Twins 11, Tigers 1: Jeffers Homers Twice, Jenkins Hits His First

A first homer, two from Jeffers, nine from Bradley

August 31, 2026 – Minneapolis – Walker Jenkins had been in the big leagues since Friday. On Monday he hit a two-run homer to right, 388 feet, off a Tigers position player, and Target Field treated it like a promotion night.

Ryan Jeffers had already gone deep twice. Taj Bradley had already struck out nine. The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 11-1. Detroit 1/5/2. Minnesota 11/9/0.

Jeffers went deep twice for four RBI and Jenkins hit his first MLB homer as Bradley struck out nine in Minnesota's 11-1 win.

Jenkins, Minnesota's fifth overall pick in 2023, is 21. ESPN called him the third-youngest player in baseball. The first big-league knock was a homer. That is the detail that travels.

Clemens, then the 420-foot swing

Luke Keaschall doubled in the first and scored on Kody Clemens's sacrifice fly. Clemens made it 2-0 in the fourth with a solo shot to right, 399 feet, his 23rd.

Jackson Jobe (1-2) lasted five innings: 6 H, 5 R/4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR. The second homer ended him as a competitive start. Jeffers hit a 420-foot three-run drive to left-center in the fifth with Keaschall and Clemens on. 5-0. Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a walk and four RBI.

Detroit's only run came in the sixth. Hao-Yu Lee led off against Bradley and hit a solo homer 439 feet to center, 109.6 mph off the bat, into the Twins bullpen. 5-1. That was the Tigers' entire offense. They went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Lee's single, then the rest of the pile

Yilber Díaz took the sixth and walked into traffic. Jenkins, Royce Lewis, and Keaschall loaded the bases. Brooks Lee singled to right and cleared them. He got thrown out stretching, and the throw still let Keaschall score from first. 8-1.

Jeffers led off the seventh with his second homer, a 384-foot shot to left on a low slider, his 12th of the year. 9-1. Díaz's line: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 HR.

Zach McKinstry, a position player, threw the eighth: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 HR. Jenkins's first MLB homer, a two-run shot to right, 388 feet. 11-1. One souvenir. First career hit in the books.

Bradley did not need the 11

Bradley (10-6) went seven innings: 4 H, 1 ER, 9 K, 3 BB, 1 HR, game score 71, 104 pitches. It was his seventh outing with at least nine punchouts. ESPN noted a 5.40 ERA across five August starts before Monday. He finished the month with a 3.85 ERA and a line that looked like the pitcher Minnesota has been waiting to see again.

Tommy Nance threw two scoreless: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 K. The Twins staff struck out 11. Detroit used three pitchers and allowed four homers.

The Tigers are 63-74. The Twins are 66-72. Neither club is writing October copy. Nights like this still matter for the names. Jeffers has 12 homers. Clemens has 23. Jenkins has one, and it counted for two runs.

Minnesota scored in six of eight innings and still used only nine hits. That is extra-base damage and traffic, not a 20-hit night. Keaschall reached three times and scored three. Clemens had the sac fly and the homer. Brooks Lee's three-RBI single was the inning that made it a rout before Jeffers and Jenkins piled on.

Detroit's errors (Hao-Yu Lee fielding, Kevin McGonigle catch) kept extra runners on. Jobe's five innings were not a disaster until the 420-foot ball. Díaz and McKinstry turned the last three innings into a highlight reel for the other club. The Tigers' 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position matched the feeling: one homer, nothing else.

The inning log is a slow start and then a pile. First: Clemens sac fly, 1-0. Fourth: Clemens homer (399 ft), 2-0. Fifth: Jeffers's 420-foot three-run shot, 5-0. Sixth: Hao-Yu Lee, 5-1, then Brooks Lee's three-RBI single, 8-1. Seventh: Jeffers again (384 ft), 9-1. Eighth: Jenkins's first MLB homer (388 ft), 11-1. Minnesota left six on and still scored 11. Detroit left six on and scored one.

Bradley hit Torkelson with a pitch and still finished seven. Nance needed 26 pitches for two innings. Detroit was done swinging after the sixth.

What's next

Troy Melton (7-3, 1.86) faces Connor Prielipp (3-7, 5.55) in the middle game. Detroit has to get a starter past the fifth. Minnesota has a 21-year-old who just hit one out in his first week.

Jeffers, Bradley, and Jenkins are the names to pull up on the AthX marketplace if you want the next look at this club.

*Sources: ESPN box score, ESPN recap, MLB Gameday, MLB schedule. Information only; not financial advice.*