Minnesota United needed a long-range blast to gain one point in a 1-1 draw with Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.

Nector Triantis scored from distance, roughly 35 yards, to make it 1-1 in the 65th minute. It was an incredible goal, but not as stunning as his rainbow from behind the halfway line two weeks ago against San Diego.

“He strikes the ball really, really well,” had coach Eric Ramsay said. “What you’ve seen (Saturday night) is a very complete performance, I would say, in the middle. … He is very physical, very athletic, really helps us in that sense, which, of course, is something that we have been reliant on up until this point.”

MNUFC (15-7-9, 54 points) got a stroke of positivity after two straight defeats in all competitions and increased their unbeaten streak on the road to nine matches (6-0-3) and stave off consecutive losses in league games this season. Colorado (11-14-6, 39 points) dropped points at home as they fight for one of the final MLS Cup Playoff spots.

The Loons conceded a goal on just about the final touch of the first half. After Rafael Navarro won a foul from Michael Boxall, Rapids defender Rafael Santos scored on a line-drive free kick from roughly 23 yards out.

“With how we fell behind just before halftime, it’s a literal mountain to climb in that sense, particularly here,” Ramsay said about playing at altitude in Colorado. “The fact that we were able to make some adaptations at halftime and really respond well to those.”

In the first half, Minnesota’s offense was almost nonexistent with two shots, neither on target. Seeking a spark, Ramsay brought in Dominik Fitz and Joseph Rosales for Anthony Markanich and Julian Gressel and made the rare switch to a back-four defensive shape.

The Loons started to get forward with more regularity, and Fitz provided the first shot on target in the 57th minute.

Hassani Dotson, who hasn’t played since March due to a hamstring injury, subbed into the match in the 84th minute.

PHILADELPHIA — Mick Abel gave the Philadelphia Phillies and their fans a good, long look at what could have been on Saturday night.

The rookie starter, acquired in July in exchange for closer Jhoan Duran, turned in, perhaps, the best start of his career on Saturday night, finishing off his season on a high note. Abel, whom the Phillies drafted in the first-round in 2020, is one of the highest-touted young arms in the Twins’ organization, and he showed why on Saturday, leading the Twins to a 5-0 win at Citizens Bank Park.

Against his former teammates — he made six starts for the Phillies earlier this season, debuting in May — Abel threw six scoreless innings, tying his career high with nine strikeouts.

He began his night by striking out former Twin Harrison Bader, as well as all-star Kyle Schwarber and two-time Most Valuable Player Bryce Harper in his first inning of work, touching 98.9 miles per hour that inning. He averaged 97.5 mph on his four-seam fastball, up 1.2 mph from his season average.

The rookie faced little trouble all night, allowing just three hits in his start. The Phillies put a pair of runners on in the fourth inning, the only time they had a runner reach second off Abel, but he got catcher J.T. Realmuto to pop up to strand a pair in scoring position.

It was a positive development for the 24-year-old, who endured a tough start to his Twins career. Abel gave up six runs in each of his first two outings with the Twins, after which they sent him back to Triple-A for much of September.

Abel, who will be in the mix for a rotation spot next year, pitched with a lead for the entirety of his outing after Byron Buxton blasted his third leadoff home run in four days. Buxton now has 11 this season, tying Jacque Jones for the all-time club record.

James Outman and Ryan Fitzgerald also hit solo home runs in the win, and the Twins added another pair of runs to oust the Phillies in their penultimate game of the season.

Related Articles

As season nears end, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli not focusing on job status

Joe Ryan wraps up best season of his career in Twins loss

Traded former Twins Jhoan Duran, Harrison Bader thriving in Philadelphia

Royce Lewis acknowledges uncertainty as Twins’ season nears end

Twins fall to deGrom, Rangers

A bicyclist is in serious condition after being struck by a vehicle Saturday morning in Stillwater Township.

According to a spokesperson from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, authorities responded to a call at 8:45 a.m. Saturday about a traffic accident in the 12000 block of Dellwood Road North. A male bicyclist was reportedly struck by a motorist. The bicyclist was treated at the scene and transported to a nearby hospital in serious condition.

The incident is under investigation by the sheriff’s office and the Minnesota State Patrol.

Related Articles

Pedestrian struck and killed in crash near Lake Phalen in St. Paul

GoFundMe set up for family of St. Paul contractor who was killed by construction vehicle

New Richmond, Wis., man dies in crash in Oak Park Heights

As St. Paul city council seeks to get handle on police overtime, costs down this year

Burnsville: Construction worker fatally struck on I-35W

The Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater is set to operate at half its original capacity by Oct. 1, the state Department of Corrections told lawmakers Thursday, Sept. 25, in a remote hearing.

The closure of the prison in Bayport was announced on May 15 as part of a budget deal between Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders, citing concerns about the deteriorating facility and the cost of upkeep. Its full closure is expected by June 30, 2029, according to the DOC.

The prison’s capacity is set to be half, or 553, by Oct. 1, and the population as of this week is 487 incarcerated persons (IPs), Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said Thursday.

The DOC has transferred 2,017 total IPs across the entire prison system since June 16 — 728 have been transferred out of Stillwater, and 244 have been transferred into Stillwater, Schnell reported.

Of those transferred out of Stillwater, 35% have moved to Rush City; 20% to Lino Lakes; 16% to Fairbault; 14% to Moose Lake; 12% to Oak Park Heights; 2% to St. Cloud; and 1% to Red Wing, according to the DOC.

Inmates don’t have a say in when and where they are moved. Schnell said a “rubric” the DOC created prioritizes medical or mental health needs first, then treatment and education needs. Regarding whether inmates are being moved far away from family members in the Twin Cities area, Schnell said Thursday that the DOC does not place inmates strictly based on the family factor.

“We know the benefit and the effect of visiting, and … I just want to be really clear that while it is nice to have that metro facility, at the same time, we do not place strictly on the basis of where family is located. We simply can’t,” he said. “Part of that’s based on the classification of the facility. Part of it’s based on where we deliver services that an individual may need.”

Schnell said that by the end of the 2025 legislative session, Stillwater employed 567 individuals; by Oct. 1, the prison will be down to 231. He said that so far, 95% of the 567 staff members have been able to retain jobs within the Department of Corrections.

The state’s total prison population is 8,206 — a decrease from what the DOC recorded in the 2010s, with a peak population of nearly 11,000 in 2014. The system’s current total capacity is 9,500, and Schnell said that even with the Stillwater closure taken into account, the current incarcerated population is “stable and manageable.”

Lawmaker feedback

The decision to close the prison has drawn pushback from state lawmakers and Stillwater staff members who said there was no discussion or notice of the closure prior to the budget deal announcement in May.

Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said Thursday that while there have been “vague references” to the closure of Stillwater over the years, there weren’t any public hearings regarding the closure throughout the 2025 legislative session.

“There’s a lot of questions that I have now that I guess the toothpaste is out of the tube, and it’s going to be pretty hard to get it back,” he said. “But nevertheless, I’m very concerned about the public transparency issue; the public safety issue I’m concerned about, perhaps the over-reliance on MRRA (the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act).”

Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, pushed back on the notion that the Stillwater closure came out of nowhere.

Related Articles

Accessible deer hunt at Rydell National Wildlife Refuge marks 30-year milestone

Joe Soucheray: Trump had nothing to do with fraud in Minnesota. That’s on the governor.

Judge rules ‘MyPillow Guy’ Mike Lindell defamed Smartmatic with false claims on voting machines

Essentia exits talks with UMN, Fairview on ‘All-Minnesota’ health solution

Justice Department sues Minnesota, 5 other states in its quest for voter data

“The closure of Stillwater has been discussed for possibly decades. It’s my understanding that when Oak Park Heights was built, the intention at that point was to close Stillwater,” she said of the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights. “So this is not a new idea, and I’ve been, I have personally been concerned about the plan for Stillwater, because the deferred maintenance is into millions and millions of dollars.”

Schnell reiterated Thursday that the deferred maintenance could have cost the state up to $1.3 billion to reach modern standards.

He also said the DOC has signed a temporary contract with the Washington County Jail, where 49 inmates are currently being held while a fire suppression project is underway at the St. Cloud facility. The St. Cloud project is set to finish by the end of October.

Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, said Thursday that it’s “his understanding” the House intends to have a public hearing on the Stillwater closure before the end of 2025.