The last Monday of the MLB regular season ends in the Bay Area, where the Minnesota Twins will kick off a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
The Twins (73–83, 3rd AL Central) have been knocked out of the postseason race amid a miserable September. The Giants (64–92, 4th NL West) are also eliminated from playoff contention, staked to one of the worst records in baseball.
Looking at the pitching probables, we’ve got Minnesota right-hander Zebby Matthews (9–10, 4.74 ERA) taking on San Francisco righty Blade Tidwell (1–2, 4.56 ERA).
First pitch is at 9:45 p.m. ET. The Twins enter as 1.5-run road favorites with -124 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Giants are +103 underdogs, with the game total set at O/U 8.5 runs.
Twins vs. Giants Preview
Minnesota Twins
The Twins had possession of the third American League Wild Card spot at the beginning of August. But any hope that the team had at making the postseason was extinguished amid a brutal September, where they’ve gone an AL-worst 8–18 to get eliminated from playoff contention.
The Twins’ once formidable offense has fizzled without Byron Buxton, ranking 23rd in wRC+ and 27th in wOBA during this stretch. And while Minnesota’s starting rotation has remained solid, their relievers have struggled to back them up this month with MLB’s eighth-highest bullpen ERA (4.90). The pressure is on Monday’s starter Zebby Matthews, who is hoping to build on an impressive rebound performance against the Yankees; the young right-hander held New York to only two hits over six shutout innings with eight strikeouts in last week’s 5–4 win.
San Francisco Giants
The 2026 campaign was already going bad enough for the Giants. And then, almost entirely out of left field, Rafael Devers got shut down for the season with an abdomen injury on September 13. The superstar first baseman had been swinging one of MLB’s hottest bats down the stretch — pacing the majors with a 1.071 OPS since August 1 — and his absence leaves a gaping hole in an already feeble offense.
The Giants, who have dropped five of seven games since Devers went down, don’t have much room for optimism on the other side of the ball, either. San Francisco’s starting rotation is saddled with the sixth-highest ERA (5.36) since the beginning of September. Young right-hander Blade Tidwell has struggled since stepping into a starting role in August, holding a 5.01 ERA across his first eight starts (41.1 IP).
Twins vs. Giants Pick, Best Bet
Without Rafael Devers, the Giants have very few pathways to victory for the rest of the season. Even the stumbling Twins appear formidable by comparison, especially with Zebby Matthews on the hill after his encouraging last outing. Minnesota should channel that momentum, slight as it may be, into a victory in Monday’s series opener at Oracle Park.
