Spend long enough in the major leagues, and the road trips start losing their novelty. You visit the same ballparks in the same cities. You stay at the same hotels and eat at the same restaurants.

But the road trip the Twins will kick off on Monday is anything but routine.

“It’s going to be as interesting of a trip as we’re going to have all year long,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “The guys, I doubt most of them have even thought of it for one second. We know it as a staff. But we’re looking forward to it. I think it’ll be a nice challenge.”

This swing will take them first to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Rays before a cross-country flight to Seattle and then a four-game series in Sacramento, Calif., to finish it off. They’ll play in two cities that they’re not accustomed to — Tampa rather than St. Petersburg, and Sacramento as opposed to Oakland — and at two ballparks that typically host minor league games.

“We keep calling it the ‘Minor League Road Trip,’” starter Pablo López said.

And that it is.

When Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida last October, it tore up the roof at Tropicana Field and displaced the Rays, who this season are playing their home games at Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees’ spring training home.

“I remember seeing it live, and I remember seeing pictures of it immediately after it happened,” said Baldelli, a former Rays player and coach. “You feel a lot of emotions. You feel, mostly, disappointment and sadness and all that.”

Because of the displacement, the Rays have wound up in a stadium that does not have a roof. As a result, Major League Baseball shuffled the schedule to avoid potential weather issues during the potentially rainy Florida summer.

The Twins were initially supposed to host the Rays in Minneapolis this week, but their scheduled series here was flipped and will now take place over the Fourth of July weekend. That decision left the Twins with an extra-long road trip that includes travel between Florida and Washington.

López said he has been told to expect a flight that is nearly six hours long, and he already has plans for his teammates during it. Like he did last year during an off night in Detroit, López plans to host bingo, inviting those interested to the back of the plane. He’s planning on holding the game during hours two through four of the flight.

An off day in Seattle will precede a three-game series against the first-place Mariners before the Twins head south to Sacramento to take on the Athletics at their new home. The Athletics moved to Sutter Health Park this season and intend to play there for the near future before moving to Las Vegas down the line.

“There’s some curiosity of what it’s like,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “I know hitters, it’s a bandbox. I think we’re going to be a little excited to get some balls in the air there.”

Typically used to host the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, the Twins aren’t expecting the park will be similar to a major league facility. But they can handle a few minor annoyances for four days.

“It’s going to be quite the experience,” López said. “It’s going to be interesting to see the set up. It’s going to be interesting to see the layout, the fans showing up. … Obviously playing a big league game in those parks is definitely going to feel weird and different, but it’s 60 feet, six inches.”

Buxton joining trip

Byron Buxton is still day-to-day with a concussion suffered last week, but the center fielder is making the trip, a good sign for him and the Twins.

Buxton and Carlos Correa collided last Thursday in Baltimore. Correa returned on Friday and Buxton, Baldelli said, is “getting closer.”

“He ran (Sunday) out on the field,” Baldelli said. “We’re going assessment by assessment right now, but I think he’s ready to get back and play. But we need all the doctors to put all the check marks down and make sure that he’s ready. We have to make sure he’s good to go.”

Unlike Buxton, Matt Wallner (hamstring) is not making the trip to Florida, though his return on this road trip seems likely should his rehab assignment continue to progress well.

Briefly

Chris Paddack will start Monday night’s game in Tampa. … The base that Harrison Bader stole in the 10th inning on Sunday was the 100th stolen base of his career.

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With the score tied late, after a string of walk-off wins over the past week, it almost felt like the Twins were destined for another one on Sunday. It would have been a fitting way to cap a homestand in which the Twins had won three games in that fashion.

Alas, it wasn’t to be.

Maikel Garcia’s single off Jhoan Duran in the top of the 10th inning brought home Nick Loftin, and the Twins, who finished the day with just three hits, weren’t able to respond, falling 2-1 to the Kansas City Royals in the series finale at Target Field.

“That’s kind of the way you want to feel and that’s the way it’s been going in a lot of these tight ballgames,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We were trying to just keep putting up zeroes and keep stretching the game out and you figure we’re going to have an opportunity to win it and someone’s going to come through.”

They had the opportunity half of that.

Carlos Correa was standing on third base and Harrison Bader had stolen second to get himself into scoring position, setting things up perfectly for Saturday’s walk-off hero, Brooks Lee, to come through once again, but instead Lee grounded out to Royals (29-25) star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. to end the game and the series.

The Twins (29-23) had been off and running in the first inning with Jeffers smacking a double off starter Kris Bubic to lead off the bottom of the inning and Ty France bringing him in with a single.

That was the last hit the Twins would manage until the eighth inning, after Bubic had departed.
The Royals’ starter, once a first-round draft pick, has been a revelation this season, among the best in the game after spending last season in the bullpen as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery.

And the Twins had no answers for him.

“I thought we did a really good job trying to take away his fastball and then he went and … kind of threw a bunch of slow stuff to us the rest of the day,” Jeffers said. “Tip your cap to him for flipping the plan. I’d like for us to be able to flip the plan back and continue to adjust with what he’s doing but we were in that game.”

The left-hander stymied the Twins, who struck out nine times in Bubic’s seven innings and managed just two hits. With the outing, Bubic lowered his earned-run average to 1.45 on the season.

That one-run lead held until the seventh when Bailey Ober surrendered a leadoff double to Drew Waters. Waters came around to touch home plate on Freddy Fermin’s double, which spelled the end of his day after 6 2/3 innings.

“I was hoping to keep them off the board that last inning when I was out there,” Ober said. “Thought I made the right pitch. Good pitch and he just got his bat to it and put it in a spot where we weren’t.”

That was the only blemish in Ober’s otherwise strong start, one in which he danced around trouble, giving up seven hits but only permitting the one run.

And, most importantly, he kept the Twins in the game long enough to have an opportunity for some late-inning fireworks, once again.

“We were in the lead for a majority of that game,” Jeffers said. “They got a couple of big-time knocks when we didn’t and that was the difference in the game.”

Michael Massey #19 of the Kansas City Royals tags out Trevor Larnach #9 of the Minnesota Twins on a steal attempt at second base in the seventh inning at Target Field on May 25, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Royals defeated the Twins 2-1 in ten innings. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

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By DAVE SKRETTA

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis 500 rookie Robert Shwartzman’s memorable month of May ended with a terrifying crash on pit road.

Shwartzman, who bested some of the best drivers in the world to win the pole a week earlier, was coming into his stall after 87 laps when he locked up his brakes. That sent his red, green and white car — the colors of the flag of Italy, where Prema Racing is based — sliding into four of his crew members, one of whom had to be taken away on a stretcher.

The damage caused by the wreck was enough to end their hopes of finishing “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

“I honestly felt really strange brakes when I was coming slow in pit lane. I locked up both front tires, which usually isn’t the case,” Shwartzman said. “I wasn’t sure if it was the brakes or because the tires were cold. I tried to be very slow. But as soon as I touched my brakes, my whole front was lost and I went right into the guys.

“It was really scary,” Shwartzman said, “because at the moment I braked I was just a passenger.”

Shwartzman was among many drivers — rookies and veterans alike — who had massive problems on pit lane during the race, which was won by Alex Palou following a late-race pass of Marcus Ericsson for the lead.

Alexander Rossi’s day ended when a fire broke out under his car. Rinus Veekay lost his brakes as he entered pit road, sending him in a spin down the narrow lane. Colton Herta was caught speeding and had to absorb a drive-through penalty.

But none of the problems was quite as dramatic as the rookie with dual Israeli and Russian nationality.

Shwartzman had captured the public’s imagination with his stunning pole-winning ride for Prema Racing, a powerful European team but an Indy 500 newcomer. He was the first rookie to win the pole since 1983, then used the platform that it afforded him to make a passionate plea for peace in both the Middle East and Ukraine.

“It’s just really sad,” Shwartzman said, “because we did such good work in qualifying. But it’s the Indy 500. Anything can happen. A lot of strong drivers are out of the race or behind. This is the Indy 500. This happens.”

Oh-so close, again

Pato O’Ward came up just short once again in the Indy 500, a race that he acknowledged keeps breaking his heart.

The popular Mexican driver, who has twice finished second, wound up fourth behind Palou, Ericsson and David Malukas. He was in contention after the final round of pit stops, but he couldn’t make any passes to pick up any positions.

It was the fifth time in his six tries that O’Ward finished sixth or better. That includes another fourth-place finish in 2021.

Up in flames

Rossi led laps early and had a fast car for Ed Carpenter Racing until a pit stop 73 laps into the race, when fire erupted under the No. 20 car. It quickly engulfed the 2016 race winner and his fueler, who were quickly doused by emergency crews.

The fire briefly spread to the other side of the pit wall, where the large fuel tanks are kept, but was quickly extinguished.

“It’s always a terrible situation, and it’s so disappointing. It was such a phenomenal race car,” Rossi said. “It’s disappointing. All I know is the gearbox was starting to go up in temp a lot. I don’t know. It was a gearbox issue.”

Hopes stall out

Ryan Hunter-Reay had positioned himself for an improbable run at a second Indianapolis 500 win when he pit from the lead with 31 laps remaining, only to stall the car in his box. The team was unable to quickly fire it and his chances were done.

Hunter-Reay, who won the 2014 race, was in a backup car after his primary car caught fire during the final practice of Carb Day on Friday. He made it back to pit lane but had to quickly escape the car, which sustained too much damage to repair.

Hunter-Reay had a chance to do install laps early Saturday, but the race was the first time the backup had been up to speed.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

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