Twins continue slide in standings with 7-4 loss to White Sox, spoiling Walker Jenkins' debut

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Aug 28, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

MINNEAPOLIS — Beginning a series with the first-place Chicago White Sox at Target Field, with top prospect Walker Jenkins making his major league debut Friday, the Twins desperately needed a spark coming off a terrible road trip.

What the Twins received instead was a four-run deficit before their first trip to the plate.

The Twins erased their bad start, tying the score by the second inning, and Jenkins recorded his first career hit in his second at-bat, but the Twins couldn’t break out of their funk in a 7-4 loss to the White Sox.

The Twins have lost six of their last seven games. They’re now seven games below .500 with a 64-71 record, and they’re a season-worst 7 1/2 games out of first place in the American League Central standings.

Jenkins drew a standing ovation from the announced crowd of 28,140 before his first at-bat, and another standing ovation after he flew out to the warning track in center in his first at-bat. He singled in the fourth inning with a line drive to right field on a first-pitch change-up and drew a walk in the sixth inning.

With the score tied in the third inning, Twins trade acquisition Dean Kremer surrendered a leadoff double to Munetaka Murakami and a go-ahead RBI double to Andrew Benintendi.

The White Sox added a run during the fourth inning after Tristan Peters, who hit a leadoff single against Kremer, scored on a passed ball when Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers mishandled a 91-mph cutter. In the sixth, Chase Meidroth poked a leadoff double down the left-field line, advanced on a flyout and scored on a wild pitch.

Kremer delivered his worst start in a Twins uniform, giving up seven hits and six runs (five earned) in four innings while walking three batters. He allowed four consecutive two-out hits in the first inning, including an RBI single to Benintendi and a three-run homer to Colson Montgomery.

The Twins had a three-run first inning against White Sox starter Luis Castillo via a two-run homer from Brooks Lee and a solo homer from Kody Clemens. Trevor Larnach hit a leadoff double in the second inning and scored on an RBI single from Lee.

That was it for the Twins offense, which went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

When Jenkins singled in the fourth inning, putting two runners on base with no outs, Castillo escaped with a flyout, infield pop-up and a foul out against the top three hitters in the Twins lineup.

In a two-run game in the sixth inning, the Twins had runners on the corners with one out after a leadoff single from Trevor Larnach and a walk from Jenkins in lefty-on-lefty matchups against White Sox reliever Hagen Smith. After right-hander Grant Taylor entered, Luke Keaschall grounded into an unconventional inning-ending double play where Murakami touched first base and threw out Larnach at the plate.