Atlanta Braves at Minnesota Twins

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ATL	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	0	4	7	1
MIN	0	0	1	0	3	0	2	0	—	6	10	0

The Braves turned to AJ Smith-Shawver for the finale, calling him up to start against a Twins team that had already taken the first two games of the set. Taj Bradley got the ball for Minnesota looking to be sharper than his last time out, when he lasted just 4 innings against Philadelphia. First pitch was 12:40 PM CT at Target Field.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Braves(74-52)

LLWLL

4

-1.5+153-104o8.5-117

Twins(62-65)

WWLLL

6

+1.5-156+104u8.5+125

Best BetTwins +102

Postgame

Minnesota backed up the pick, scoring in three different innings and closing it out 6-4. The bull case on Bradley's track record held up enough even though he wasn't dominant, and Atlanta's thinner roster showed exactly like the case expected — the Braves' late rally in the 5th and 6th wasn't enough to erase an early hole.

Pregame

Minnesota's won the first two of this set and gets Buxton back in the middle of the lineup, while Atlanta is trotting out a starter making just his second appearance since Tommy John surgery. The Braves still have the better overall record, but that gap has closed fast the last two days at Target Field.

Smith-Shawver is still building his workload back after more than a year away from the majors following elbow surgery, and his velocity has reportedly ticked up into the high-90s since he returned to Atlanta's rotation. Bradley, meanwhile, carried a 9-5 record and a 3.90 ERA into the day, numbers that look better than his last outing suggested. Both offenses had reasons for concern: Atlanta's bullpen is running thin with multiple relievers on the injured list, and Minnesota is still without Joe Ryan and just lost outfielder Austin Martin to a hamstring strain.

AJ Smith-Shawver

(0-0)·6.23 ERA

Jul 29 @ Mets

ND

4.1IP

2ER

4K

2BB

69P

08/19 Lineup

Taj Bradley

(9-5)·3.90 ERA

Aug 13 vs Phillies

L

4.0IP

5ER

3K

4BB

89P

08/19 Lineup

None of that stopped the market from installing the Twins as the play across the board, and the price didn't move much off it. Atlanta had dropped 4 of its last 6 coming in, a rough stretch for a team that still sits comfortably atop its division, while Minnesota had won 2 straight and looked like the fresher club standing on the field.

The script played out almost exactly like the two games before it. Minnesota scratched across a run in the 3rd, blew it open with 3 more in the 5th, and tacked on 2 in the 7th to finish at 6. Atlanta's offense stirred late, with 1 run in the 5th and 3 in the 6th, but by then the deficit was too much to erase. The Braves also committed an error while being outhit 10-7, the kind of sloppy afternoon that's defined this whole series for them.

Atlanta Braves

(74-52)

Aug 18L@ Twins1-4

Aug 17L@ Twins2-4

Aug 16Wvs Diamondbacks5-3

Aug 15Lvs Diamondbacks3-10

Aug 14Lvs Diamondbacks0-2

Minnesota Twins

(62-65)

Aug 18Wvs Braves4-1

Aug 17Wvs Braves4-2

Aug 16Lvs Phillies5-7

Aug 15Lvs Phillies1-9

Aug 13Lvs Phillies1-7

Atlanta now walks away from Minneapolis having been outscored badly across 3 games and looking every bit like a team that's lost its footing after a hot summer. The division cushion buys them time, but the pitching depth issues aren't going anywhere with Schwellenbach, Strider and multiple relievers still working back.

Atlanta Braves

(7)

• 15-Day-ILReynaldo Lopez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said that Lopez (knee) completed a bullpen session Tuesday, Jesus Cano of The Athletic reports.08/14
• 15-Day-ILRobert Suarez (RP) — Suarez (elbow) will advance his throwing progression on flat ground Thursday, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.08/12
• suspensionJurickson Profar (LF) — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.05/08
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Schwellenbach (elbow) is still not feeling 100 percent and will have his throwing progression slowed, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.08/12
• 60-Day-ILSpencer Strider (SP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Monday that Strider (elbow) will begin a throwing progression this week, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.08/10
• 60-Day-ILJoe Jimenez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss revealed Wednesday that Jimenez underwent another surgery on his left knee 3-to-4 weeks ago, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.05/13
• 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz (knee) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08

Minnesota Twins

(8)

• 10-Day-ILAustin Martin (RF) — Twins manager Derek Shelton said that Martin sustained a left hamstring strain in the eighth inning of Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Phillies and will be sent in for an MRI, Aaron Gleeman of Aaron Gleeman.com reports.08/17
• 15-Day-ILJoe Ryan (SP) — Ryan (glute) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.08/19
• 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
• 60-Day-ILMike Paredes (SP) — The Twins transferred Paredes (oblique) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Saturday.08/02
• 60-Day-ILCole Sands (RP) — Sands will undergo arthroscopic surgery Tuesday to remove loose bodies and bone spurs from his right elbow, Jack Azoulay-Haron of ElEmergente.com reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILDavid Festa (SP) — Festa (shoulder) will undergo a season-ending double surgery Wednesday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.07/29
• 60-Day-ILMick Abel (SP) — The Twins plan to re-evaluate Abel (elbow) on Sept. 1, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.07/20
• 60-Day-ILPablo Lopez (SP) — The Twins placed Lopez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08

Minnesota, for its part, gets to enjoy a series sweep of a first-place club while nursing its own issues in the outfield and rotation. It's the kind of result that won't move the standings much in either direction, but it's a real data point on how vulnerable Atlanta's pitching staff has become down the stretch.