Athletics 4, Twins 2: Taj Bradley Racks Up 11 K's, But Byron Buxton Exits in Painful Loss

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Taj Bradley - 6 2/3 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 11 K (99 pitches, 72 strikes (73% strikes))
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Kody Clemens (-0.12), Ryan Jeffers (-0.10), Byron Buxton (-0.09)
Win Probability Chart

The Twins entered Tuesday night's matchup against the A's looking to win the series after taking Monday night's opener. For most of the night, it looked like Minnesota had a chance to do exactly that, with Taj Bradley putting together a dominant performance on the mound—despite the A's repeatedly coming through with two-out hits.

The Twins' offense struggled to generate much against Gage Jump early, managing just two hits through the first six innings. Minnesota finally broke through with two runs in the seventh, but they couldn't complete the comeback. To make matters worse, Byron Buxton left the game in the seventh after appearing to suffer another injury. He came up grabbing his side after a defensive play, adding another layer of concern to a night that already ended in a frustrating 4-2 loss.

Taj Bradley's Immaculate Inning, Near-Immaculate Outing

Bradley didn't have the easiest first inning, needing 20 pitches to work around a two-out walk and strike out Lawrence Butler to escape the frame. From there, though, the right-hander was nearly untouchable.

He needed just 10 pitches to get through the third, then worked another clean fourth before putting together the highlight of his night in the fifth. After striking out Carlos Cortes and Brian Serven, Bradley froze Henry Bolte with a 100-mph fastball to complete an immaculate inning. It was the first immaculate inning in team history, and Bradley wasn't finished.

He struck out Cortes and Serven again in the seventh, giving him 11 strikeouts on the night. Through six-plus innings, Bradley had allowed just three runs while piling up strikeouts at an incredible rate, but the A's ability to string together two-out hits ultimately proved to be his downfall. Bradley left the game with a runner on third after allowing another two-out hit in the seventh. He finished with 11 strikeouts on 81 pitches, and despite the final line, this was one of his better outings of the season. Unfortunately, the Twins couldn't give him enough offensive support.

The A's offense wasn't exactly overwhelming Tuesday night; they just seemed to come alive whenever the Twins were one out away from getting out of an inning.

Their first two runs came in the second after Alika Williams doubled with two outs and Carlos Cortes followed with a two-run homer. Bradley had retired the first two batters of the inning, but one mistake was all the A's needed to take the lead. The same thing happened again in the sixth. After Bradley retired Jeff McNeil and Zack Gelof, Butler singled to keep the inning alive. Tommy White then doubled off the wall in right-center, bringing Butler home and extending the A's lead to 3-0.

Walton followed with another two-out single, and a throw home that missed the cutoff man allowed the A's to score another run and put a runner in scoring position. Just like that, the A's had turned three consecutive two-out hits into a three-run advantage. All four of their runs came with two outs. That's a brutal way to lose a game, especially when your starting pitcher is otherwise having such a strong night.

Twins' 7th-Inning Rally Falls a Bit Short

For most of the night, Minnesota's offense couldn't get anything going against Gage Jump. That changed in the seventh.

Royce Lewis opened the inning with his second hit of the night, and after Kody Clemens reached on a fielder's choice, Kaelen Culpepper came through with a huge swing. He jumped on a first-pitch changeup, sat back on it and hammered it into right-center for an RBI double.  After recording four hits Monday night, Culpepper followed it up with another big hit Tuesday, cutting the A's lead to 4-1.

The Twins then got a fortunate break when Brooks Lee's pop-up down the first-base line bounced off Donovan Walton's glove and fell in for a double. That put two runners in scoring position with Victor Caratini at the plate representing the tying run. Caratini didn't get the hit, but he still brought Culpepper home after Zack Gelof made an excellent sliding stop at third. Suddenly, the Twins were within two.

Kreidler then worked a walk to put the tying run on base, but Luke Keaschall went down looking to end the inning. Still, it was the first real sign of life from Minnesota's offense all night. After managing just two hits through the first six innings, the Twins had put together a four-hit inning and cut the A's lead in half. Unfortunately, it would be their final real threat of the night.

Buxton Departs with Hip Trouble

The seventh inning wasn't only significant because of Minnesota's attempted comeback. It also brought one of the most concerning moments of the night.

Bolte lined a ball toward right-center field that got past Clemens, and Buxton attempted to make the play. The ball slipped underneath his glove, allowing Bolte to race all the way to third. More notably, Buxton immediately came up grabbing his side. The Twins' star center fielder has dealt with multiple IL stints because of hip issues over the last couple of months, so seeing him favor his side after the play was certainly unsettling. Trevor Larnach entered the game in his place, ending Buxton's night. There's no way to know the severity of the injury yet, and hopefully it's something minor. But considering Buxton's injury history and how late we are in the season, it's certainly something to keep an eye on.

The play also ended Bradley's night, as Minter entered with Bolte standing on third. Minter got the final out of the inning when McNeil swung through a sinker that ran in on him, but somehow, an inning that didn't feature a run was still one of the most eventful frames of the game.

Minnesota had one more chance to make things interesting in the eighth and ninth, but the A's bullpen shut the door.

The Twins went down quietly in the eighth, with Larnach, Jeffers and Lewis all recording outs. That sent Minnesota to the ninth needing two runs to tie the game. Instead, Clemens struck out, Culpepper grounded out to third and Lee flew out to center to end the game. After struggling to produce anything offensively for the first six innings, the Twins finally put together a rally in the seventh, but it wasn't enough to overcome the A's early advantage. And once again, the biggest difference came down to two-out hitting.

The A's scored all four of their runs with two outs, while Minnesota couldn't deliver the big hit when it needed one most. Bradley pitched well enough to win, striking out 11 and making history with the first immaculate inning in Twins history. Culpepper continued his strong stretch with another big offensive performance, and Minnesota briefly showed some life in the seventh. But the A's made their opportunities count.

Now, the Twins will have to win Wednesday's series finale if they want to take the series. They'll also have to wait for more information on Buxton after a concerning exit that could potentially have much bigger implications for the remainder of the season.

What’s Next?
The Twins wrap up their series in Sacramento against the A’s tomorrow night. Left-hander Connor Prielipp will be on the mound for the Twins, and he’ll face off against righty J.T. Ginn. First pitch is set for 8:05 PM.

Postgame Interviews
Coming soon!

Bullpen Availability Chart

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[thelanges5]

1 win on this road trip got me feeling like

[Mike Sixel]

Buxton hasn't been healthy since he returned, and has been bad. Larnach hasn't hit at all since June. This is not a serious front office and ownership group. Not even close. 

[tony&rodney]

Taj Bradley was terrific. It is a rough go for the pitchers when a fly ball falls or a base hits slip through to the wall. The pressure to throw a shutout and strike out so many hitters is not sustainable. Defense matters. 

Rough night at the plate for the bats.

There is another game tomorrow.

The Athletics currently feature a group of players very surprised to be wearing a MLB uniform, but due to the avalanche of injuries these guys are hungry to prove themselves. What will Connor Prielipp bring to the mound tomorrow night?

If one wants to look at an important stretch - there are fifteen games in a row against AL Central teams starting on Friday night. There is the answer.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

This game should have been won. While ownership and management are rightly commended for their improvements to the pitching staff, the failure to acquire more consistent offensive punch (nevermind defense) is plain to see. They have to find it within the organization now, or their chances will slip away by this time next week.

_If_ Buxton has to go on the IL again, we may get to learn if Walker Jenkins is ready for the bigs on both sides of the ball. Otherwise we're left with Fedko, Rodriguez, Wallner or scrounging the waiver wire.

[Parfigliano]

10 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Taj Bradley was terrific. It is a rough go for the pitchers when a fly ball falls or a base hits slip through to the wall. The pressure to throw a shutout and strike out so many hitters is not sustainable. Defense matters. 

Rough night at the plate for the bats.

There is another game tomorrow.

The Athletics currently feature a group of players very surprised to be wearing a MLB uniform, but due to the avalanche of injuries these guys are hungry to prove themselves. What will Connor Prielipp bring to the mound tomorrow night?

If one wants to look at an important stretch - there are fifteen games in a row against AL Central teams starting on Friday night. There is the answer.

I don't think we are going to like the answer those 15 games cough up.

[Hunter4848]

53 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

Buxton hasn't been healthy since he returned, and has been bad. Larnach hasn't hit at all since June. This is not a serious front office and ownership group. Not even close. 

But Tom Pohlad promised this was!!!? And he would never lie to this gullible fan base...

[JADBP]

Damn this hurts!!! I honestly think the fun and games of this season are over.  Buxton is the heart and soul of this team and it is just sooo much weaker without him. 

I hope they finally make the smart move and bring up Jenkins....but, I don't trust Zoll.  If he plays us for idiots and brings up, say, Wallner, instead, he will be tarred and feathered.  There is no excuse now.  He can't hide behind his nonsensical gibberish about bringing up to fill a specific need.  

Definitely best wishes to our superstar Buxton.