Twins Finding Answers vs. Lefties as Early Barrage Continues

No team has faced left-handed pitchers more often than the Minnesota Twins so far in 2026, which is another reason why their 9-7 record is one of baseball's biggest surprises.

Through 16 games, the Twins have faced a left-handed starting pitcher nine times. That number will grow this week as they face the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds at Target Field. Boston will send Garrett Crochet and Connelly Early to the mound on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, and the Reds are scheduled to feature lefties Brandon Williamson and Andrew Abbott on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

If all goes according to plan, the Twins will have faced a left-handed starting pitcher in 13 of 22 games to begin the season. If they keep winning, it'll be even more remarkable because they've been one of Major League Baseball's worst teams against lefties since 2020.

Last year, the Twins had 1,513 at-bats against lefties, and they hit .242/.317/.389 (.706 OPS). Those numbers ranked 18th in batting average, 13th in on-base percentage, 16th in slugging percentage, and 14th in OPS. They were 11th in OPS against lefties in 2024, but they ranked 27th, 22nd, 21st, and 19th from 2020 to 2023.

The Twins' left-handed hitters were just bad last year, regardless of whether they faced a righty or a lefty on the mound. In 2025, Twins lefties hit .214/.294/.386 (.680 OPS).

This year, Twins lefties are slashing .224/.309/.390 (.699 OPS).

One has to wonder if the bad left-handed hitting, coupled with a barrage of lefty starters, will eventually catch up to the Twins. Minnesota lost four of its first five games against left-handed starters, but they've won three of four since, including wins over Tigers stars Tarik Skubal and Framber Valdez. They also roughed up a couple of lefty starters in Toronto (Patrick Corbin and Eric Lauer).

Alas, progress is progress. Maybe the Twins aren't going to be horrible against lefties this season, and the past week of success is an indication that things are trending in the right direction.

A week ago, the Twins were batting .169 with a .530 OPS against lefties, while striking out in 27% of their plate appearances. Now, they're hitting .231 with a .690 OPS, while reducing their overall strikeout rate to 23.4%. It's progress, and it's helping the Twins win at a level that nobody saw coming after the Pohlads once again cut payroll and did very little to bolster the roster in a competitive AL Central division.

The Twins deserve credit for giving fans some hope. Now they just have to keep it up for 146 more games.