Minnesota
Rockies shutout in series opener in Minnesota, falling 5-0 despite Dakota Hudson’s strong start
Dakota Hudson got no help from his friends on Monday in Minnesota.
In the series opener against the Twins, the right-hander was solid, throwing 6 2/3 innings while allowing only two runs. One of those was unearned as Hudson recorded a season-high 11 ground ball outs.
But Colorado’s offense no-showed again, getting shutout in a 5-0 loss at Target Field. It marked the eighth time the Rockies have been shutout this year as they mustered just six singles.
Hudson retired the first seven batters he faced before the Twins plated an unearned run in the third. In that inning, Manuel Margot’s double turned into a triple when Hunter Goodman misplayed the ball in right field. That led to Christian Vázquez’s sacrifice fly and a 1-0 lead for Minnesota.
The Twins got another run off Hudson in the fourth, using Carlos Correa’s two-out double to score Royce Lewis. But besides that, Hudson looked good through 75 pitches.
“The difference in the velocity between the curveball and the fastball was effective, and (both pitches) had good movement,” Rockies manager Bud Black told Rockies TV. “Lot of balls on the ground, especially left-handed pitchers to the pull side. … With the exception of a couple swings, there wasn’t a lot of hard-hit balls. He pitched well.”
Meanwhile, the Rockies bats remained quiet, just as they were in the 5-1 loss in Sunday’s series finale in St. Louis. They couldn’t solve Chris Paddack, wasting numerous chances against the right-hander en route to the 6 1/3 shutout innings by the Twins starter.
“We couldn’t get to the high fastball, and we couldn’t get to the low secondary pitches,” Black said.
Charlie Blackmon singled to lead off the game, then Ezequiel Tovar’s bunt single gave Colorado two runners on with no outs. But Paddack escaped damage in that frame, as he did while working around singles over the next three innings.
After the Twins lifted Paddack with one out in the seventh, southpaw Steven Okert got the final two outs of that inning. Then in the eighth, Colorado product Griffin Jax — who pitched at Cherry Creek and then Air Force — diced up the Rockies. Minnesota’s set-up man struck out the side in Goodman, Adael Amador and Blackmon.
Nick Mears got the final out of the seventh, but the Twins lit him up in the eighth for three runs. Trevor Larnach’s sacrifice fly scored one, then Lewis hit a 435-foot two-run bomb to left-center to put the game firmly out of reach.
Despite a series split over the four games in St. Louis, the Rockies have now lost eight of their last ten games.
And of injury concern, starting catcher Elias Diaz departed in the opening inning with a left calf injury. Diaz came out of the box gingerly after grounding into a double play, and was replaced by Jacob Stallings.
“(Diaz) has been feeling it for a couple weeks and he’s been able to manage it, but today on that particular ground ball out of the box, it got him,” Black said. “We’ll see in a couple days. (Head trainer) Keith (Dugger) wants to treat it for a day or two and see where we are. It’s a blow. Diaz has been obviously one of our better hitters along with B-Rod, and KB, and Nolan Jones. Our big bats are dropping.”
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Minnesota
Justin Liles: North-central Minnesota faces hail, gusty winds in Tuesday night storms
We had another beautiful day across the region. Temperatures were still slightly below average. Winds will continue to be off the lake but our focus for tonight will be the chance for strong to severe thunderstorms across north-central Minnesota. The biggest threats will be hail, gusty winds and lightning.
Additional showers and thunderstorms are expected Wednesday, mainly during the afternoon and early evening.
Strong or severe storms are not currently expected Wednesday. However, some of these pop up storms could produce some damaging winds.
A more summer-like pattern is expected for the end of the week into early next week with increasing moisture and temperatures.
Chances for storms are expected to return on Sunday and continue into the new week.
Tonight
Showers and thunderstorms redevelop later tonight with fog by sunrise, the low will be around 48. East wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Wednesday
AM Fog with afternoon showers and thunderstorms with a high near 63. East wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 69. East wind around 5 mph.
Friday
Partly sunny, with a high near 69. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday
A slight chance of showers after 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Breezy, with an east wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Sunday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74. Breezy, with an east wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Monday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. Southeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Tuesday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.
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Minnesota
Wolves assistant Micah Tori hired as Trailer Blazers head coach
The Portland Trail Blazers picked Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori as their next head coach on Tuesday, after making the playoffs for the first time in five years under the direction of interim coach Tiago Splitter.
Nori, who spent the past five seasons with the Timberwolves, has interviewed for multiple head coach vacancies, including the Chicago Bulls earlier this month, the New York Knicks last year, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2024.
Nori, 52, was the lead assistant under Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch while the club made the playoffs each season, won five series, and reached the Western Conference finals in 2023 and 2024. Nori, who began his NBA career in 1998 as a scout with the Toronto Raptors, has also been an assistant for the Raptors, the Sacramento Kings, the Denver Nuggets, and the Detroit Pistons. His son, Dante, is a minor league baseball player in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Splitter, who was hired last week as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, was promoted from assistant to interim coach when then-head coach Chauncey Billups was arrested in October in a federal takedown of a sprawling gambling operation. Billups has pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.
The Blazers went 42-40 with a five-game loss to NBA finalist San Antonio in the first round of the playoffs, the first postseason appearance and first time they finished with a winning record in five years.
The news comes a day after the Wolves reportedly traded three-time All-Star Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls.
Minnesota
Report: Timberwolves trade Julius Randle to Brooklyn Nets as part of 3-team deal
The Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly trading three-time All-Star Julius Randle to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade that sends Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls.
Minnesota is sending the 28th pick to the Nets and will be receiving the No. 33 pick that will be made in the second round on Wednesday night, according to a person who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not received the required approvals from the league office.
For Minnesota, the trade opens up a slew of financial possibilities. It creates a $33 million trade exception, plus gives the Timberwolves room they can use to re-sign Ayo Dosunmu and target more players in free agency.
Randle, a three-time All-Star, will be moving to his fifth team after stints with New York, the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans and the Timberwolves. He averaged 21.1 points this past season, though shot just 39% from the field and 24% from 3-point range in Minnesota’s 12 playoff contests.
Claxton just finished his seventh NBA season, all with Brooklyn. He averaged 11.7 points this past season.
The 2026 NBA Draft begins Tuesday night.
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