Cornfields are back! After a brief hiatus, we have Major League Baseball in heaven again, errr, I mean Iowa. The 2026 Field of Dreams Game will feature the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins (home team). Superstars like Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber will share one of the most unique stages in the sport with a group from the Twin Cities scratching and clawing for a playoff spot. This preview has some Phillies vs Twins picks and predictions that you are looking for.
CHECK OUT THE SPORTS GAMBLING PODCAST’S DAILY BEST BETS
Philadelphia Phillies vs Minnesota Twins Picks & Preview
How To Watch Phillies vs Twins
Location: Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA
Date: Thursday, August 13th, 2026
Stream: Netflix
Time: 7:30 PM ET, 4:30 PM PT
Phillies vs Twins Picks & Preview
Field of Dreams Game Betting Lines (FD) and History
Moneyline: Twins -112, Phillies -104
Run Line: Twins -1.5 -194, Phillies -1.5 +160
Total: Over 8.5 -118, Under 8.5 -104
MLB has been at the Field of Dreams twice (2021 and 2022). The Yankees and White Sox tallied 17 runs in an all-time classic that was punctuated by a walk-off home run from Tim Anderson. That highlight is still in cable television highlight packages today. Andrew Heaney started for the Yankees against Lance Lynn for the White Sox. Lynn was in the middle of the best year of his career, an All-Star and received Cy Young votes back in ’21. New York and Chicago combined for 8 home runs and 11 total runs off the two starting arms.
The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs tussled in the 2022 version of the Field of Dreams game. The Cubs pounced early with three runs on Nick Lodolo in the first inning. Drew Smyly, however, dealt for Chicago, dicing up nine hitters in five shutout innings. The Reds tallied two runs on the bullpen but came up short in a 4-2 final that saw 17 hits. Overall, Dyersville is set up as a pretty offensive environment.
Phillies vs Twins Recent Trends
It has been a rough recent go for the Phillies. Interim Manager Don Mattingly’s bunch have lost four of their last six games and are 9-15 since the All Star Break. In those 26 games, Philadelphia’s offense has a 100 wRC+ (the stone-cold MLB average), and the pitching staff owns a 3.99 ERA (17th in MLB).
However, if you look under the hood at some expected stats during that time frame, things are not as dire as they may seem. Since the break, the Phillies have a .332 xwOBA (2nd) and 3.71 xFIP (5th). Two regular offensive contributors that have underperformed but have good underlying numbers are Alec Bohm (94 wRC+, .351 xwOBA) and J.T. Realmuto (91 wRC+, .350 xwOBA).
Keeping the same date range, Minnesota’s pitching staff has been weighed down by a 4.47 ERA (25th), 4.28 xFIP (22nd). Without star outfielder Byron Buxton, the offense has also regressed across their last 24 games to an 87 wRC+ (22nd) and .293 xwOBA (23rd).
Phillies vs Twins Probable Starting Pitchers
Philadelphia SP, Aaron Nola: 3-9, 5.47 ERA, 125 IP, 43 BB, 129 K
Minnesota SP, Taj Bradley: 9-4, 3.76 ERA, 131.2 IP, 55 BB, 148 K
Aaron Nola has been knocked around in five starts since the All Star Break (6.62 FIP). He is 0-3, with 28 innings pitched, 14 ER, 12 BB, 27 K, and 9 home runs allowed. This season, Nola’s primary pitch has been his Knuckle Curve, thrown 33% of the time. The Twins rank 5th in runs above average against curveballs (13.3).
Taj Bradley (3.57 FIP) is in better recent form across his last five starts than Aaron Nola. The Twins are the designated home team, with that said, Bradley has a 4.26 ERA when pitching away from home, compared to 3.12, a full run better when pitching at Target Field. Bradley is predominately 4-seam/cutter/splitter and the Phillies’ offense has negative run values against all three pitches this season.
2026 Field of Dreams Game: Phillies vs Twins Picks & Best Bets
There are a few very clear best bets that should be on everybody’s card.
Minnesota Twins First 5 Innings: Eliminate their shaky bullpen and take either the over on the Twins Team Total, or just bet Minnesota’s F5 moneyline (-122 FD).
Over 8.5 (-118): Combine two below average bullpens with everything else that was spelled out above and there should be some runs scored in Iowa Thursday night.
Phillies vs Twins Picks – Home Run Props
There were a combined eight home runs (all in the 2021 game) in the two previous Field of Dreams games. With the game potentially being played on the moon, sprinkle a couple of players to go deep and have some fun:
+1800 Kyle Schwarber 2+ HR: Kyle Schwarber (+220 to hit 1 HR) will feel right at home in Iowa. The Phillies’ slugger grew up in Middletown, Ohio. Schwarber was a 3-time All-American during his three college seasons at Indiana, was drafted 3rd overall into the Chicago Cubs’ organization, and then spent multiple seasons playing for the Kane County Cougars (Single-A team in Illinois) and Iowa Cubs (Triple-A). The man is midwest through and through and will not be a stranger to the cornfields. Furthermore, Taj Bradley throws his 4-seam fastball 47% of the time to left-handed hitters. Schwarber murders all types of fastballs and has 21 bombs against heaters this year. Lastly, when Schwarber hits homers, he hits them in bunches. He blasted two over the fence on Sunday. Here’s to Schwarbs hitting another pair on Thursday.
+560 Trevor Larnach HR: In just under 300 plate appearances, Trevor Larnach has 10 home runs this season. 9 of the 10 long balls have come against a fastball or breaking ball pitch type. Aaron Nola throws his knuckle-curve to LHH 32% of the time and four seam fastball at 27%. Larnach swings and misses at 38% of the breaking pitches that he sees. Therefore, Nola will be enticed to throw that K-C early and often in the at bats he sees the Twins’ leadoff hitter.
+330 Kody Clemens HR: Kody Clemens’ 30.3% whiff against breaking balls will be highlighted in red on the scouting report. Conversely, Clemens has nine home runs off breaking balls this season and slugs .615 against the pitch type. If you hang it, Clemens can bang it.
