Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
LAA	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	7	0
MIN	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	—	4	6	0

Sunday's finale at Target Field was a rematch of arms trending in opposite directions. Taj Bradley (8-3, 3.65 ERA) took the ball for Minnesota against José Soriano (8-5, 3.32 ERA) in a 1:10 PM CT matinee, and both starters came in with something to prove after Angels bats had powered through the first two games of the set.

Show fees

FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Angels(38-58)

LWLWL

2

+1.5-167+122o8.5-138

Twins(47-49)

WLLWW

4

-1.5+163-125u8.5+135

Best BetTwins -135

Postgame

Hit — Bradley and the Twins pitching staff shut the door for a 4-2 win, exactly the outright Twins backing this pick argued for.

Pregame

We backed the Twins at -128 on the moneyline, leaning on Bradley's emerging front-of-rotation form against an Angels club that's simply the worst team in the sport by record. Soriano can be dominant in flashes, but Minnesota's overall depth and home-field edge made this a lean worth taking even at a short price.

The Twins were without Byron Buxton again, who's on the 10-day IL with a hip strain that also cost him a scheduled start in this year's All-Star Game — extending his and Mike Trout's long run of just missing each other whenever these two clubs meet. Minnesota's rotation depth chart reads like a triage list beyond Bradley, with Pablo López, David Festa and Mick Abel all out for extended stretches, which raises the stakes every time Bradley takes the ball.

José Soriano

(9-6)·3.29 ERA

Jul 7 @ Rangers

ND

6.0IP

2ER

4K

2BB

93P

07/12 Lineup

Taj Bradley

(9-4)·3.69 ERA

Jul 7 vs Guardians

W

7.0IP

1ER

10K

0BB

101P

07/12 Lineup

None of that matters much when the guy on the bump is doing what Bradley's been doing. The Angels, on the other hand, are staring at an 11th straight losing season and a GM change mid-year, and even with a couple of useful arms, the front office's refusal to fully sell has left this roster patched together rather than built.

Los Angeles Angels

(38-58)

Jul 11L@ Twins3-5

Jul 11W@ Twins4-3

Jul 10L@ Rangers6-7

Jul 9W@ Rangers13-1

Jul 8L@ Rangers3-8

Minnesota Twins

(47-49)

Jul 11Wvs Angels5-3

Jul 11Lvs Angels3-4

Jul 9Lvs Guardians2-5

Jul 8Wvs Guardians6-5

Jul 7Wvs Guardians3-1

Minnesota broke through with a three-run second inning and never really let go after that. The Angels scratched across single runs in the second and seventh but couldn't string enough together against a Twins pitching staff that's clearly rounding into form at the right time, even in a season that's been more about evaluation than contention.

Los Angeles Angels

(10)

• 10-Day-ILSebastian Rivero (C) — Rivero (hand) has been catching at the Angels' spring complex in Arizona, MLB.com reports.07/12
• 10-Day-ILAdam Frazier (2B) — The Angels announced Saturday that Frazier (elbow) has been hitting on the field, taking grounders and running, but he's not yet throwing at full intensity, MLB.com reports.07/05
• 10-Day-ILGustavo Campero (C) — The Angels selected Campero's contract from Double-A Rocket City and placed him on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a fractured hand.06/06
• 60-Day-ILTravis d'Arnaud (C) — D'Arnaud (foot) caught Yusei Kikuchi's bullpen session July 5 and progressed to running the bases July 10, MLB.com reports.07/12
• 60-Day-ILBen Joyce (RP) — Joyce (shoulder) is set to begin a minor-league rehab assignment with the Angels' Arizona Complex league squad Tuesday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.07/07
• 60-Day-ILYusei Kikuchi (SP) — Kikuchi (shoulder) threw a bullpen session Sunday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.07/05
• 60-Day-ILJack Kochanowicz (SP) — Kochanowicz's Tommy John surgery on his right elbow was deemed "successful," per MLB.com.06/27
• 60-Day-ILYoan Moncada (3B) — Moncada will require surgery on his right knee, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.06/09
• 60-Day-ILRobert Stephenson (RP) — The Angels announced that Stephenson underwent ligament and flexor repair surgery on his right elbow Wednesday and is likely to miss the remainder of the season, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILAnthony Rendon (3B) — The Angels placed Rendon (hip) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Minnesota Twins

(9)

• 10-Day-ILByron Buxton (CF) — The Twins placed Buxton (hip) on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Aaron Gleeman of AaronGleeman.com reports.07/07
• 15-Day-ILAnthony Banda (RP) — Banda underwent surgery to repair his left lat strain and will miss the remainder of the 2026 season, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.07/09
• 15-Day-ILConnor Prielipp (SP) — Prielipp did not factor into the decision Wednesday against the Twins, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out six.07/09
• 15-Day-ILMarco Raya (RP) — The Twins placed Raya on the 15-day injured list Wednesday due to a right shoulder impingement.07/08
• 15-Day-ILCole Sands (RP) — Sands (forearm) tossed a perfect inning in his rehab appearance with Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday.07/08
• 15-Day-ILMick Abel (SP) — Abel underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.07/06
• 60-Day-ILGarrett Acton (RP) — Acton (shoulder) was expected to resume facing hitters last week, MLB.com reports.07/06
• 60-Day-ILDavid Festa (SP) — The Twins announced June 1 that Festa (shoulder) has started a throwing progression, MLB.com reports.06/11
• 60-Day-ILPablo Lopez (SP) — The Twins placed Lopez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08

Los Angeles got 7 hits and stayed within a couple runs deep into the game, which tracks with a lineup that's shown real thump lately — a 13-1 blowout of Texas was still fresh from last week. But stranding chances against a Twins pitching staff playing with something to prove is how a series slips away, and that's exactly what happened.

Final score aside, the bigger story out of Minneapolis this weekend might be Bradley himself. A pitcher who came over in a trade last year as a change-of-scenery arm now looks like the centerpiece of whatever the Twins build next, and Sunday's series-clinching win was just another data point.