Guardians 6, Twins 4: Apple TV Game Goes Awry

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze | 2026 May 8

Box Score
Connor Prielipp: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (12)
Bottom 3 WPA: Connor Prielipp (-.240), Ryan Jeffers (-.190), Matt Wallner (-.160)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Ah, the first Apple TV game of the year. How well did you do in finding a way to watch the game? This author—who is 27 years old, by the way—struggled to use their fiancé’s email to sign up for a free trial solely for this game. The process took ten minutes. We needed her face ID three times. The dinosaurs feel more relatable with each passing day. At least we were rewarded with baseball played by the 2026 Twins.

Byron Buxton doubled to lead off the game—a false hope, as he remained at the base, cursed to watch his teammates fail to even advance him to third.

In poetic juxtaposition, the Guardians scored their first baserunner—and many more (man, two em dashes so early seem a little aggressive, but we’ll work with it). Steven Kwan singled, and Connor Prielipp doinked a slider off Angel Martínez’s foot. José Ramírez chopped a grounder that should have netted at least one out, yet Luke Keaschall positioned himself too close to the dashing Martínez, who blinded the young second baseman, allowing the ball to escape him entirely and roll softly, harmlessly into the outfield, scoring one. Rhys Hoskins added on with a sacrifice fly.

The damage would have been rationalized if Travis Bazzana didn’t soon clobber a hanging Prielipp slider to make the first an Officially Disastrous frame™. Cleveland led 4-0.

And Cleveland starter Parker Messick was in no mood to relinquish that advantage. The 25-year-old Mark Buehrle impersonator tore through the Twins lineup. No runner again reached second base until the sixth; he simply didn’t allow it. Rather, the lefty worked at his accelerated pace, changed speeds, and kept Minnesota’s batters guessing, often incorrectly. 

But fortune changed in the sixth. Austin Martin “doubled” on a 56-degree chip shot over the first baseman’s head, enabling Ryan Jeffers to shoot an RBI single to right field. Impossibly, the Twins totaled three more consecutive hits without scoring another run; the lethargic Jeffers was thrown out at home following a Keaschall knock. 

“You know how to avoid getting thrown out at home? By blasting one out of the park?” -Byron Buxton, probably.

The homer brought the game within one. 

Which was as close as things would get. Cleveland added on in the seventh and eighth to stretch things to a 6-3 advantage over the Twins. Minnesota put men on the corners with no one out in the ninth to spice matters up late, but a Jeffers double play neutered the rally. They fell one batter later. 

Notes:

Byron Buxton is tied for fourth in the AL with 12 homers. 

Over his last 15 games, Buxton is slashing .284/.324/.687.

Austin Martin's .464 OBP leads the AL (min. 110 plate appearances).

Post-Game Interview:

 

What’s Next?
The Twins and Guardians will meet on standard TV for an early-evening Saturday affair. Joe Ryan is scheduled to start opposite Tanner Bibbee. First pitch is at 5:10 PM.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	TOT
Banda	0	19	0	20	22	61
Funderburk	0	0	17	0	22	39
Orze	0	16	0	0	16	32
Topa	0	0	32	0	0	32
Klein	0	0	0	31	0	31
Garcia	0	13	14	0	0	27
Rogers	0	0	0	26	0	26
Morris	0	0	14	0	0	14
Gómez	0	0	0	0	2	2

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[USAFChief]

1. Chopping up the TV schedule between multiple services should be a felony.

2. Having 5 consecutive hitters go double, single, single, single, single -- all to the outfield no less -- and coming away with only one run IS a felony in 39 states. Lock em up.

 

Edited May 9 by USAFChief

[mikelink45]

Outman and Wallner - provide a collective 24 for 155 - .154BA and -1.5 WAR

I would guess they are lucky our replacements are all on the IL and will have to play a few games when they come back before getting a promotion.  We get to watch this duo for at least two more weeks.  But maybe Wallner can have another of those games where we can say - he is showing signs of progress again. 

[DJL44]

5 hours ago, USAFChief said:

1. Chopping up the TV schedule between multiple services should be a felony.

I have heard rumors about putting the first part of the game on over the air TV but the ending on the streaming service. Pay if you want to see how it ends.

[thelanges5]

Twins are 9-22 at Progressive the past 4 seasons. Guardos devil magic is alive and well 👹

[Major League Ready]

24 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

Outman and Wallner - provide a collective 24 for 155 - .154BA and -1.5 WAR

I would guess they are lucky our replacements are all on the IL and will have to play a few games when they come back before getting a promotion.  We get to watch this duo for at least two more weeks.  But maybe Wallner can have another of those games where we can say - he is showing signs of progress again. 

Ben Ross is probably a better OFer than Outman.  He tore up AA, got promoted and stunk it up for the first 5 games.  He has only played 11 AAA games so I am not suggesting they should bring him up in the immediate future.  However, the last 6 games his line is .300. / 500. / 750 for a 1.250 OPS.   For the season  .337 / .454 / .663 for an OPS of 1.117   He can't possibly be worse the Outman.  I hope he gets a shot 4-6 weeks from now if he continues to play well.  They could also put him at SS, move Brooks to 3B and give Lewis a reset at AAA.   

[Twins_Fan_in_NJ]

Didn't miss much. Got the ESPN alert that it was 4-3 and thought....there's a chance?! Only to see a replay of the last dozen or so games between the Twins and Guardians.

[Blyleven2011]

I can't believe Conner Prielipp is a bottom - 240 WPA , he pitched better then the box score shows , the error they gave keaschall was bogus , as everyone on the broadcast team commented it was interference but can't challenge this  , I always thought 2 heads were better than 1 but 4 umpires couldn't get it right when they sorted it out ...

The hitters hit , just not in the clutch , we gave Cleveland the easy win with the help of bad umpiring  ...

 

I could see this team getting 20 hits a game and still find away to lose  ...

[Hubie29]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I have heard rumors about putting the first part of the game on over the air TV but the ending on the streaming service. Pay if you want to see how it ends.

That would be perfect. Game is usually over by the 4th or 5th inning anyway

[Hubie29]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

 

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

Twins are 9-22 at Progressive the past 4 seasons. Guardos devil magic is alive and well 👹

There is no magic here. The Guardians are a better team and they want to win and will do what they must to achieve their goals. The Guardians walk the walk, while the Twins talk the talk.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, thelanges5 said:

Twins are 9-22 at Progressive the past 4 seasons. Guardos devil magic is alive and well 👹

Occam's Razor says TC bad at baseball.

[thelanges5]

9 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Occam's Razor says TC bad at baseball.

I definitely agree that TC is bad at baseball. But a negative run differential with a winning record is 👹magic. As evidenced by their 2025 year 88-74 record with -6 run differential. Only team in the playoffs with a negative run differential and they won the Central. 
 

Of course, my argument will fall flat by the end of this weekend when they sweep the Twins and have a positive run differential. Good times!

[JD-TWINS]

37 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

I can't believe Conner Prielipp is a bottom - 240 WPA , he pitched better then the box score shows , the error they gave keaschall was bogus , as everyone on the broadcast team commented it was interference but can't challenge this  , I always thought 2 heads were better than 1 but 4 umpires couldn't get it right when they sorted it out ...

The hitters hit , just not in the clutch , we gave Cleveland the easy win with the help of bad umpiring  ...

 

I could see this team getting 20 hits a game and still find away to lose  ...

The Prielipp WPA has to be an error. Above it shows he gave up 4 earned runs & it was actually 1 earned run. On the Baseball Reference stats sight for Team, Prielipp’s ERA DROPPED to 3.32 (1 earned run).

Just heard on MLB Network that the Team is 3rd in A.L. in runs scored. Since April 17th they have scored 3 or less in 9 of 20 games ……. sure, they did get 7,8,11,&11 over 4 games (3-1) so those numbers skew the “offensive effectiveness”.

I realize there are peaks and valleys in run production but 3 or less in nearly half of your games makes it hard to get any positive momentum going!

If one drops SWR from the rotation the other 5 starters have a 3.38 ERA for the season.

Defense can only change if players are exchanged. (i.e. Culpepper with Lee to 3B)  Starters are solid IF Abel can return. Theoretically, offense is scoring and generally not bad……..particularly if they displace Wallner & Lewis.

Gotta get more aggressive with PEN fixes - Rojas - SWR(once Abel returns) - some other young arm - Sands, when healthy. If they could trim the bottom 3 guys from the current PEN with average results from youth, .500 ball is attainable.

[Western SD Fan]

I finally got to look at the two important plays last night.  First, the Keaschall 'error', which I don't think is an error.  Even if played properly, would be a tough play with the runner in front of you.  The discussion from the radio boys last night suggested that the runner cannot go out of his lane to affect the play but has every right to the running lane that Keaschall has to field the ball.  If it would have been done again, Keaschall would have waited back on the ball to get Ramirez out.  Ramirez is fast, but he's not Bazzana fast, so he would have had time.  Another learning experience for a young man in a play that isn't seen very often.  After seeing Borrego's send of Jeffers, it looked aggressive, but not egregious.  The egregious part was Lee not clearing the bat so Jeffers had a better sliding land into home.  I'm not sure I would have done it considering we had one out at Messick was teetering on collapse, but it's not the worst send I've seen ever, or even this week.

[JD-TWINS]

GUARDIANS sent Bo Naylor to AAA and traded the 26th pick in the draft and another chip to Giants for Patrick Bailey. Trying to get better long-term while always focussed on WINNING MORE in the short term.

Naylor has been pretty front and center for them for most of 3 years. Guardians not afraid about a starter getting somewhat deflated when sent down to find themselves! It’s a Professional Sport.

Royce Lewis AAA - platoon Kriedler & Gray

Matt Wallner AAA - play Larnach & Martin v. RH pitching OR Clemens in LF with other option at 1B with Larnach in RF. Unfortunately, Jenkins - Gonzalez - Rodriguez - Roden are all on IL. THAT is why Teams hang on to guys like Outman until someone forces themselves on to the roster - need a RH outfield bat to take Wallner’s spot.

[HarmonK03]

18 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

GUARDIANS sent Bo Naylor to AAA and traded the 26th pick in the draft and another chip to Giants for Patrick Bailey. Trying to get better long-term while always focussed on WINNING MORE in the short term.

Naylor has been pretty front and center for them for most of 3 years. Guardians not afraid about a starter getting somewhat deflated when sent down to find themselves! It’s a Professional Sport.

Royce Lewis AAA - platoon Kriedler & Gray

Matt Wallner AAA - play Larnach & Martin v. RH pitching OR Clemens in LF with other option at 1B with Larnach in RF. Unfortunately, Jenkins - Gonzalez - Rodriguez - Roden are all on IL. THAT is why Teams hang on to guys like Outman until someone forces themselves on to the roster - need a RH outfield bat to take Wallner’s spot.

While I agree with what the Guardians did, I don't think a Lewis move as you describe is comparable.  The Guardians are bringing in a viable replacement for Naylor.  If the Twins want to replace Lewis it needs to be with Culpepper not below replacement players like Kriedler or Gray.

 

[Western SD Fan]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Royce Lewis AAA - platoon Kriedler & Gray

I do think there is a way that this works.  Kriedler is not a permanent option.  You send Lewis down for the minimum to clear his head, feast on some AAA pitching for confidence, and work on his swing outside of the bright lights of Target Field.  Once his assignment is complete, he comes back up and we see if he is progressing forward.  This idea allows Culpepper some more time in AAA since last night was his first night back in the field.  When I expect Culpepper to come up, there should be a more permanent decision to be made on Lewis or Lee.

[JD-TWINS]

2 hours ago, Western SD Fan said:

I do think there is a way that this works.  Kriedler is not a permanent option.  You send Lewis down for the minimum to clear his head, feast on some AAA pitching for confidence, and work on his swing outside of the bright lights of Target Field.  Once his assignment is complete, he comes back up and we see if he is progressing forward.  This idea allows Culpepper some more time in AAA since last night was his first night back in the field.  When I expect Culpepper to come up, there should be a more permanent decision to be made on Lewis or Lee.

Culpepper is a solid move “at some point”. I don’t see organization brining him to MLB unless his offense forces him to be used, prior to late in July 1. With the way things sit now, it would appear Lee would get pretty strong consideration to play 3B, with Culpepper at SS. The whole point of moving Lewis to AAA is to help him re-set ……… so that he can come back to club and play 3B most every day. He’s got to prove he can hit the ball prior to that opportunity.

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, karcherd said:

While I agree with what the Guardians did, I don't think a Lewis move as you describe is comparable.  The Guardians are bringing in a viable replacement for Naylor.  If the Twins want to replace Lewis it needs to be with Culpepper not below replacement players like Kriedler or Gray.

 

Not really hung up on any specifics for “a move”, my point is the Guardians make moves that help the Team win now. Lewis nor Wallner are helping the Team win now. They need to get re-started in St. Paul ASAP. Also, the ability to move forward and then seizing the opportunity to add to the Club via trades is something Cleveland has been open to over recent years.

Culpepper isn’t ready - hopefully in 45-60 days!

Lewis - .173/.269/.309 slash with a 60 OPS+ 81 AB’s

Gray - .258/.299/.419 slash with a 98 OPS+ 62 AB’s 
 

Kreidler - .214/.389/.714 slash with a 200 OPS+ 14 AB’s
 

The Gray & Kreidler platoon sure seems like an opportunity to upgrade, IMO.

[Mike Sixel]

7 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

The Prielipp WPA has to be an error. Above it shows he gave up 4 earned runs & it was actually 1 earned run. On the Baseball Reference stats sight for Team, Prielipp’s ERA DROPPED to 3.32 (1 earned run).

Just heard on MLB Network that the Team is 3rd in A.L. in runs scored. Since April 17th they have scored 3 or less in 9 of 20 games ……. sure, they did get 7,8,11,&11 over 4 games (3-1) so those numbers skew the “offensive effectiveness”.

I realize there are peaks and valleys in run production but 3 or less in nearly half of your games makes it hard to get any positive momentum going!

If one drops SWR from the rotation the other 5 starters have a 3.38 ERA for the season.

Defense can only change if players are exchanged. (i.e. Culpepper with Lee to 3B)  Starters are solid IF Abel can return. Theoretically, offense is scoring and generally not bad……..particularly if they displace Wallner & Lewis.

Gotta get more aggressive with PEN fixes - Rojas - SWR(once Abel returns) - some other young arm - Sands, when healthy. If they could trim the bottom 3 guys from the current PEN with average results from youth, .500 ball is attainable.

I don't think wpa uses defense. It's a flaw for sure, but I read they do that because it's hard to assign the value between the fielders and pitchers, so the pitcher takes it all. 

[HarmonK03]

38 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Not really hung up on any specifics for “a move”, my point is the Guardians make moves that help the Team win now. Lewis nor Wallner are helping the Team win now. They need to get re-started in St. Paul ASAP. Also, the ability to move forward and then seizing the opportunity to add to the Club via trades is something Cleveland has been open to over recent years.

Culpepper isn’t ready - hopefully in 45-60 days!

Lewis - .173/.269/.309 slash with a 60 OPS+ 81 AB’s

Gray - .258/.299/.419 slash with a 98 OPS+ 62 AB’s 
 

Kreidler - .214/.389/.714 slash with a 200 OPS+ 14 AB’s
 

The Gray & Kreidler platoon sure seems like an opportunity to upgrade, IMO.

That is a very small sample size for Gray and Kreidler and they are not going to help us win any more than Lewis in the short term.  So I would look at the long term and Lewis has a better chance of helping us in the long term.  He was doing better before he went on the IL, I would roll with Lewis.

[JD-TWINS]

55 minutes ago, karcherd said:

That is a very small sample size for Gray and Kreidler and they are not going to help us win any more than Lewis in the short term.  So I would look at the long term and Lewis has a better chance of helping us in the long term.  He was doing better before he went on the IL, I would roll with Lewis.

I would not roll with him. Favorite player through ‘24 but he’s currently a mess.

He’s been back from injury long enough & he keeps backing up statistically.

I realize the stats are based on a small sample size…….. that’s why I showed the details. Gray & Kreidler’s combined AB’s are 5 less in total than Royce to date. Kreidler also adds OF options for defense if they want to pinch hit with Bell - Jeffers - Caratini (whichever isn’t starting).

[HarmonK03]

34 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

I would not roll with him. Favorite player through ‘24 but he’s currently a mess.

He’s been back from injury long enough & he keeps backing up statistically.

I realize the stats are based on a small sample size…….. that’s why I showed the details. Gray & Kreidler’s combined AB’s are 5 less in total than Royce to date. Kreidler also adds OF options for defense if they want to pinch hit with Bell - Jeffers - Caratini (whichever isn’t starting).

This team is going nowhere and they need to be honest about that internally.  To keep giving AB's to these AAAA types is only keeping the team stuck in neutral going nowhere.  They made the decision to have Lewis as their third baseman this year, either replace him with a meaningful upgrade or ride with him.  I have lost patience with the team at this point, they need to know what they have in the younger players on both the position side and pitching side and make the necessary real improvements in the offseason.