Bell's home run, Jeffers' two-run double push Twins past Braves 4-1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Josh Bell hit a two-run homer, Ryan Jeffers drove in Minnesota’s other two runs, and the Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Bell hit his 17th home run of the year over the right-center field wall in the first inning to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.

Jeffers added a two-run double in the eighth inning that plated Kaelen Culpepper and Byron Buxton as the Twins took the first two games of the three-game series.

Zebby Matthews (7-8) tossed 5 2/3 innings for Minnesota, allowing one run on five hits while striking out four. Yoendrys Gómez worked a scoreless ninth for his 19th save of the season.

Drake Baldwin scored Atlanta's run in the sixth inning on a home run to left-center field.

Tyler Mahle (4-10) worked 6 2/3 frames and gave up two runs on six hits. Dylan Dodd and Didier Fuentes both allowed a run in 2/3 innings as well.

Braves' RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 4.15 ERA) squares off against Twins' RHP Taj Bradley (9-5, 3.98) in the series finale this Wednesday.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Minnesota Twins' Josh Bell (56) is greeted by Ryan Jeffers (27) while crossing home plate after hitting a 2-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Zebby Matthews (52) delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins' Josh Bell watches his two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Twins' Josh Bell runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Stocks are falling on Wall Street as the price of crude oil tops $100 a barrel. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 320 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%. The price of Brent crude jumped 3% to top $100 per barrel. The surge in oil prices follows the latest attacks between the U.S. and Iran. The conflict has stifled the flow of oil shipments through the vital Strait of Hormuz. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Markets in Europe fell and markets in Asia were mixed.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

U.S. futures are sliding after intensifying violence in the Middle East pushed the price of crude oil over $100 a barrel.

It's the first time Brent crude, the international standard, has reached triple digits in nearly six weeks. Fighting in the Middle East has throttled the global flow of oil and rising energy prices are adding to inflationary pressures.

Brent crude rose 2.8% to $100.70 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 2.4% to $95.28 a barrel, and it's dragging gasoline prices higher with it.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline ticked up 7 cents overnight to hit $4.22, now more than a dollar above what it cost at this point last year, according to AAA.

Diesel prices, which can have an outsized impact on consumers because it is used in shipping and production, hit an all-time high Friday and has continued to climb since. The average price for a gallon reached $5.94 overnight and is now 9 cents higher than it was Friday.

Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 0.3% before the market opened Wednesday, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures declined 0.5%. Nasdaq futures fell 0.4%.

Shares of Meta Platforms are up more than 5% in premarket trading as the parent company of Instagram and Facebook launched a personal artificial intelligence agent, Muse, for people 18 and over who are looking for help with day-to-day tasks like schedules and shopping.

The U.S. this week also release inflation data. On Thursday, the U.S. government will release its August report for inflation at the wholesale level. The more closely watched Consumer Price Index comes out on Friday. The CPI provides details on price changes for specific grocery items, furniture, and clothing, among other categories.

Economists expect consumer inflation to have eased a bit, to 3.3% from July’s 3.4%. That’s well above the 2% target that the Federal Reserve has set as its goal.

The Fed meets next week to decide whether to cut, raise or hold interest rates steady. The traditional move for the Fed when inflation is high is to raise its main interest rate. But President Donald Trump has been lobbying for lower interest rates.

Japan’s central bank also will meet next week to decide on its benchmark rate. Market watchers are expecting an increase, with the question shifting to by how much and if there will be more rate hikes this year.

In Europe, France's CAC 40 slipped 1.6% to 8,183.80, while the German DAX declined 1.4% to 25,648.34. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.9% to 10,711.42. Asian markets were mixed.

The U.S. dollar fell to 153.55 Japanese yen from 153.99. The euro cost $1.1633, inching up from $1.1624.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama

Specialists Dilip Patel works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei and New York Dow indexes at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)