Reds break open tight game with four-run fifth, beat Twins 5-1

The Reds waited until the fifth inning at Sky Hill Park Fld 1, then hit the only stretch that mattered and walked away with a 5-1 win over the Twins on July 23, 2026. What had been a tight wiffle ball game through four innings flipped fast when Cincinnati put up four runs in the fifth and turned a one-run contest into a comfortable finish.

The line score told the story in compact form: the Twins were held scoreless through four before scratching out their lone run in the fifth, and the Reds answered in the same inning with four of their own. Cincinnati opened the game with a 2-0 lead in the first part of the scoring pattern, then added the decisive burst later to finish with five runs on seven hits and one error. Minnesota managed only three hits and played cleanly in the field, but the Twins never found enough offense to keep pace after the fifth-inning exchange.

Shandy got the win for the Reds and moved to 5-1, while Thor took the loss and fell to 1-3. The pitching line matched the shape of the game: Thor kept the Twins close early, but the Reds were able to force the issue in the fifth, and once that inning got away, the pressure stayed on Minnesota the rest of the way.

The result also fit the way the Reds have been building their 2026 season. The team page lists the club as Eagan West, with the franchise established in 2003, and shows the Reds at 18-6 with a .750 winning percentage and a six-game winning streak. Even with one defensive error, the Reds were the sharper team at the plate and the only side capable of producing the inning that broke the game open.