The Phillies are heading into the Twin Cities to take on the Minnesota Twins for a weekend series at Target Field. Before that, though, the Phillies, as visitors, will travel to Dyersville, Iowa, for the third-ever MLB Field of Dreams Game on Thursday night.

After dropping back-to-back series to the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals, the Phils find themselves hovering over the last wild card spot, losers of four out of their last six. The Phillies need some momentum if they want to remain in the postseason race, and it won’t be easy. 

“Is This Heaven? No, it’s Iowa.”

That was the famous quote by actor Kevin Costner in the 1989 film Field of Dreams. It is recognized as one of the greatest baseball films of all time and has become the site of MLB’s Field of Dreams Game.

The Phillies will be taking part in the third installment of this game in Dyersville, Iowa. The first two games happened in 2021 and 2022. The first game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox ended in a 9-8 thriller, with a walk-off home run from Tim Anderson. The second game was against the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds in 2022, with the Cubs winning 4-2. 

Since then, MLB stopped hosting the game for three seasons before bringing it back in the 2026 season, when the Phillies will face the Twins. The Phillies uniforms will also be different in this game. As the away team, they have opted to wear their road grays back in 1939-41. Their hats also use the logo that the team used from 1911-14. This is the first time the Phils have played at a neutral site since they faced the New York Mets in London in May of 2024.

READ MORE ON THE PHILLIES’ FIELD OF DREAMS UNIFORMS:

From Sellers to Buyers

In the 2025 season, the Twins held a fire sale at the trade deadline, trading away 10 major leaguers, including Jhoan Duran and Harrison Bader, to the Phillies. It seemed like the club was going to pivot into a long rebuild. But that all changed in general manager Jeremy Zoll’s head. 

The team got strong performances from Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, and Joe Ryan, which kept them in the playoff race. Towards the end of July, the Twins deemed themselves surprise buyers for the trade deadline, a move no one really thought was coming. 

They acquired left-hander A.J. Minter from the Mets, Dean Kremer from the Orioles, and former Phillie Jeff Hoffman from the Blue Jays to bolster the pitching they had. As they sit just a few games outside of .500, a team that the Phillies thought was selling instead bought for the stretch run.

Pitching Needs to do its Job

The Phillies pitching hasn’t been the best over the last few weeks, and that showed over the last two series. Interim manager Don Mattingly is very keen on leaning towards keeping a guy in, thinking he will get out of a jam, or pulling a starter too early. It’s something he has done throughout his managerial career. 

On Tuesday night, he pulled Cristopher Sanchez after just 89 pitches, which then led to the Cardinals snatching victory away. On Wednesday, he basically threw in the white flag, bringing in Jose Alvarado and Chase Shugart when the team was only down by four runs. They then proceeded to put the game away for the Cardinals, as those two pitchers have struggled mightily throughout this series. 

If the Phillies want to win this series, they need good work out of their starter in Iowa, Aaron Nola, and good performances from a rested bullpen. 

Game Times and Broadcasts

Thursday, August 13, 7:30 p.m. ET, Netflix, 94.1 WIP

Saturday, August 15, 7:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 1210 WPHT

Sunday, August 16, 2:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Aaron Nola (RHP, 3-9, 5.47 ERA) vs. Taj Bradley (RHP, 9-4, 3.76 ERA)

Game 2: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 10-5, 3.32 ERA) vs. Connor Prielipp (LHP, 3-5, 4.79 ERA)

Game 3: Andrew Painter (RHP, 2-8, 6.27 ERA) vs. Dean Kremer (RHP, 2-4, 5.25 ERA)

The Numbers

Record

Phillies: 64-58

Twins: 60-62

Runs Scored Per Game

Phillies: 4.38

Twins: 4.68

Runs Allowed Per Game

Phillies: 4.44

Twins: 4.94

Andrew Glover

Andrew is in his first year covering sports for Philly Sports Reports. He is a podcaster and a digital content creator. Right now, he is in his second semester at Temple University pursuing a degree in Media Studies and Production. He has a certificate in Broadcast Journalism from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

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