Twins 4, Red Sox 2: Bradley, Rojas and the Twins Stay on Fire in Boston

[Steven Trefz]

Image courtesy of Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Taj Bradley 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (73 pitches, 48 strikes (66%))
Home Runs: N/A
Top 3 WPA: Taylor Rogers (0.18), Bradley (0.17), Kendry Rojas (0.17)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins welcomed back their flamethrower phenom Taj Bradley to the mound at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon. In a matinee that got pretty heated, Bradley and the Twins kept their cool and stayed hot in Boston.

Starting Hot 
The Red Sox sent a familiar face out as an opener, with lefty Jovani Moran getting the first frame against his former squad. Moran got ahead of Byron Buxton 0-2 to lead things off, but Buck stroked a single to get the offense rolling. Trevor Larnach roped a single of his own to start off his four-hit day, and then Austin Martin took Moran to the gap to get the Twins on the board at 1-0.

Bradley's Heater
A Josh Bell sacrifice fly spotted Bradley another run to work with, and he worked with the lead quite well. After facing some rehab time for a pectoral muscle issue over the past two weeks, Bradley looked to return to his dominant ways.

The first three innings saw little resistance from the Boston bats, with Taj alternating between low-90's movement and 99 mph heaters. The fourth inning saw the Red Sox get their first hit, and eventually their first run as a Ceddanne Rafaela double plated Mickey Gasper. Willson Contreras tried to follow Gasper home, but Martin threw a bead to Orlando Arcia, who in turn threw a pea to Victor Caratini for the tag at home. That play not only kept the Twins in the lead, but it also set a fire under the Twins offense as Caratini took exception to Contreras' bump at the plate, and Contreras took exception to any human interaction that ensued. 

 

With the bullpens and benches all lathered up, the top of the fifth inning began with the third of Larnach's four hits. Martin followed with an infield hit up the middle to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Bell stepped to the plate after having been the first man off the bench to skirmish in the previous inning, and he ironically exposed Contreras with a grounder to first that ate up the normally elite defender to load the bases against righty bulk man Brayan Bello. Kody Clemens failed to make them pay by flying out to shallow left, but Caratini hit a fly ball to right jussssssst far enough to score Larnach on a sweet slide to make it 3-1. Arcia then hit a grounder that was headed for out number three until Bello mindlessly reached behind his back and deflected the ball into no mans land. Martin scored, and the Twins bullpen got itself a three-run lead to work with.

Rojas Holds the Fireline, and Morris Pours on Gas
Bradley wasn't going to go very deep into the game in his first outing back, and Kendry Rojas was ready and waiting to keep the heaters coming. Rojas surrendered only one hit and struck out three over his three innings of work, and it looked like the Twins were on their way to an easy road victory.

Then Andrew Morris took the hill for the bottom of the ninth, and Contreras laced a lead-off single into left. Morris followed by walking Rafaela on five pitches. Now the Twins were feeling the heat, and the tying run stepped into the box in the form of young Nick Sogard. Sogard took a 95 mph heater, and then popped up a changeup to ease some of the tension. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit, and Arcia made a slick play on a grounder up the middle to take out the runner at second to get the Twins within one out of a big win. Connor Wong was next man up, and he worked a walk on a full count to load em up. 

Derek Shelton stuck with the rookie Morris in this new-to-him crucial spot. The first two pitches to Isiah Kiner-Falefa were not close, and Morris was limited to heaters only to finish off the game. On a full count, Morris yanked a fastball into the ground to walk in the second run for the Red Sox.

With the tying run on second, Shelton went to lefty Taylor Rogers to face the dangerous lefty Jarren Duran. Rogers got ahead 0-2, and for the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth times on the evening the Red Sox got down to their final strike. This time, Rogers caught Duran looking on a top shelf sweeper. Duran challenged, but the Twins victory got "confirmed." Thank you homeplate umpire Jen Pawol for doing your job well, as the Twins didn't have a challenge left in the tank had you botched that call. Twins Territory owes you a $2 beer next time you come to Target Field!

What’s Next?
The Twins look to get out the brooms at Fenway for the first time since 2015. The Bearded Nightmare (5-2, 3.63 ERA) looks to keep the good times rolling in Bean Town. Facing Bailey Ober will be former Twins ace Sonny Gray (5-1, 2.93 ERA) who is 1-2 with a non-stellar 7.20 ERA against his former team since leaving via free agency after the 2023 season. First pitch is scheduled for 12:35pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	TOT
Gómez	0	36	0	13	0	49
Adams	19	0	0	29	0	48
Rojas	0	0	0	0	45	45
Morris	0	10	0	0	32	42
Banda	16	0	0	14	0	30
Orze	0	0	0	14	0	14
Rogers	0	0	0	0	6	6
Woods Richardson	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[Aggies7]

I like watching this version of the twins more than the last couple years. It’s far from amazing, but much more enjoyable. 

[Nshore]

Taylor Rogers seems to have righted the ship - and just in time.  He's had some veteran, cold blooded performances lately.

[Peter]

Turning point was contrairis slide at home!!! Then twins got 3 huge runs to take momentum away! Taj was 🔥🔥🔥🔥💪💪💪💪 bottom of 9th was nervous but Rogers got the job done!!! Huge series win!!! Let’s get the sweep tomorrow!!!

[Parfigliano]

Yesterday the bullpen didn't even bend.  Today they bend but don't break and whaddayouknow TC wins both games.

[ashbury]

9 minutes ago, Peter said:

Turning point was contrairis slide at home!!! 

On a different day the runner might have made a different decision than to go in standing up and hard.   😀

[DocBauer]

Really, really good start for Bradley in his first game back. I knew they might restrict his IP in this one, but was a little surprised it was Rojas who came in. I thought it might be SWR since weather ruined his last experience, he was well rested, and I thought they might save Rojas for another game where he might actually start.  But it turned out great.

The obvious temptation is to return Rojas back to St Paul and let him continue his development as a SP. It seems logical. Neither he or Prielipp were SUPPOSESD to be up this soon. But the Twins have basically said: "Screw it! We're going to trust in and run with our young arms!" To me, that's a breath of FRESH AIR. 

Whether Rojas remains a high velocity late IP arm, or transitions back to the rotation at some point, I absolutely love trusting in the kid's STUFF and letting him get his experience at the ML level at this point.

Regarding Morris, I have a lot of faith in him despite just not having control today. It happens, especially for a rookie in his new role. There will be bumps in the road for all of these young arms. While it didn't actually help, and Rogers was needed to finish the game off, I really liked Shelton giving Morris the one more batter to see if he could get out of it. 

No matter who've they've played, I believe this is 4 series wins out of 5 currently? That's pretty good, especially with the injuries they've had and almost ZERO production from a pair of veterans who were sent down. But even still, I'm a little disappointed. Even in winning 4 of the last 5 series, I think they let a couple games just slip through their fingers. They are "so close" to being .500 or above right now. 

Either that's a "how are they this close to .500" if you're a downer, OR, "Damn, a couple more hits and the May bullpen in April, they might be .500 or a game or two above".

You pick your lane.

Personally, I'm in lane #2 with the idea that losing Jeffers is BAD NEWS, but getting even average offense at 3B and RF currently means an upgrade that will help balance his loss to a point.

I just wish there was the opportunity existed, when injuries happen, that the PRIMARY starting St Paul OF wasn't all on the IL. Even ONE of them might provide a spark.

But this was a really nice win.

[thelanges5]

Willson = d*** move

Taj threw the fastest pitch recorded by a Twins starter at 100.3

Caratini looking capable as the starting C

12 hits from the batters 

Rojas and Morris are alright

 

[arby58]

43 minutes ago, Aggies7 said:

I like watching this version of the twins more than the last couple years. It’s far from amazing, but much more enjoyable. 

I was not a Rocco hater, but Shelton just seems a little more 'grounded' in the way he manages.

[USAFChief]

35 minutes ago, ashbury said:

On a different day the runner might have made a different decision than to go in standing up and hard.   😀

Back when they played baseball!

[shimrod]

Fun watching them hang on. The team is exceeding my expectations for wins. I agree with the praise for Shelton. The Rocco teams frequently felt like they were not playing to their potential. This team, as flawed as it is, keeps getting wins in unlikely spots. 

That said, my main take away from the last couple days is that Boston really sucks. 

[ashbury]

6 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Back when they played baseball!

Fair (implied) point, but I'm guessing the ball in this photo didn't arrive quite as early as the one today.

[Blyleven2011]

I didn't see the first 6 innings  , sure was nice to have Bradley back from IL list and sooner rather than later ...

5 very good innings that I missed from Bradley ,  I liked what I saw from Rojas today , a few wild ones in 3 innings of work ...

Offense was hitting , nice to see double digit hits in a game , last year they could barely get 3 or 4 hits a game ...

The team is slowly putting baby steps down  , the hope is will they sustain it and keep improving ...

Like I said in another thread article , the Twins are competive in their division but are not contenders in the league ...

They are playing better than any of us expected except for PETER ...

Nice win and guaranteed a series win , win tomorrow and it’s time for a sweep ...

[shimrod]

1 minute ago, Blyleven2011 said:

They are playing better than any of us expected except for PETER

Kudos to Peter. I entered the season as negative as anyone. To date I'm wrong and Peter is right. 

[USAFChief]

9 minutes ago, ashbury said:

Fair (implied) point, but I'm guessing the ball in this photo didn't arrive quite as early as the one today.

Hunter, however, scored. 

[DocBauer]

12 minutes ago, Nshore said:

Taylor Rogers seems to have righted the ship - and just in time.  He's had some veteran, cold blooded performances lately.

While he's just not the Rogers we all knew and loved, he was actually having a solid 2025 before his trade at the deadline. The wheels kind of fell off at that point for his season. I don't know how much he's got left, but I still like having him around for what might be his final year as a gut and guile experienced veteran. I'm betting he will be worth his $2M before the season is done.

I probably trust him more than Banda, except Banda suddenly figured out his mechanics were wonky and he's suddenly looked much better.

I'm still confused by Funderburk. He ended 2025 looking better than he has looked before. He began this season looking very solid. But he just wasn't the same after his brief leave. I'm speculating that he was distracted. 

No matter how they pitch this season, I have doubts about the future of Rogers and Banda both. But right now...even if he might eventually return to the rotation...Rojas is an absolute weapon for the bullpen. 

IF he stays there, the HOPE is Funderburk gets his focus back and will be part of the 2027 BP, otherwise the Twins will need to look for someone else.

Thielbar lost it in his last season with the Twins. And then he "found it" with the Cubs. So there's a chance Rogers or Banda are still brought back for 2027. We still have a long season left to play. Are either, or both, of these guys on their final rodeo? IDK, but it wouldn't surprise me if one of them added a pitch, or just got "smarter" based on experience and have learned how to better do their job with diminishing velocity. 

But I actually love having Rogers around for this season based on experience. I have a "trust" factor that more times than not, he will get the job done.

 

[Blyleven2011]

3 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

 

But I actually love having Rogers around for this season based on experience. I have a "trust" factor that more times than not, he will get the job done.

 

It's a tough job but someone has to do it , Roger's got that important 3rd out with bases loaded , a veteran not stirred and not shaken either ...

[ashbury]

10 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Hunter, however, scored. 

The photo seems unambiguous on that detail. 😀

[tony&rodney]

Tough game for Morris. In the minor leagues he was often hurt by broken bat base hits. That 72.5 mph broken bat base hit by Contreras was a bad omen. First time for Morris in front of a frenzied Fenway Park crowd .... a learning experience. He will settle down and throw strikes the next time. Loved that Shelton stuck with him until the LH bat came up.

Good win today. Fenway is such a unique experience.

[David HK]

I'm glad I'm living in HK right now, with universal health care, so I can keep up with my BP medication.  (I guess BP has 2 meanings now!)  Holy crap, it turned out OK in the end, but yet another self-inflicted 💩show.  I guess major league teams NEED A CLOSER after all. Ay, caramba!

And speaking of 💩shows...  I always like to check the oppo feed when a close or controversial play happens.  My golly, the red sux announcing team are approaching Hawkster territory.  No mention, and no replay of his bush-league slide into 1st, which could have been seriously injurious to Clemens.  And his unecessary barreling into Caratini?  Well, that was 'good aggressive baseball.  Who knows?  If he'd slid, he might have hit him harder!'  Or so they say.  Those guys suck.  It was sweet to once again catch up with their postgame whining-- and super sweet that the 3 hosts all took turns shaking their heads at the "worst home record in baseball."  Haw haw-- one guy repeated it twice, as if to reinforce the validity.  Then hung his head. 😅😂🤣

[h2oface]

Tied for the last wild card! Take a picture of the standings.

Maki: “With Kendry, we have a very specific roadmap for how we're handling his build-up. Coming off the hamstring issue early on, we committed to a four-day schedule. Because he's throwing on shorter rest, we are intentionally keeping him in that 45-to-60 pitch window. You saw it against Houston—he gave us 4.0 brilliant, scoreless innings on just 46 pitches, and we took him right out. We're not going to push him past that ceiling right now. It's about preserving the quality of that 97 MPH fastball and making sure he stays healthy for the long haul."

Today was the 5th day since starting on May 18. He was at 45 pitches/3.0 innings today.

[DocBauer]

22 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Back when they played baseball!

The runner still has the opportunity to run through the play as I understand it, but not if the catcher has the ball in hand. And from what I've seen, Caratini had the ball in hand. 

But I will admit it was a sorta bang-bang close play. But almost ANY runner would be looking to slide and hope to be safe doing so, avoiding a tag. Contreas decided a collision with Caratini made more sense. Sorry, that's Contreas being an A-hole.

I also have a real problem with him sliding in to 1B...usually a stupid move...and choosing to shove Clemens foot off the base. In review, ball to glove would have him safe anyway. But for whatever reason, he thought diving in to 1B instead of running through was smart...it NEVER is...and he was safe. Regardless, it was a BS play by him.

[DocBauer]

A last thought, SUPPOSEDLY the Bo Sox are a high K team with breaking stuff. Isn't Ober supposed to start Sunday? I'm thinking this is a solid chance for a sweep if the offense comes through. 

Ober's mix of sweepers and breaking pitches just might allow for a sweep. 

[DocBauer]

29 minutes ago, Blyleven2011 said:

It's a tough job but someone has to do it , Roger's got that important 3rd out with bases loaded , a veteran not stirred and not shaken either ...

Exactly.  He's only around based on his experience. But that experience means once in a while he's still useful. And he was today.

[ashbury]

22 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

But I will admit it was a sorta bang-bang close play. 

Look again at that photo I posted.  Calling that bang-bang loosens the definition I am accustomed to, by a considerable margin.

No bang, but definitely a thud half a second later.  😀

I don't actually have that much of an independent opinion on appropriateness of the play - merely that Caratini took umbrage at it, and I posted what I thought to be a pretty good illustration of what the issue centered on.

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Welcome back Taj! Great start. Could tell he was running out of gas in the 5th with 5 straight out of the zone. Nice recovery to finish it out. Rojas had 3 effective innings. He's a bit wild but he's getting it done. Rogers coming in and shutting the door.

 

[karcherd]

32 minutes ago, h2oface said:

Maki: “With Kendry, we have a very specific roadmap for how we're handling his build-up. Coming off the hamstring issue early on, we committed to a four-day schedule. Because he's throwing on shorter rest, we are intentionally keeping him in that 45-to-60 pitch window.

So is he a starter or reliever.  This plan works better in St. Paul. one more base runner in the 7th, they would have had to consider bringing in another pitcher.  They have to get away from this bulk pitching nonsense.

[Nshore]

That was a heckuva slide by Larnach - one of the best I've seen in a while.  Maybe he should teach Contreras how to slide into home.