DENVER — The Twins began the second half of their season on Friday evening in Denver with 12 pivotal games left before the July 31 trade deadline, and as they attempt to work their way up in the wild-card standings, a series against the Colorado Rockies — who are on pace to finish with the worst record in Major League Baseball history — looked like a good place to start.

But the Twins would never recover on Friday after starter Chris Paddack allowed extra-base hits to the first four batters he faced. That put them in a four-run hole in an eventual 6-4 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field.

“It’s hard being down four runs before you even get off the mark but all that said, we fought back and didn’t have enough,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We have to do a better job obviously staying in the game and not falling out of the game early.”

The game could have looked different if Rockies (23-74) third baseman Ryan McMahon hadn’t made a leaping snare on a Ty France liner, which would have scored a run and extended the first inning.

But instead of grabbing an early lead, the Twins (47-50) fell into an early hole when Paddack allowed doubles to the first two batters he faced, producing the first run of the game. Jordan Beck, who finished a double shy of the cycle, then tripled home Colorado’s second run and McMahon added on with a two-run home run to center field.

Paddack would walk another batter and allow a single, requiring 34 pitches to get through one inning of work. While the results improved over the course of the rest of his start — he allowed a solo home run to Beck in the second inning but nothing else in his five innings of work — the Twins couldn’t claw their way back.

“I felt like they came out and they were on time for my fastball,” Paddack said. “Normally, that first time through the lineup, I try and establish the fastball and then we make adjustment as needed. They came out and the next thing I know, it’s 2-0 pretty quick.”

Rockies starter Kyle Freeland, aided by some sharp defense behind him, allowed just a run in his six innings of work. That run came on All-Star Byron Buxton’s team-leading 22nd home run of the year. Buxton finished the day with three hits.

But while Freeland, who was 1-10 entering the day, dealt with plenty of traffic in his start, the Twins weren’t able to capitalize on their baserunners. In his last inning of work, the Twins put the first two runners on before striking out three times to end their threat.

“He was trying to get us to chase a lot,” Willi Castro said. “You have to have patience if you want to have good results. He was getting people to chase his offspeed pitches.”

All told, the Twins finished the day 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, leaving eight men on.

That one hit came in the seventh inning when Castro launched the first pitch off his at-bat out to center field for a homer, bringing home three runs. But though they got within two runs, they were unable to dent the Rockies’ lead further, with Brooks Lee hitting into a double play to end the top of the eighth before the Twins left Ryan Jeffers, who had a career-high four hits in the loss, on base in the ninth.

Eight of the Twins’ 10 hits in the loss came from Buxton, Jeffers and Castro, who were hitting atop the lineup.

“We hit a lot of very hard-hit balls. We hit line drives. Early in the game, really nothing was falling and that’s part of the game,” Baldelli said. “We put the work in (and) didn’t really get the results that we needed.”

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If opening day of the Minnesota Yacht Club music festival is any indication of what the rest of the weekend will hold, the success of last year’s inaugural festival was no mere beginner’s luck.

On a relatively cool Friday afternoon, Harriet Island Regional Park felt bustling as soon as the festival gates opened at 12:30 and became even more electric as tens of thousands of people filled the park throughout the afternoon. (Official attendance numbers were not made available but, in the lead-up to the festival, organizers anticipated daily attendance at about 35,000.)

The 2024 festival drew about 70,000 people to Harriet Island and, despite snags like pre-festival park floods and one band’s last-minute cancellation, was well-received by both critics and fans. For this year, the festival is expanded from two to three days and features headliners including Hozier, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Weezer and one of the first scheduled performances from Alabama Shakes since 2017. C3 Presents, the company that runs the Yacht Club as well as other festivals like Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits, has also added additional concession stands and amenities to alleviate lines.

As of Friday, most three-day ticket packages and single-day tickets for Friday and Sunday were sold out. This translates to millions of dollars in economic impact for the city of St. Paul, according to Visit Saint Paul spokesperson Chelsea Fey, who said many downtown hotels are nearly sold out for the weekend.

And despite some frustration caused by all of St. Paul’s Green Line light rail stations going offline for Metro Transit construction during the festival, transportation to the festival was fairly smooth, many attendees said. Most interviewed Friday said they chose to either drive — and park downtown or nearby on the West Side — or take rideshares like Uber or Lyft, despite some complaints from attendees last year about high prices or long wait times for post-festival rides.

“It sucks that the Green Line wasn’t running,” said Alex Calametti, attending the festival with two family members. “It would’ve been a lot easier to not have to pay for parking.”

Other festival-goers arrived by more creative means: Bill May of St. Paul and Lindsey Den Bleyker of Colorado both docked at the nearby St. Paul Yacht Club marina by boat from Inver Grove Heights.

This year’s festival schedule — which also uplifts local artists in addition to national headliners — feels more wide-ranging in both genre and fanbase age than last year’s 1990s-nostalgia-heavy lineup, and on Friday, attendees seemed to love every minute of it.

Music fans gather on Harriet Island in St. Paul for the opening day of the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival on Friday, July 18, 2025. The three-day festival runs through Sunday. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Local opening acts Maygen & The Birdwatcher and Mike Kota each drew solid crowds of several hundred fans apiece. Performing solo, Hamilton Leithauser of 2000s indie band The Walkmen had a bit more of a low-key stage presence, vacillating between a fun, crowd-pleasing gritty rock sound and a Bob Dylan pastiche that was, let’s say, less effective. But up next across the park, Florida indie folk-rockers The 502s kicked the whole day’s energy up a notch with bluegrassy hits like “Hey Julia” and “Just A Little While.” Saxophonist Joe Capati’s red-in-the-face solos were a highlight of the whole day.

Festival organizers run a tight schedule: Not more than one minute after the crowd broke into applause for The 502s, fellow Florida-raised singer-songwriter Gigi Perez walked onto the festival’s other stage with her powerful, deep vocals that initially gained her TikTok fame in 2021.

Late in the afternoon, first headliner Sheryl Crow delivered — no surprise — an incredibly solid performance of favorites like “If It Makes You Happy” and “Everyday Is A Winding Road,” as well as the live debut of a new song just released Friday, “The New Normal.” It was clear that plenty of people arrived specifically in time to see Crow. And despite the more mellow sound of the next headliner, Father John Misty, he managed to keep the energy going; his classic dapper suit didn’t hurt, either.

But the real treat of the night came next, when Alabama Shakes reunited onstage for one of its first performances since 2017; the band went on hiatus in 2018 so its members, particularly frontwoman Brittany Howard, could pursue solo careers. Howard and her bandmates stepped onstage Friday to the day’s most raucous applause thus far — and boy, was it warranted. Returning to the old Alabama Shakes catalog on Friday with tracks like “Don’t Wanna Fight” and “Sound and Color,” Howard’s powerful voice was by turns gravelly and soulful and maybe even angelic.

“I tell you what, it’s felt good playing these songs,” Howard said from the stage.

It felt good to hear them again, too.

Up next are the final two headliners of the evening: 2000s rockers Train and Irish singer-songwriter-bard Hozier.

This article will be updated.

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DENVER — Joe Ryan was anticipating this week’s All-Star Game in Atlanta. But the actual experience?

“It was fun. It was more than I thought it would be, so many little components that I didn’t really think about,” Ryan, a first-time All-Star, said. “Getting to the field every day was so nice to kind of separate and be there with the other guys, pick their brains, talk to the guys around the league and learn some things. Everyone was awesome to be around.”

Ryan and Byron Buxton, the Twins’ other All-Star, returned from Atlanta with plenty of memories they’ll relish for a lifetime after both put on a good showing in the game, which the American League lost in a home run swing off.

For Buxton, the highlight of this past week in Atlanta was spending time with his family and watching his three young sons, Brixton, Blaze and Baire, soak in the experience.

“They had a lot of fun,” Buxton said of his kids. “To see them being kids on the sideline and enjoying it … that’s all that matters.”

Buxton, who hails from southeast Georgia, participated in the Home Run Derby, advancing to the second round before falling in the semifinals, where his two older sons were on the field with him, handing him towels and Gatorade.

On Tuesday afternoon, the family walked the red carpet matched in pink, which the kids chose — ‘They’d probably choose neon green if I let ‘em,’ he said — and then hit a double in the game and scored a run as the American League rallied in the ninth inning to tie the game.

Ryan made the most of his time on the field, as well, throwing a 1-2-3 fourth inning during which he struck out Manny Machado and Kyle Tucker, and got a first-pitch pop up from Dodgers catcher Will Smith.

Off the field, he said he tried to talk to as many people as he could. Among them, he listened to Jacob deGrom hold court for “anyone that wanted to listen,” and tried to get reigning American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to detail his whole routine.

“It’s pretty humbling being around some of these great players and seeing how they go about their business,” Ryan said. “It feels like you’re making your debut again in a sense. It was cool.”

Matthews nears return

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli did not make any official proclamations before Friday night’s game about a starter for Saturday, but with a “TBD” listed, it appears likely that Zebby Matthews will make his return from the injured list.

Matthews, who was placed on the injured list with a shoulder strain on June 8, threw a four-inning rehab start with the Triple-A Saints on Sunday and was encouraged by how he felt.

“It felt really good,” Matthews said. “It was good to see those guys back in Triple-A. Felt good. Command was a lot better than the live outing I had against (teammate Luke) Keaschall. Felt a lot more in sync. Ready to get back at it whenever.”

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Ad patch

The Twins began the second half of their season on Friday by showing off their new look.

On their jersey sleeve, the Twins became the latest team to add an advertising patch, reaching a deal with Securian Financial, a St. Paul-based company. They were one of the few remaining teams to not have a patch.

“As we sought the right partner for this landmark jersey patch opportunity, Securian Financial emerged as the perfect fit — not only because of our shared Minnesota heritage and steadfast commitment to our home community, but also due to our common focus on growth, long-term impact and leadership,” Twins executive vice president, chief revenue officer Sean Moore said in a release.

Briefly

Bailey Ober (hip impingement) threw four scoreless innings on Friday in a rehab outing with Triple-A St. Paul. He gave up four hits and struck out three. … Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, one of the Twins’ top prospects, landed on the injured list on Friday at Triple-A with a right-oblique strain. Rodriguez missed five weeks with a hip injury, returning just recently on July 8.

The 3M Open field was made official Friday and announced by the PGA Tour, and there weren’t many surprises as to who is coming to tee it up next week in Blaine.

The lone previously unknown name of note who committed to the tournament ahead of Friday’s deadline was Adam Scott. The former Masters champion decided to make his first ever trip to TPC Twin Cities after firing a second-round 79 at The Open on Friday to miss the cut.

Scott, the 40th-ranked player in the world, entered the week in 84th in the FedEx Cup points standings and needs a strong finish in either of the last two PGA Tour regular season events — the 3M Open or the Wyndham Championship — to sneak into the top 70 of the season-long points list and earn a playoff spot.

Other notable such as Wyndham Clark (78), Rickie Fowler (71) and Max Homa (102) are also among those on the outside looking in at the current playoff picture who are slated to come to Minnesota next week.

Maverick McNealy is the highest commit in the current World Golf Rankings at No. 17, while past champion Tony Finau and Sam Burns are two of the most accomplished players.

Burns and Scott were in the final group at the U.S. Open on Sunday last month before ultimately giving way to J.J. Spaun.

Other names of note include Jake Knapp, Sahith Theegala, Akshay Bhatia, Si Woo Kim, Tom Kim, Luke Clanton and Sungjae Im.

Local connections are again abundant, with Gophers alum Erik van Rooyen, past state amateur champion Tom Hoge, North Oaks native Frankie Capan III and Spring Lake Park High School grad Troy Merritt all in the field. Merritt is in on a sponsor’s exemption.

The first round of the 3M Open tees off Thursday.

Players can withdraw from the field at any point prior to the tournament, and it’s not uncommon from some to do so directly after the conclusion of major championships, depending on how they finish.

Finau is currently in the top 10 of The Open, but he’s unlikely to decommit from the 3M Open, as he’s long stated how much his family enjoys the trip to this area. But how Burns (currently in a tie for 12th) and Gotterup, who won last week’s Scottish Open and is currently tied for fifth in Northern Ireland, fare over the weekend could potentially determine whether they indeed tee it up next week.

The same could be said for the likes of Fowler and Bhatia, who are currently in the top 30 at Royal Portrush. If they were to make a major weekend run, they could potentially reconsider travel plans. Bhatia bowed out of the event two years ago after winning the Barracuda Championship the Sunday prior.

But, as it stands, 3M Open tournament director Mike Welch called this field “one of the strongest we’ve ever had.”

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