St. Louis Cardinals at Minnesota Twins: Final Score & Recap

The Minnesota Twins survived a wild game at Target Field on June 12, 2026, edging the St. Louis Cardinals 9-8 in a contest that swung dramatically in the late innings. The DiamondIQ model entered the game giving Minnesota just a 44% chance of winning at home, and that number would be tested thoroughly before the Twins ultimately closed it out at 100%.

The seventh and eighth innings defined the outcome entirely. St. Louis appeared to seize control in the top of the seventh when Jordan Walker ripped a double off Eric Orze, a hit the DiamondIQ model valued at a +33.2% win-probability swing for the Cardinals, followed shortly by an Alec Burleson walk that added another +17.7%. The Cardinals pushed four runs across in the frame and seemed positioned to pull away. Minnesota answered immediately in the bottom half, however, when Kody Clemens hit a home run off Ryne Stanek that registered as the single most consequential play of the game at +39.2% win probability added, effectively neutralizing the Cardinals' momentum and pulling the Twins back into contention. Minnesota then put the game away in the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back home runs off Stanek again, Royce Lewis connecting for +21.9% and Brooks Lee following at +21.4%, turning what had been a tight contest into a one-run Twins victory.

Clemens led all players by WPA on the night at +41.3% with a RE24 of +2.7, and Lewis contributed +24.7% WPA alongside +1.0 RE24 in the decisive eighth. On the Cardinals side, Walker posted +21.8% WPA and +1.6 RE24 despite ending up on the losing end. Among pitchers, Andrew Morris paced Minnesota's staff at +15.2% WPA, with Anthony Banda adding +10.2% and starter Joe Ryan contributing +9.0% in a bullpen-intensive affair that saw Stanek absorb the pivotal damage in two separate innings.