Brewers 4, Twins 3: Lara And Bauers Are WPA Merchants, Twins Lose Series

[Hans Birkeland]

Image courtesy of Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Connor Prielipp: 5+ IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (96 Pitches, 61 Strikes, 63.5%)
Home Runs: Brooks Lee (17), Kody Clemens (20)
Bottom 3 WPA: Austin Martin (-0.23), Royce Lewis (-0.22), Ryan Kreidler (-0.20)
Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant):

 

The Twins wasted a chance to take the series against the best-in-baseball Brewers on Saturday, as Milwaukee rallied to make today's game a rubber match. Unfortunately, the Twins would be tasked with beating the best pitcher in baseball, Jacob Misiorowski, who was as advertised.

"The Miz" threw almost entirely fastballs the first time through the lineup, and the Twins couldn't catch up, as Misiorowski was able to locate at the top of the zone with 104 MPH cheese. The only Twins hitter to reach was Brooks Lee, who singled off Misiorowski's leg in the second.

Meanwhile the Twins turned to Connor Prielipp for the unenviable task of beating the best team and the best pitcher. It started rough, as he fell behind Jackson Chourio 3-1 before throwing a fastball right where Chourio wanted it, as he took Prielipp opposite field for a leadoff home run, 387 feet.

To Prielipp's credit, he really settled down after that. dotting his slider and fastball where Brewers hitters couldn't do damage, striking out seven through his first four innings, allowing just the one run.

After looking helpless through the first four innings against Misiorowski, Lee got his (and the team's) second hit in the fifth, a solo home run 401 feet out to right field. Victor Caratini somehow ended his long 0-fer with a single but the Twins were unable to score him from second base.

His pitch count in the mid 70's, Prielipp was not as crisp in the fifth, allowing an opposite field home run to Jake Bauers to lead off the inning. It was a sinker that caught too much of the plate, and Prielipp knew it immediately. He also allowed a fat sinker to Gary Sanchez for a double, and then with two outs, threw a middle-middle slider to the light -hitting David Hamilton on an 0-2 pitch, which Hamilton rocketed to the gap in right center field, scoring Sanchez to extend the lead to two.

Misiorowski emphasized his breaking stuff much more the third time through the lineup, notably dotting two sliders on the black to start Royce Lewis 0-2 in the sixth. Lewis fought but ended up waving at a fastball at his eyes for his third strikeout of the game. It certainly looked like a shutdown inning for Misiorowski at that point, but Josh Bell drew a walk, and Kody Clemens got a mistake fastball low in the zone and smacked it out to the bullpen in right to tie the game. Somehow. Lee almost took Misiorowski deep a second time in the next at-bat, but Luis Lara made an incredible catch at the wall in right field to steal an extra-base hit and keep the game tied at three.

Prielipp was allowed to start the sixth inning at 93 Pitches, which seemed a bit curious but he was facing a lefty in Turang. With the count 3-2 after Turang laid off some nasty sliders. The final pitch Prielipp threw was a slider called a ball that hit the zone with Caratini deciding not to challenge for some reason. Tommy Nance then came on and allowed a single to pinch hitter Garrett Mitchell. William Contreras then chopped to third and with Turang caught in no-man's land, Lee inexplicably decided to throw to first, allowing Turang and Mitchell to advance. Nance then got a pop-up from Bauers, and managed to strike out Lara to end the threat.

The seventh began with Aaron Ashby relieving Misiorowski. The relief was palpable, as Luke Keaschall hit a ball to the hole at shortstop, where Turang was playing out of position after third baseman Andrew Vaughn was pinch-hit for in the sixth, prompting Hamilton to move to third and Turang to short. Turang skipped his throw and Bauers couldn't corral it, allowing Keaschall to reach second. Caratini then lined a ball down the line with some weird spin that caused Hamilton to boot it, putting runners on first and second with no one out. Austin Martin then pinch-hit and failed to get the bunt down, striking out on three pitches. Ryan Kreidler then struck out, as well, leaving the inning to Ryan Jeffers, hitting for Larnach. He drew a walk but Lewis struck out for the fourth time to leave the bases loaded.

After A.J. Minter threw a scoreless seventh, the Twins went to work against righty Abner Uribe and his 99 MPH turbo sinker. With one out, Uribe walked Clemens, and then with Lee at the plate and Clemens running on a 3-2 pitch, Uribe got a comebacker and tried to get the force at second. The throw was late, and bad, and everyone was safe. Keaschall then chopped to short and somehow beat the double play relay, and Caratini walked to load the bases. Martin then bounced out to end the inning and potentially squander the Twins' chance to win the game.

Minter stayed on to retire Mitchell to start the bottom of the eighth, then gave way to Andrew Morris, who walked Bauers but otherwise got the job done.

After going down quickly against Trevor Megill in the ninth, Morris stayed on to face Sanchez, walking him on four pitches. That prompted Derek Shelton to turn to Kody Funderburk to face Jihwan Bae and Hamilton. Bae bunted pinch-runner Christian Yelich to second, Funderburk struck out Hamilton and intentionally walked Chourio to face Turang, a gambit that paid off in the seventh with Minter pitching. It worked again, as Funderburk got Turang swinging at a fastball on the outside corner to send the game to extras.

The Twins looked like they would score the cherished two runs in the top of the tenth. With Lewis on second, Clemens seemed to get a hold of another one, launching a ball deep to right field. Lara lept and made perhaps a better catch than his grab in the fifth, preserving the tie for the second time. Lee then struck out to end the inning.

Yoendrys Gomez got the first out by striking out William Contreras, but ahead 1-2 on Bauers, he threw a changeup on the outside corner, and Bauers served it into left field for a walk-off single.

Stuff I'm Tracking:
- Caratini threw out two runners, despite his well below average arm. He nabbed Turang in the fourth, and got Bauers trying to sneak into third in the second. The goal was definitely to run on Caratini, so credit goes to Prielipp for controlling the running game enough for Caratini's lobs to be in time.

- Kaelen Culpepper had about as rough of a debut as one could have considering he homered on Friday. But having him as a right-handed bat is nice to have off the bench, with him, Martin and Jeffers available to pinch hit against a lefty in today's game.

- Martin needs to practice his bunting if he's going to slug .310. Not sure about his place on this team- he's a low heartbeat guy playing a role that demands great situational awareness and grit. I could see the Twins cutting bait with him and he latches on with the Yankees and finally plays to his potential, similar to Aaron Hicks once upon a time.

- It's crazy how Trevor Megill is closing games for the best team in baseball. I still remember the surly righty put into a long relief role with the Twins and trying to develop command of his breaking ball at the big league level. You can't argue with the results, as Megill has posted a 2.82 ERA and a 30.6% strikeout rate since joining Milwaukee.

-Sal Frelick is hurt, and has a reputation as one of the best right fielders in baseball. They back him up with Lara, which must be nice.

What’s Next: The Twins welcome the Baltimore Orioles to town for a three game set starting Monday. Dean Kremer (1-4, 5.93 ERA) throws against his former team and lefty Trevor Rogers (7-7, 4.20 ERA). Baltimore sold at the deadline despite having roughly the same playoff odds as the Twins, sending franchise catcher Adley Rustchman to the rival Red Sox and leadoff hitter Taylor Ward to the Mariners.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart:

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Funderburk	0	20	0	21	15	56
Hoffman	11	0	25	15	0	51
Nance	7	0	24	0	11	42
Morris	0	13	13	0	14	40
Gomez	0	18	12	0	9	39
Minter	12	0	3	0	16	31
Adams	0	0	0	15	0	15
Rogers	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

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[LastOnePicked]

Darn.

Good enough to put up a fight but not good enough to win might be the '26 Twins in a nutshell.

We'll see how they do from here.

[wesnewy]

Jenkins didn't play today... wonder if we will see him at target field come Monday?

[Saxophone Joe]

Yes, - if Austin Martin can’t lay down a bunt in that situation (and he wasn’t even close!), what’s he even doing on the roster? 

Gutsy team but just not ready for prime time. 3 walk-off losses that were each there for the taking, and yesterday’s game felt like a walk-off loss and was obviously winnable too.

 

[wesnewy]

2 minutes ago, Saxophone Joe said:

Yes, - if Austin Martin can’t lay down a bunt in that situation (and he wasn’t even close!), what’s he even doing on the roster? 

Gutsy team but just not ready for prime time. 3 walk-off losses that were each there for the taking, and yesterday’s game felt like a walk-off loss and was obviously winnable too.

 

to add on to this Royce cant go 0/5 with 4Ks when he is in the top of the lineup. - coming from a Royce believer 

[Galen]

Good Culpepper got a rest today???

[h2oface]

Tigers have an open door to push Twins to 4th in division today. (Tied for 3rd if Cleveland continues to lose). Twins are a whopping -120 in run differential compared to the Tigers. Cleveland is -110. Tigers are even +50 on Chicago! I still think the Tigers are going to win the Central. 

[tony&rodney]

The Twins are showing themselves to be a very resilient bunch. The players are working hard on every facet of the game and played the Brewers tight in this series. The differences between the two clubs is rather stark. The Twins hustle to their maximum ability but can't reach balls, while the Brewers run down the ball with skill and speed. The plays by Chourio and Lara were Buxton at his best back in the day. A viewer cannot help but notice the speed of the Brewers in all facets of the game. Buxton and Keaschall are at or above 28 ft/sec in sprint speed. The Brewers have twelve (12) position players at or faster than that rate. 

The Twins will find success if they can keep focused and put pressure on like they did this weekend in Milwaukee. Those were three excellent baseball games in front of packed houses. The AL Central Division is still realistic but things have to go their way in a few cases. This next week is another big test.

Go Twins

[h2oface]

Fun to watch? The Brewers are fun to watch. Unless you prefer mistakes and mental errors. I get it though. Entertaining in an unfulfilling way. 

[tony&rodney]

18 minutes ago, wesnewy said:

Jenkins didn't play today... wonder if we will see him at target field come Monday?

Walker is often on the bench on Sunday. Jenkins was injured making a play similar to the catch Lara made in the 10th inning today. Because the Twins are careful with Jenkins, he often gets two days per week, Sunday and Monday. 

I would love to see Walker Jenkins called up and inserted into the regular lineup 5-6 times per week. He has been pretty inconsistent in the last couple of weeks though.

FWIW, Emmanuel Rodriguez does not look so hot. He gets his hits but is often out of balance. A fly on the wall could tell us what the Twins think about those two players.

 

[PuckettPond]

Every loss gets us closer to next year's #1 overall draft pick.

[Saxophone Joe]

I’ve watched probably 95% of Shelty’s televised post-game conferences. I know the RISP numbers are near the top of baseball overall, but, boy, has he said a variation of “We had opportunities. Just couldn’t capitalize” A LOT. Did today, too, of course, 

[thelanges5]

Pitching was great. Martin playing his way to St Paul. He’s been unplayable for quite some time now. Sucks because I started out the season as a fan of his and he looked pretty good at the end of last year.

[h2oface]

.

[darwin22]

Allowing Kriedler to hit in the 7th inning with 2 runners on base instead of pinch-hitting Culpepper was worth of a major 2nd guess on Shelton's part.  Dont understand it.

Austin Martin is NOT worthy of a bench spot.  Rodon is on thin ice also.

[weitz41]

They had their chances. To many missed runners in scoring position

[90stwinskid]

Another tough loss, but hey, we're fighting harder (and looking better) than we did at this point last season.

Post-deadline: 2-4

Overall: 58-61

My armchair take: we need to go 5-4 during this homestead to stay in it. Not impossible, but still a tall task considering the opponents (which include the Phillies and Braves).

Go Twins.

[CRF]

You just can't keep getting the bases jacked...and DO NOTHING! 

[HarmonK03]

8 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Walker is often on the bench on Sunday. Jenkins was injured making a play similar to the catch Lara made in the 10th inning today. Because the Twins are careful with Jenkins, he often gets two days per week, Sunday and Monday. 

I would love to see Walker Jenkins called up and inserted into the regular lineup 5-6 times per week. He has been pretty inconsistent in the last couple of weeks though.

FWIW, Emmanuel Rodriguez does not look so hot. He gets his hits but is often out of balance. A fly on the wall could tell us what the Twins think about those two players.

 

I know you have been watching the games more. But I have been following game logs for Jenkins and he is 18 for 50 with 4 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs in one game.  There is never a perfect time to bring someone up, I don't really understand why he wouldn't be up here tomorrow.

We saw what outfield defense can do for you and we need a CF and Kreidler is not the answer to replace Keaschall.  I know he won't necessarily save the season by himself, but it increases the talent level on this team.  We are carrying Jackson and he has one pinch running appearance in 10 days.  I can't believe that Jenkins at least won't improve the roster and be extension maybe the bench a little more as well.

[Peter]

Crushing losses especially 5 one run losses-need to make statement on this homestand which I think they will!! Also twins WILL win division!!!

[DJL44]

Their pitching is better than our pitching. 

[thelanges5]

17 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Walker is often on the bench on Sunday. Jenkins was injured making a play similar to the catch Lara made in the 10th inning today. Because the Twins are careful with Jenkins, he often gets two days per week, Sunday and Monday. 

I would love to see Walker Jenkins called up and inserted into the regular lineup 5-6 times per week. He has been pretty inconsistent in the last couple of weeks though.

FWIW, Emmanuel Rodriguez does not look so hot. He gets his hits but is often out of balance. A fly on the wall could tell us what the Twins think about those two players.

 

Houston also had the day off. Promoted to AAA this week?

[Parfigliano]

1 minute ago, DJL44 said:

Their pitching is better than our pitching. 

Defense and hitting and base running too.

[Saxophone Joe]

Something else that ticked me off: How did no one from Prielipp’s family go to the game?! Lmao. 

Dude pitched well, all things considered. Steady as they come! 

[thelanges5]

3 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Defense and hitting and base running too.

All the things 🤣

[wesnewy]

8 minutes ago, Peter said:

Crushing losses especially 5 one run losses-need to make statement on this homestand which I think they will!! Also twins WILL win division!!!

seems like nobody else wants to win it, so why not?

[tony&rodney]

4 minutes ago, HarmonK03 said:

I know you have been watching the games more. But I have been following game logs for Jenkins and he is 18 for 50 with 4 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs in one game.  There is never a perfect time to bring someone up, I don't really understand why he wouldn't be up here tomorrow.

We saw what outfield defense can do for you and we need a CF and Kreidler is not the answer to replace Keaschall.  I know he won't necessarily save the season by himself, but it increases the talent level on this team.  We are carrying Jackson and he has one pinch running appearance in 10 days.  I can't believe that Jenkins at least won't improve the roster and be extension maybe the bench a little more as well.

Let me be clear, I want Walker Jenkins at Target Field tomorrow and in the lineup every day. I do believe his defense and overall play would be a shot in the arm. I'm also hoping that Kaelen Culpepper starts five days per week.

My thinking is that the Twins may be less convinced based on his inconsistent plate appearances. They may be concerned about Jenkins being overwhelmed. If Jenkins is up, I don't know who goes down or away. Austin Martin? However, I'm just guessing.

The other piece is that the Twins chose to keep three catchers. It reall isn't that automatic to find a catcher and thus the reluctance to just let Alex Jackson go, especially because the White Sox would love to have him. The Yankees just gave Mitch Garver a minor league deal and he isn't really much of a catch any more. I really was surprised that the Twins were unable to find a transaction that included Ryan Jeffers but we also have to give at least some credit to the organization for deciding that Jeffers is worth using for the next two months and then losing for no return.

[DJL44]

1 minute ago, tony&rodney said:

The other piece is that the Twins chose to keep three catchers. It reall isn't that automatic to find a catcher and thus the reluctance to just let Alex Jackson go, especially because the White Sox would love to have him. The Yankees just gave Mitch Garver a minor league deal and he isn't really much of a catch any more. I really was surprised that the Twins were unable to find a transaction that included Ryan Jeffers but we also have to give at least some credit to the organization for deciding that Jeffers is worth using for the next two months and then losing for no return.

They’re going to get a comp pick for Jeffers

[tony&rodney]

9 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Houston also had the day off. Promoted to AAA this week?

Maybe but I doubt it. Houston and Winokur have been slumping in August.

[tony&rodney]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

They’re going to get a comp pick for Jeffers

Maybe. i guess we will know that answer by March.