Athletics at Minnesota Twins

MINNEAPOLIS – For the Athletics to have any success in the season’s final two months, Jacob Lopez will have to be a big part of the picture. It’ll help if he turns in more starts as he did against the Twins on Friday. Lopez threw five scoreless innings, allowing one hit and four walks while striking out four as the Athletics beat the Twins, 2-0, at Target Field. “I'll take a scoreless outing every time,” said Lopez, who has been working on limiting his pitch count and going deeper in games. “And the bullpen had my back today, throwing four scoreless innings ... so I think it’s just a good team win.” Friday’s outing was a promising step forward for Lopez, who began the season in the Athletics’ starting rotation but was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on June 1 after posting a 6.75 ERA with 33 walks and 38 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings. The 28-year-old lefty returned to make a couple of appearances -- one in relief, one as an opener -- before the All-Star break. He was back in the rotation after the Athletics traded Aaron Civale, and Lopez responded by giving up two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings on Sunday against the Nationals before backing it up with Friday’s scoreless outing. Of course, success can take on many appearances in baseball. But even if the Athletics’ recent run of poor play (they’re 6-18 in their last 24 games) has likely taken them out of the playoff race for 2026, there’s always next year, and a strong showing in August and September can do wonders for a young player’s confidence when the next season rolls around. “I'm just trying to forget about the beginning of the year -- you know, those 10 starts that I just didn't feel good,” Lopez said. “So it's been good to have the momentum go in a positive direction and just try and finish the season strong.”