MLB Baseball
2026-08-25 - Minnesota Twins at Athletics
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Tuesday 25th August 2026 - Scheduled 9:40pm EST
2:40am (British Time)
Preview
They may be 4.5 games out of the lead in the American League Central, but the Minnesota Twins (64-68) have to be approaching the last month of the season and believing they can chase down the Chicago White Sox. However, they will also need to move past the Cleveland Guardians if they are going to secure the Divisional crown, while the Guardians are also 2 games clear of the Twins in the American League Wild Card race.
As ever, consistency will be the key and the Minnesota Twins have been lacking that- they were swept in a series by the Philadelphia Phillies, which included losing the Field of Dreams Game, but rallied to sweep the Atlanta Braves. However, the Minnesota Twins were then swept by the San Diego Padres across last weekend and now need to get their own back when continuing this series.
The Twins won the opener against the slumping Athletics (51-81) and that makes it six losses in eight games for the home team. It is also vitally important for Minnesota to build up some momentum with a series against the Chicago White Sox to begin later in the week and they will hand the ball to Taj Bradley to keep them on track.
The starting pitcher has a 9-5 record and 3.90 record in twenty-five starts in his first full season with the Twins having played the first three and a half years in the Major League with the Tampa Bay Rays. Taj Bradley is on course for his best ERA in a single season and he has already secured the most decision wins in a season, which will have given him plenty of belief.
After taking the loss in one of the poorer outings of the season, Taj Bradley bounced back to restrict the Atlanta Braves to a single run in 5 Innings thrown last time out. He is 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA in his last seven starts, but Bradley has held five of those opponents to less than four runs in his time on the mound and will have hoped for more support from the batting lineup.
Taj Bradley has not thrown against the Athletics since the 2024 season when he allowed three runs in 6 Innings, but had to take the hard luck decision loss.
The Athletics will counter by giving the ball to Gage Jump who has a 5-8 record and 4.83 in sixteen starts in his rookie season and who will be looking to bounce back from his last outing.
Gage Jump allowed five runs in 4 Innings thrown against the Kansas City Royals and had to take the decision loss, which also dropped him to 1-2 in August with a 7.58 ERA.
It is no surprise that a rookie will have some inconsistent outings, but the Athletics will continue to back Gage Jump in the hope that this will all help on his learning curve in the Major League. Pitching at home will help as Gage Jump prepares to face the Minnesota Twins for the first time.
The Athletics won the first of the games played between these two teams earlier this season, but the Minnesota Twins have now won three in a row.
Prediction
All of the pressure is on the shoulders of the Minnesota Twins to win games like this one if they are going to return to the Playoffs.
A big series is coming up against the Chicago White Sox, which can be a distraction, but the Twins should still have enough to complete the series win over the Athletics for the second time this season.
Taj Bradley has been a little up and down in recent starts, but so has Gage Jump and the Twins may just have the edge at the plate to secure another win.
The Pick :
Athletics 3-5 Minnesota Twins
