall has four homers and a .976 OPS in 27 games to start his career. Cold regulars in August include OF Byron Buxton (.678 OPS), INF Royce Lewis (.595 OPS) and INF Kody Clemens (.558 OPS).

Pitching matchups

Friday

Padres LHP Nestor Cortes (2-2, 4.66 ERA) | He’s got a 3.00 ERA through four starts with the Padres and is coming off throwing six shutout innings of one-hit ball in beating the Dodgers over the weekend. Cortes has a 4.13 ERA in 32⅔ innings in his career against the Twins. He last faced the Twins in 2023, allowing six runs — five earned — in 12 innings across two starts.

Twins RHP Zebby Matthews (3-4, 5.30 ERA) | The 25-year-old has a 5.88 ERA in 90⅓ innings since making his debut last year. Matthews has not completed five innings in either of his last two starts and has pitched past the sixth inning just once in 11 starts. He allowed five runs — two earned — in five innings in a loss last year at Petco Park in what was the second start of his career.

Saturday

Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (13-4, 2.82 ERA) | He has a 2.84 ERA in five starts this month, including allowing two runs in six innings last weekend in a no-decision against the Dodgers. Pivetta has a 6.19 ERA in four career starts against the Twins, which includes just an unearned run allowed in five innings in a win last year.

Twins TBA | Manager Rocco Baldelli has not announced starters for either of the last two games of the series.

Sunday

Padres TBA | With LHP JP Sears optioned out after his last start and RHP Michael King not ready to come off the injured list (see trainer’s room), RHP Randy Vásquez (3-6, 3.96 ERA) could be an option to take down innings on Sunday. Vásquez’s last appearance in the majors was as a bulk reliever against the Dodgers (3 ⅔ IP, 2 ER).

Twins TBA

Team leaders

OPS: Padres—OF Ramón Laureano (.906), 3B Manny Machado (.819), 1B Ryan O’Hearn (.833); Twins—OF Byron Buxton (.870), OF Matt Wallner (.823), C Ryan Jeffers (.741).
HRs: Padres—Laureano (21), Machado (21), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (18), OF Gavin Sheets (18); Twins—Buxton (27), Wallner (20), DH Trevor Larnach (16).
RBIs: Padres—Machado (78), Laureano (66), Sheets (60); Twins—Buxton (64), INF Brooks Lee (56), Larnach (51).
Steals: Padres—Tatis (27), SS Xander Bogaerts (20), Machado (12); Twins—Buxton (19), OF DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (8), 2B Luke Keaschall (7).
Saves: Padres—RHP Robert Suarez (35-for-40, 3.04 ERA), RHP Mason Miller (21-for-25, 3.35 ERA); Twins—RHP Justin Topa (4-for-6, 3.58 ERA), RHP Cole Sands (2-for-5, 4.03 ERA).
Holds: Padres—RHP Jason Adam (29, 1.84 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (27, 3.13 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (18, 1.78 ERA); Twins—Sands (10), Topa (3), LHP Kody Funderburk (2, 4.55 ERA).

Training room

San Diego: SS Xander Bogaerts required X-rays after fouling a ball off the top of his left foot Wednesday. He is day-to-day. OF Jackson Merrill (left ankle sprain) is progressing toward a return this weekend, while RHP Michael King (left knee inflammation) is expected to throw at least one more sim game or rehab game before rejoining the rotation. He threw 44 pitches over three simulated innings on Sunday.

Minnesota: RHP Pablo Lopez (teres major strain) hit 68 pitches in a rehab start on Tuesday with Triple-A St. Paul. C Christian Vásquez (shoulder infection), RHP David Festa (shoulder inflammation) and LHP Anthony Misiewicz (pectoral strain) remain without timetables, while OF Alan Roden (thumb strain) is done for the year.