Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals

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

Joe Ryan carries the Twins' faint wild-card hopes into Kauffman Stadium at 6:40 PM CT, and lately that's meant white-knuckle innings. He's gone 1-4 with a 4.91 ERA over his last six turns through the rotation, including an 0-2, 5.79 ERA line against the Royals specifically this year. He gets a rematch with Randy Dobnak, who beat Minnesota just last time out and has quietly become the least likely story in the AL Central.

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FINAL

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ML

Total

Twins(56-57)

LLWWL

2

-1.5+117-138o9.5+120

Royals(46-67)

LLLLW

8

+1.5-120+135u9.5-120

Best BetTwins -150

Pregame

Minnesota's priced around -149 on the moneyline, and that's a fair reflection of a roster with more overall talent even in a rough patch. Ryan's struggled against Kansas City this year, but the Royals' lineup is still without Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia, which caps their offensive upside against anyone. Back the Twins here, with the caveat that Dobnak has already beaten them once.

Bobby Witt Jr. is expected back in the Kansas City lineup after missing 12 games with lower back tightness, exactly the jolt a 46-67 club needs after getting outscored 27-11 during its 4-game skid. Dobnak, for his part, has allowed just 1 homer and 11 other hits across 16.1 innings since his July 2 debut with the Royals — a stretch that includes 7 shutout innings against his old team. The market still leans Minnesota to get this one back on track, even with Kansas City catching a break at shortstop.

Joe Ryan

(6-8)·3.65 ERA

Jul 29 vs Royals

L

6.0IP

4ER

4K

0BB

93P

08/04 Lineup

Randy Dobnak

(2-1)·1.73 ERA

Jul 29 @ Twins

W

7.0IP

0ER

4K

1BB

101P

08/04 Lineup

That's the tension here: a Twins team that's dropped 2 straight walk-offs in Seattle and can't find a healthy rotation arm to save its life, against a Royals team that's been broadly worse all season but has stumbled onto its best version of Dobnak right as it gets its best player back. Royce Lewis is riding an 8-game hitting streak, batting .300 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs, exactly the kind of bat Minnesota's lineup needs while injuries pile up everywhere else.

Minnesota Twins

(7)

• 10-Day-ILByron Buxton (CF) — Buxton (hip) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.07/29
• 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

Kansas City Royals

(13)

• 10-Day-ILMaikel Garcia (3B) — Garcia (hand) is scheduled to see a hand specialist next week, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports.07/31
• 10-Day-ILBobby Witt Jr. (SS) — Witt (back) is on track to return to the Royals for Tuesday's series opener against the Twins, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports.07/31
• 10-Day-ILVinnie Pasquantino (1B) — Pasquantino (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.07/29
• 15-Day-ILLuinder Avila (SP) — Avila (5-4) took the loss against Colorado on Saturday, allowing six runs on four hits and three walks while striking out two batters over 2.2 innings.08/02
• 15-Day-ILBeck Way (RP) — The Royals placed Way on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with back spasms.07/28
• 60-Day-ILConnor Seabold (RP) — The Royals placed Seabold on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a right lat strain.08/03
• 60-Day-ILStephen Kolek (SP) — Kolek will get a second opinion on his right forearm Tuesday, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports.07/31
• 60-Day-ILNick Mears (RP) — Mears (shoulder/lat) began throwing from 60 feet Monday, MLB.com reports.07/29
• 60-Day-ILCarlos Estevez (RP) — Estevez (shoulder) started a throwing program Friday, per MLB.com.07/18
• 60-Day-ILCole Ragans (SP) — Ragans underwent UCL repair surgery on his left elbow Wednesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.07/02
• 60-Day-ILJonathan India (2B) — no06/04
• 60-Day-ILJames McArthur (RP) — McArthur (elbow) underwent surgery Friday to help combat continued soreness and inflammation, MLB.com reports.05/25
• 60-Day-ILAlec Marsh (SP) — The Royals placed Marsh (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08

Both front offices spent the trade deadline patching holes. Minnesota added Dean Kremer, A.J. Minter and Jeff Hoffman to a pitching staff that desperately needed the depth, while Kansas City has just kept absorbing attrition up and down its own roster. Whoever wins the middle innings tonight probably wins the series.

Minnesota Twins

(56-57)

Aug 2L@ Mariners6-7

Aug 1L@ Mariners3-4

Aug 1W@ Mariners5-3

Jul 30Wvs Royals4-3

Jul 29Lvs Royals0-4

Kansas City Royals

(46-67)

Aug 2L@ Rockies1-8

Aug 2L@ Rockies6-12

Aug 1L@ Rockies1-3

Jul 30L@ Twins3-4

Jul 29W@ Twins4-0

Two teams heading in opposite directions in the standings are meeting at a strange midpoint: the Twins still have a race to save, the Royals are mostly playing out the string with some pride on the line. Dobnak taking the mound against his old club again is reason enough to watch.