Twins 11, Mariners 4: Bats Make Connor Prielipp's First Big-League Win an Easy One

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Connor Prielipp 5 IP, 1 H, 2 ER, 5 K, 3 BB (84 pitches, 49 strikes)
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (6), Kody Clemens (3)
Top 3 WPA: Connor Prielipp 0.16, Kody Clemens 0.11, Luke Keaschall 0.11
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs):

 

After a day filled with rain and cold that kept most fans at home, the Minnesota Twins returned to Target Field looking to stop the bleeding. A surprising 11-7 run to open the season quickly turned into the version of the Twins many expected. Entering this one, they had dropped 9 of their last 10, including a five-game losing streak and a sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays. The failures feel more real than the successes did, and the tone around the team and fanbase had shifted in a hurry.

Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners came to town with their own issues. Despite high expectations, they entered the night at 14-15, still searching for consistency. With a small, bundled-up crowd and morale already trending down, the Twins could not afford another slow start, especially against multi-time All-Star Luis Castillo.

They did not wait around.

The Twins got on the board in the second inning, when Luke Keaschall lined an RBI double to give them an early lead. That carried into the third. Ryan Jeffers knocked in a run with a single before Kody Clemens broke things open with a three-run homer to right field, his third of the season, pushing the lead to 4-0. An inning later, Byron Buxton added a two-run shot of his own.

Just like that, the Twins had the early cushion that had been missing during their skid.

They kept applying pressure. By the time Castillo exited after five innings, the Twins had tagged him for seven earned runs while striking out only three times, a sharp contrast from the swing and miss issues that defined the past week. And maybe the biggest shift came in the spots that had been killing them. After a stretch where runners in scoring position felt like a dead end, the Twins flipped it, finishing 5-for-12 in those situations. Timely hitting showed up when they needed it.

On the mound, Connor Prielipp made his Target Field debut and backed up the promise he showed in his first outing, during the Mets series on the road trip. He allowed just one hit over five innings. His command wavered at times, with three walks including back-to-back in the fifth, but he limited damage, allowing two runs while striking out five and generating 11 swings and misses. It was another very strong step for a young arm showing a lot of promise.

When the game turned over to Andrew Morris in long relief, the Mariners made things a bit more interesting. Cal Raleigh connected on a two-run homer in the eighth to cut the lead to 8-4.

Still, Morris did enough. Over three innings, he allowed four hits and two runs, limiting damage and keeping the game under control. The offense answered right back. In the bottom of the eighth, Jeffers and Clemens each delivered RBI singles, both with runners in scoring position, pushing the lead back out and putting the game away. It was the same theme all night. When chances were there, the Twins cashed in.

The Twins closed out an 11-4 win, their first since April 21, earning Prielipp his first major-league win. It moves them to 13-16 as they try to work their way back toward .500 and steady a season that started to slip.

What’s Next
The Twins will look for their first series win since taking two of three from the Boston Red Sox on April 14. Joe Ryan is set to take the ball for a 6:40 p.m. first pitch, facing Logan Gilbert in a matchup of frontline starters.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Chart

	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TOT
Morris	37	0	0	0	40	77
Orze	0	10	9	0	0	19
Topa	0	0	0	10	0	10
Rogers	0	0	15	0	14	29
Banda	9	7	0	9	0	25
Funderburk	0	0	0	20	0	20
Acton	0	0	18	0	0	18
Sands	0	0	0	7	0	7

 

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[Parfigliano]

Maybe they will not play in monsoon weather tomorrow.

[Blyleven2011]

Prielipp replaces Abel  and has given us 2 good starts , nice to have a lefthanded starter in the rotation   ...

Gray continues to surprise with his great start in a twins uniform  ...

Hits were a plenty  , 5 batters had muti hit games , maybe if Martin was in the lineup instead of our homegrown Minnesota boy we would of had 6 players with muti hits ...

A wet soggy game for the players and fans but the twins in cold weather had hot bats ...

Good win with a good team effort  ...

[stringer bell]

Sounded like Connor was describing a trip to the dentist. 

It would appear this is the first win by a left handed starter since 2023. Any guesses who the last left handed starter to win a game for the Twins is?

[Parfigliano]

55 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Sounded like Connor was describing a trip to the dentist. 

It would appear this is the first win by a left handed starter since 2023. Any guesses who the last left handed starter to win a game for the Twins is?

Keuchel?

[thelanges5]

I’m glad Prielipp pitches better than he gives an interview. 🤣

Awesome to see him with a successful start to his MLB career.

Is Gray the best SS to wear #4 for the Twins? Who was that guy last year? I forget.

[DataNerd]

Prielipp needs to improve his control, but the slider being this good has been bailing his control out.  Really no ceiling on him, all depends on how well he can locate his stuff.

Not sure that Morris is good for more than a couple of innings right now.  Not ready to move him to the pen full time at 24, but our pen really is bad so he'll probably get some more run before returning to St Paul.

Wallner over Martin in the lineup is just pathetic at this point.  Are they waiting for Wallner's OPS to fall below Martin's OBP?

[cheeseheadgophfan]

And if Morris gives you 2 good innings every time out, be happy.  I think that 3 straight times Shelton has left him in for one inning too many.....

[stringer bell]

I can’t help but be excited about the young starters who will get their chance this year—Abel, Bradley and Prielipp. The stuff is there for all three to be frontline guys. Get and stay healthy guys!

Also a good offensive day for the Twins. 

[knothole61]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

I’m glad Prielipp pitches better than he gives an interview. 🤣

Awesome to see him with a successful start to his MLB career.

Is Gray the best SS to wear #4 for the Twins? Who was that guy last year? I forget.

I think that Mr. Prielipp may be like the IT guys at work or the distance runners on a track team...all business and no time (or aptitude?) for humor. He may have a bit of magic in that left arm though and I'm eager to watch his career unfold.  

[Western SD Fan]

Highlights of the game: 

1.  Prielipp did well for his second start on a cold Minnesota day.  I wasn't sure he would finish 5 and get the win since he was likely on a pitch count.  He buckled down and got the last out in the 5th, which is a credit to him and his manager for believing in him.

2.  The bats came out today.  All started with the aggressive send of Bell to the plate.  At that time, we didn't know how the game would turn out.  The lack of offense in previous games definitely creates desperate times.  The bats worked Castillo, both in walks and hits, which is something that we haven't seen in a week.  Gray continues to flash the bat, and we may see him in a Wili Castro role as someone will always be taking a bench seat for him, at least for now.

3.  Andrew Morris saves the bullpen again.  Three innings of work.  I know he gave up 2 runs in his 3rd inning of work, but that extra inning likely only needed one more reliever instead of 2.  I'll also say that it was an 8-2 lead so trading 2 runs for a bullpen arm will hopefully make dividends later this season.

Lowlights:

There are still a couple of lowlights.  First has to be Wallner.  He continues to look lost at the plate and providing a dark hole in the lineup.  Austin Martin should be playing every day.  I'm not sure if they are afraid that they would expose something about his swing.  At this point, I don't care as it couldn't get much worse. 

The defense was still putrid and bailed out by Prielipp's ability to miss bats and create pop ups.  There were definitely plays that could have been made.  I suppose some grace needs to be given considering the playing conditions.

Hopefully this is the game they need to everyone to reset and get back on track.  Joe Ryan is going tomorrow so we can root for another game to win and take the series against a quality opponent.

[Bangkok Twins Fan]

6 hours ago, DataNerd said:

Prielipp needs to improve his control, but the slider being this good has been bailing his control out.  Really no ceiling on him, all depends on how well he can locate his stuff.

Yes, a good game by Prielipp, although as you noted, his control needs to be better, and trying to limit the number of walks. The number of pitches he threw also surprised me: 84 in this game. I haven't looked up the stats, but that may be a career high for him. I recall only a year ago when he was on a very strict pitch/innings limit. so this was encouraging too. 

[UpstateNewYorker]

Beat case starting rotation (which may never come to pass) of Lopez, Ryan, Taj, Abel, and Prielipp would be fun to watch ... if we could just catch the ball behind them. 

[IndianaTwin]

7 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

I’m glad Prielipp pitches better than he gives an interview. 🤣

Awesome to see him with a successful start to his MLB career.

Is Gray the best SS to wear #4 for the Twins? Who was that guy last year? I forget.

He’s just happy to be here and hopes he can help the ball club. He’s going to give it his best shot and, the Good Lord willing, things will work out. 

[Riverbrian]

9 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

He’s just happy to be here and hopes he can help the ball club. He’s going to give it his best shot and, the Good Lord willing, things will work out. 

Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.

[IndianaTwin]

2 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic.

Maybe THAT’S what our bullpen has been thinking about this season!

[Riverbrian]

Congrats to Connor on his first major league win. Congrats to Cody on a big game at the plate. 

On the negative side. 

Dear Derek Shelton,

#16

What are you doing with him? 

When the Right Handed pitchers returned on April 19.

Austin sat three straight games.

He then played 3 straight games. The first two of those games were against right handed pitchers. He went 4 for 7 during the two games against right handers.... he went Ofer against the lefty. For a 4 for 10 stretch. Which led to his being benched for two straight games last night and Sunday. 3 Sit, 3 Play, 2 sit. 

Matt Wallner has played 6 games during this 8 game stretch of right handers and has gone 3 for 21. His OBP is .274 his OPS is .564. 

 

 

 

[jmlease1]

A nice win in some very unpleasant weather. Prielipp did well, just started to wobble in that last inning when he couldn't find the plate. Maybe weather-related, maybe just a learning experience for an inexperienced pitcher, but it made it through with minimal damage.

It'll be interesting to see if this becomes a pattern with Morris, where he handles the first 2 innings well and then wobbles in the 3rd...and whether the Twins will start restricting his innings to less of a long man and more of a 1-2 inning role, potentially increasing the frequency of his outings while reducing the length. Regardless, he got the job done well enough.

Good to see the team get some big knocks with runners on base; the early success was unsustainable, the recent drought was unlucky, so hopefully it even out a bit and we see a little more consistent offense. Some guys that were really scrabbling got some key hits, which they and the team really needed. No idea if this offense from Gray is anywhere near sustainable, but I'll take it. Keaschall and Clemens had been dreadful at the dish, so good for them to get going. Thought the Keaschall double early was some nice hitting (and was worried that Bell was going to be called out by literally a hair) and maybe that starts a streak for him.

The Twins do well when they grind out ABs and take walks. It may not always be pretty but when they don't chase and get on base the runs will come. I still feel good about the rotation, especially with Prielipp showing out a bit that the reinforcements aren't all gone and the cupboard ain't bare.

Boy, team needed this win.

[bean5302]

Gotta be honest, I think Wallner needs some tough love at this point. I've been pretty defensive of him, but he honestly is just terrible at the plate. It looks like he's just guessing at pitches rather than seeing them and he needs to get out of his own head. 

"Figure it out or end your MLB career here and now. We're sending you to St. Paul in hopes you can get out of your head and start trusting in your eyes and following a process." should be the message he gets.

Nice to see Prielipp successful. It was raining all day out there so I'm not sure how much that played into making control more difficult. Regardless, a lot of run support and it started fairly early which was great!

I was in club level since I picked up a ticket for $20, but it was a terrible turn out. Maybe 5,000 fans in the stadium. Drafts at 34 was closed by the 5th inning.

[Doctor Gast]

Prielipp pitched a great game in cold weather (how dangerous), he pitched 5 innings with 84 pitches. Twins have to take good care of our young pitchers.

Twins did good with hitting in RISP. I'd love for them to spread out those hits & win more games. But with this BP, you can't have enough runs :(.

[Peter]

Huge much needed win!!!

[mark sills]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Twins Fan said:

Yes, a good game by Prielipp, although as you noted, his control needs to be better, and trying to limit the number of walks. The number of pitches he threw also surprised me: 84 in this game. I haven't looked up the stats, but that may be a career high for him. I recall only a year ago when he was on a very strict pitch/innings limit. so this was encouraging too. 

I think the mound was muddy and caused all the pitchers grief with slipping. Seemed like every pitcher had walks

[jmlease1]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Twins Fan said:

The number of pitches he threw also surprised me: 84 in this game. I haven't looked up the stats, but that may be a career high for him. I recall only a year ago when he was on a very strict pitch/innings limit. so this was encouraging too. 

Tied his career high. 2025 last game of his season: 84 pitches. 

I'm sure they're going to be careful with him while he's up with the MLB squad, but he's gone 82 and 84 pitches in his first two starts. I'd guess it's not a hard and fast number, but they're probably trying to keep him in the 80-90 pitch range with an expectation that he's not going more than 5-6 innings, and probably looking to have Morris ready in case he only goes 4 because of some high-stress innings.

To be clear: I have no problem with that. While they will need to build him up and occasionally push him eventually, being cautious with him early is the smart long-term play. Considering how most of us don't see this team going anywhere this season, being smart about how they build up and develop Prielipp is critical. He's never thrown 100 innings for a season in his college or pro career; before 2025 he'd never thrown 30.

Here's hoping his star-crossed injury luck is behind him

[jorgenswest]

That was a fantastic play off the wall and throw by Wallner to get Arozarena at second. Two runs were already in with the homer earlier in the inning and this looked to be another run and a player in scoring position when the ball left the bat. Instead it was inning over.

In the bottom half of the order Clemens, Keaschall and Gray were on base 8 times with 3 runs and 6 RBIs. They had some big hits.

 

[mikelink45]

My strange highlight is Keaschall getting two hits.  We need him.

Like others I agree that Wallner needs to sit, go down, go visit a guru in the Himalayas.

Morris seems to peak at two innings and we keep giving him 3.  Are they trying to see if he can ever step in to the rotation?  Right now the answer is no. 

[stringer bell]

Who are the underachievers? What can be done?

1) Wallner. Bench or option. Wallner has a -.9 WAR and OPS below .600. Yes, he made a nice play on the ball off the wall, but he's hurt the team more than any position player. It worked to send him to St. Paul two years ago. I think an option is justified.

2) Keaschall. Ride it out. Keaschall was successful last season. He is showing some signs of coming out of his early-season funk. He helps the club on the bases and according to Statcast, he's slightly above average in the field. Other defensive evaluations aren't as kind. I think he can adjust enough to be successful "on the fly" while continuing to be a regular. Giving him a couple of days off here and there to play a hotter bat should also be considered.

3) Lewis. Reduce playing time. Lewis seems healthy, but so far his contributions are pretty minimal. There is another option at third base and right now Tristan Gray is hitting better than Royce. I don't want to say Lewis is a head case, but I think he's more fragile than most big leaguers. The proper message and challenge needs to be sent to him and then it's up to him to produce. Splitting time with Gray as long as Gray is hitting seems like a good idea to me.

Who are the overachievers? What can be done for them to contribute more?

1) Martin. Increased playing time. Martin has been arguably the best offensive player on the team. He is among the fastest runners and has positive defensive metrics. Until he proves otherwise, Martin should be playing every day. If that means right field instead of left field, Martin hasn't embarrassed himself in either spot. He also can be Buxton's primary backup. If anyone has earned an increased role, it is Austin Martin.

2) Tristan Gray. Play him all over the infield. Keep going to him until he stops hitting. Last year, Gray had (SSS) reverse platoon splits, but so far this year, he looks like a decent platoon bat. He's hitting better than Keaschall and Lewis (and Bell and Clemens) so until he cools off he should be starting most of the time  against right handed pitching at one of the infield positions. I'm not confident his strong hitting will continue, but so far he's earned more playing time. 

[bean5302]

Not at all understanding the continued concern with Prielipp's "injury history" which really amounts to 1 injury. UCL replacement in 2021, and the surgery failed, but it wasn't discovered the surgery failed until 2023. He underwent a UCL brace to strengthen the ligament. That's about it. There is no storied injury history. It was a common injury and the surgery didn't take so it had to be revisited.

There's also no reason to be concerned about him throwing 80-90 pitches. He ended last year with a 6.0 inning start as I recall.

I don't see a reason to be concerned for Prielipp going 140 innings this year.

[Linus]

12 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Who are the underachievers? What can be done?

1) Wallner. Bench or option. Wallner has a -.9 WAR and OPS below .600. Yes, he made a nice play on the ball off the wall, but he's hurt the team more than any position player. It worked to send him to St. Paul two years ago. I think an option is justified.

2) Keaschall. Ride it out. Keaschall was successful last season. He is showing some signs of coming out of his early-season funk. He helps the club on the bases and according to Statcast, he's slightly above average in the field. Other defensive evaluations aren't as kind. I think he can adjust enough to be successful "on the fly" while continuing to be a regular. Giving him a couple of days off here and there to play a hotter bat should also be considered.

3) Lewis. Reduce playing time. Lewis seems healthy, but so far his contributions are pretty minimal. There is another option at third base and right now Tristan Gray is hitting better than Royce. I don't want to say Lewis is a head case, but I think he's more fragile than most big leaguers. The proper message and challenge needs to be sent to him and then it's up to him to produce. Splitting time with Gray as long as Gray is hitting seems like a good idea to me.

Who are the overachievers? What can be done for them to contribute more?

1) Martin. Increased playing time. Martin has been arguably the best offensive player on the team. He is among the fastest runners and has positive defensive metrics. Until he proves otherwise, Martin should be playing every day. If that means right field instead of left field, Martin hasn't embarrassed himself in either spot. He also can be Buxton's primary backup. If anyone has earned an increased role, it is Austin Martin.

2) Tristan Gray. Play him all over the infield. Keep going to him until he stops hitting. Last year, Gray had (SSS) reverse platoon splits, but so far this year, he looks like a decent platoon bat. He's hitting better than Keaschall and Lewis (and Bell and Clemens) so until he cools off he should be starting most of the time  against right handed pitching at one of the infield positions. I'm not confident his strong hitting will continue, but so far he's earned more playing time. 

This is spot on. If we are really trying to win these need to be made yesterday. One of the FO failings is the inability to make shorter term roster adjustments. 

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Nice win. 

I hope Prielipp is here to stay. 

Again, Morris is left in too long. How many times does this same result need to happen before you stop doing it? 

Finally got to see the arm from Wallner. With the bat still not producing, is it enough to keep his spot on the roster? 

[David Maro]

Morris pitched 3 innings because of the score,if it was 4-2 he would have been done after 2 innings. In his first outing the score was lopsided as well and he was fine. In his second outing the score was close and he failed. Shelton is probably looking for opportunities like last night to build his confidence.