Twins 6, White Sox 4: As Connor Prielipp Learns the Ropes, Twins Rally Past White Sox

[Steven Trefz]

Box Score
SP: Connor Prielipp 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (94 pitches, 62 strikes (66%))
Home Runs: N/A
Top 3 WPA: Luke Keaschall (0.23), Tristan Gray (0.23), Alex Jackson (0.14) & Yoendrys Gómez (0.14)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins took advantage of the White Sox's road woes on Monday night, and they looked to keep regaining ground against their division rival on Lou Gehrig Day. Two young starters got a second crack at their foes. Chicago's rising star Davis Martin looked to pick up his second win in less than a week against the Twins, while Minnesota's young lefty Connor Prielipp looked for revenge after giving up six runs in less than five innings earlier in the week to the South-Siders. 

White Sox Hit the Third Running
Prielipp coasted through the first two frames, but ran into some classic 2026 Twins moments in the top of the third inning. The speedster Luisangel Acuña worked a leadoff walk on a full count, and then proceeded to steal second base. Then he stole third base, and Alex Jackson's throw soared into left field, allowing Acuña to trot home for the game's first run without the batter, Jacob Gonzalez, having to do a thing. After Gonzalez struck out, Chase Meidroth and Randal Grichuk struck with a single and a double, which set up Miguel Vargas for a two-run single to put the Pale Hose out to a 3-0 advantage with some uncharacteristic Chicago small ball.

Twins Run it Right Back
Martin was pitching well, but the Twins batters took advantage of their recent muscle memory in the batter's box and finally broke through on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Tristan Gray led off with a single, and then was gifted second on a Martin balk. Jackson attempted to sacrifice bunt. Instead, Gonzalez decided to cover the ground two feet in front of the base instead of the actual base—and he chose not to try to tag Jackson, either. Runners were at the corners with nobody out, but Byron Buxton struck out looking. Luckily, Brooks Lee kept his RBIs rolling with a sac fly to make it 3-1. 

Prielipp took care of the Sox in short order in the top of the fourth, and kept the pressure on his opponent. Martin crumbled under that pressure, surrendering six straight hits to plate four runs. Luke Keaschall got the scoring rolling with an RBI single in the fourth, and he ultimately ended the Twins' scoring with an RBI single in the fifth. By the time the Keaschall bookend was finished, it was 6-3 Twins. Honorable RBI mentions go to Gray (2) and Jackson (1) as well, but the highlight is all Luke's.

Nothing's Ever Easy at Target Field
The fans began to show up mid-game, and by the time the adult beverages had impacted the tarps-off section, the atmosphere lent itself to some on-field excitement. Prielipp attempted to pitch into the seventh inning, but he got chased by two singles, and it was going to be up to the bullpen to hold the home turf. Andrew Morris got the call with runners on the corners and nobody out, and he quickly uncorked a wild bender to make that two Sox in scoring position with nobody out. Meidroth then buried a sinker toward Lee at third, and Lee couldn't quite complete an amazing play. With the lead now cut to 6-4, and still nobody out, Morris hunkered down and took down Grichuk and Vargas on strikeouts while, hitting 100 MPH for the first time. With the situation still on edge, Morris then plunked Colson Montgomery to load the bases. It was Anthony Banda's turn to save the day. Sam Antonacci stood at the plate, and four pitches later, he followed his "sword" back to the dugout, and the Twins fans could breathe again.

Banda decided that the eighth inning should also be exciting, as he struck out the first two batters but then got stung by Acuña's speed and a Gonzalez walk. Yoendrys Gómez came in to put out the smoldering fire, and he immediately struck out Meidroth swinging before a flame could flicker. Manager Derek Shelton stuck with Gómez for the ninth, and Gómez repaid his skipper with a 1-2-3, stressless endgame. Time to prep the brooms at Target Field!

What’s Next?
The Twins look to sweep their way back into the AL Central picture on Wednesday afternoon. It will be a matchup of less familiar faces on the mound, as neither starter took part in the four-game series last week. The Twins will send out righty Taj Bradley (5-1, 3.21 ERA), who last got a no-decision after being chased early in Pittsburgh. The White Sox will send veteran righty Erick Fedde (0-5, 5.40 ERA) out to salvage the finale. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	FRI	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	TOT
Paredes	0	0	60	0	0	60
Gómez	14	0	0	15	15	44
Banda	18	0	0	0	20	38
Orze	23	0	0	0	0	23
Adams	0	0	0	19	0	19
Morris	0	0	0	0	18	18
Laweryson	16	0	0	0	0	16
Rogers	12	0	0	0	0	12
Lawrence	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[Permanent Twins Fan]

A really great game all around. Solid start from Prielipp. The Twins are going to need him with so many starters injured. Dominant showing by the bullpen allowing just two hits and striking out 7 in three innings. The offense had a great game. They didn't hit homers, but they were clutch at the plate and had timely hitting. They also only struck out 4 times as a team today compared to 14 by the White Sox. Good win. Hopefully we can bust out the brooms tomorrow with Taj on the mound. Go Twins.

[Sampson5]

Be nice to get a little revenge and finish the sweep . With taj on the mound I like our chances also be nice for taj to have a long outing so the pen can be pretty fresh going into this last stretch of consecutive games without a off day . Good sign that alot of the slumping hitters starting to show some life . Maybe the wheels aren't yet falling off every time I expect them to pack it up they respond by a winning streak 

[JD-TWINS]

Banda & Gomez are both DFA guys from other organizations - they both looked pretty sharp on Tuesday night!

Morris getting Vargas with the 100 mph fastball with a couple guys on base was a bit deal!

7-8-9 hitters went 6-12 with 5 RBI…… that’s huge!

Luke Keaschall has been hitting the ball with some authority lately - even when making outs - very encouraging that he’s now near .250 BA & .320 OBP…….Josh Bell has hits in 6 straight & is contributing again - nice.

Larnach & Martin were 1-5 between them but each had a Walk and each scored a run.

[Parfigliano]

7 minutes ago, Sampson5 said:

Be nice to get a little revenge and finish the sweep . With taj on the mound I like our chances also be nice for taj to have a long outing so the pen can be pretty fresh going into this last stretch of consecutive games without a off day . Good sign that alot of the slumping hitters starting to show some life . Maybe the wheels aren't yet falling off every time I expect them to pack it up they respond by a winning streak 

Still picturing Wile E Coyote, feet spinning, after running off the cliff.

[FlyingFinn]

7 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Banda & Gomez are both DFA guys from other organizations

We traded for Banda, unless your saying he was DFA'd prior to his stint with the Dodgers.

[jmlease1]

Solid enough effort from Prielipp, and nice to see him get through 6. Back to back solid (if not great) starts got us wins and kept the bullpen from running out of guys already. Pretty important until we get some guys back off the IL. 

Some good clutch hitting and solid baserunning to help get runs across the plate, and frankly we needed every one we could find. A little fortunate to bunch up hits at the bottom of the lineup; could have used a bit more pop.

Mixed bag for Jackson: 2 hits, but also 2 errors. seems to have a good feel for making challenges?

[knothole61]

1 hour ago, jmlease1 said:

Solid enough effort from Prielipp, and nice to see him get through 6. Back to back solid (if not great) starts got us wins and kept the bullpen from running out of guys already. Pretty important until we get some guys back off the IL. 

Some good clutch hitting and solid baserunning to help get runs across the plate, and frankly we needed every one we could find. A little fortunate to bunch up hits at the bottom of the lineup; could have used a bit more pop.

Mixed bag for Jackson: 2 hits, but also 2 errors. seems to have a good feel for making challenges?

Yeah, that inning-ending challenge was great!

[knothole61]

Some manageable teams coming up in June...take three from KC and two from Detroit and we are solidly back in the mix at least for a wild card spot. Oh...and a sweep of Chicago tomorrow would be sweet! 

[Parfigliano]

32 minutes ago, knothole61 said:

Some manageable teams coming up in June...take three from KC and two from Detroit and we are solidly back in the mix at least for a wild card spot. Oh...and a sweep of Chicago tomorrow would be sweet! 

???

[Peter]

Got nervous in 7th/8th inning with bases loaded and runners on 1st/2nd base but gray/CP and bullpen were 🔥🔥🔥💪💪💪 as I’ve said before twins are must watch every game!!! Let’s sweep the Sox!!!

[DJL44]

Derek Shelton has squeezed more performance out of this bullpen than anyone would have expected.

[mikelink45]

I like that they pushed Prielipp to six innings.  They could have changed earlier, but I love to see him stretched.

What has happened with SWR?  Any club claiming him? 

My big question is about catcher interference - are we setting a new record?  Both Jackson and Caratini getting called for it.  I don't remember many games where it has been an issue, but we seem to have something that needs to change. Add that to Caraini's inability to stop the steal and a blocked plate call and we have had too many catcher mistakes.

 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

[Over The Hill Again]

Banda and Gomez. 
I liked the move to get Banda, I think he’s actually one of the better arms in the BP. After a brutal stretch in April he’s settled in. Last night was cruising but seemed to lose it after that infield “hit” where the off target throw actually would have beat the runner.

Gomez - l’m not sure what to make of him; he’s been more effective than I would have guessed. Must have some deception in his delivery or release point because last night he was getting away with pitches that looked pretty hittable. But I’ll take it

[thelanges5]

Great to see Prielipp  bounce back after his last two outings. When Acuña scored that run without a ball being put in play, I thought we were in deep ****. The rest of the game was pretty well played.

[old nurse]

7 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

???

The June schedule after today’s game has 15 games against teams with sub .500 records, hence one would think they are manageable games. 

[JD-TWINS]

10 hours ago, FlyingFinn said:

We traded for Banda, unless your saying he was DFA'd prior to his stint with the Dodgers.

I may be wrong but I thought he was DFA’d by Dodgers and then we traded for him ………. similar to what SWR is going through as Twins seek a trade after him being DFA’d.

At any rate - a very much maligned reliever is/has been effective for over a month.

[Saxophone Joe]

Tristan Gray's opposite field hit was a thing of beauty! Love to see it...good for him. 

[Nshore]

One game things look so bleak I wonder if the Twins will ever win another game.  Next game they might still be playoff contenders.  Shelton has them incredibly scrappy and resilient.

Banda looks really good.  But last time I said that about Taylor Rogers he immediately went in the tank - so never mind.

[arby58]

I loved Shelton's comments about Prielipp in the post-game interview: they knew they eventually needed to push him out to around 95 pitches, they had their numbers 8 and 9 hitters up, number 9 was left handed with no opportunity to pinch hit for him, so he left him in and then went right on right with the number 1 hitter up. I doubt he would have been out there that long under the prior regime. In the long run, that is a great progression for his development.

[The Great Hambino]

3 minutes ago, arby58 said:

I loved Shelton's comments about Prielipp in the post-game interview: they knew they eventually needed to push him out to around 95 pitches, they had their numbers 8 and 9 hitters up, number 9 was left handed with no opportunity to pinch hit for him, so he left him in and then went right on right with the number 1 hitter up. I doubt he would have been out there that long under the prior regime. In the long run, that is a great progression for his development.

I think this has been my favorite thing about Shelton's managerial style: his willingness to let both starters and relievers go out for an extra inning that he doesn't intend for them to finish.  It has extended starter usage (and more importantly with this club, decreased reliever usage) and found more favorable matchups for starters and relievers alike.  It's the kind of small marginal advantage that really adds up over the course of the season.

[Sjoski]

What a sight for sore eyes...no Wallner or Lewis hitting a buck 50!

 

 

[bean5302]

Morris results:
Wild pitch.
Single (Lee playing deep with a runner on 3rd... like why?)
Strikeout
Wild pitch
Strikeout
Hit by pitch

I mean... Lee playing deep with nobody out and runners at 2nd and 3rd doesn't feel right to me, but 20/20 hindsight, I guess. The runner is out at first with nobody advancing worst case scenario there if Lee is playing the bag, and there's the potential throw out at home. Runner probably scores on Morris' second wild pitch anyway.

In the end, Twins win!

[ashbury]

8 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

What has happened with SWR?  Any club claiming him? 

Could be until Saturday until we find out.

[mark allen]

7 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Morris results:
Wild pitch.
Single (Lee playing deep with a runner on 3rd... like why?)
Strikeout
Wild pitch
Strikeout
Hit by pitch

I mean... Lee playing deep with nobody out and runners at 2nd and 3rd doesn't feel right to me, but 20/20 hindsight, I guess. The runner is out at first with nobody advancing worst case scenario there if Lee is playing the bag, and there's the potential throw out at home. Runner probably scores on Morris' second wild pitch anyway.

In the end, Twins win!

there was a runner on third when he threw his 2nd wild pitch and didn't score. Agree Lee playing back made no sense