A's 7, Twins 4: Twins' Hot Start Goes Up in Smoke in Another Late-Inning Collapse

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Connor Prielipp - 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K (78 pitches, 52 strikes (67% strikes))
Home Runs: Brooks Lee, Trevor Larnach, Kaelen Culpepper
Bottom 3 WPA: Andrew Morris (-0.50), Luke Keaschall (-0.15), Kody Funderburk (-0.05)
Win Probability Chart

The Twins entered Wednesday night's series finale against the A's looking to secure a series victory after taking Monday night's opener. For most of the night, Minnesota looked in position to do exactly that, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead behind a trio of solo home runs and a strong performance from Connor Prielipp on the mound.

Unfortunately, things unraveled in the sixth inning. The A's scored four runs to turn a two-run deficit into a 6-4 lead, then added another run in the seventh to put the game out of reach. The Twins had one final chance to make things interesting in the ninth, but they couldn't deliver the big hit they needed. Instead, Minnesota dropped a frustrating 7-4 decision and lost the series to the A's.

Kaelen Culpepper Stays Red-Hot, and His Power is Burgeoning

After struggling to generate much offense in Tuesday night's loss, the Twins wasted no time getting the bats going Wednesday. Brooks Lee opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo homer, jumping on a fastball at the top of the zone and sending it 105 MPH off the bat for his 21st homer of the season.

Minnesota added two more runs in the second, and both also came on solo shots. Trevor Larnach absolutely crushed a 3-1 sinker from J.T. Ginn, sending a 110-MPH line drive over the wall in right field for his 11th homer of the season. Kaelen Culpepper then followed with a homer of his own, launching a two-strike sinker 428 feet to left field to make it 3-0. Culpepper has been swinging a hot bat throughout this series, and indeed, he's been exactly what the team must have hoped he would be since they called him up early this month.

The offense wouldn't do much after that early outburst, though. Minnesota managed just one hit over the next three innings before finally putting together another rally in the sixth. Josh Bell, Ryan Jeffers and Kody Clemens opened the inning with three consecutive singles to load the bases with one out. Royce Lewis then lifted a sacrifice fly to bring home Bell and extend the lead to 4-2. That would be the final run the Twins scored.

A Much-Needed Strong Start for Connor Prielipp

While the Twins' offense came out hot, Prielipp did his part to keep the A's lineup quiet early. The left-hander needed just eight pitches to get through the first inning, then worked around a pair of singles in the second without allowing a run. He settled in from there, retiring the side in order in the third.

The A's finally got to him in the fourth, when an unfortunate bounce turned what looked like a potential double play into a two-run inning. Prielipp walked Lawrence Butler to start the frame, before Tommy White hit a hard ground ball that took a crazy hop in front of Clemens at second. It was a hard one-hopper, and when that one hop is unreliable, the play becomes almost impossible. Clemens couldn't keep it on the infield, and instead of an out (or two), the result was runners at the corners with one out.

Michael Stefanic followed with an RBI double into the left-field corner, and the A's got another run on a groundout by Brian Serven; the Twins played their infield back and traded the run for an out. Prielipp stopped the bleeding there and got through the fifth unscathed, though. He came back out for the sixth and retired Butler to start the inning, but a single from Jonah Heim ended his night.

Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn't preserve that lead.

The Same Sad Story: Andrew Morris Can't Miss Bats, Luke Keaschall Can't Catch Balls

Andrew Morris entered to replace Prielipp and immediately allowed a fly-ball single to center by White, putting the tying run on base. Pinch-hitter Jeff McNeil then doubled down the left-field line, bringing White home and cutting the Twins' lead to one. Morris got a huge second out when Carlos Cortes swung through a sinker that would've been ball four, but the A's weren't finished.

Alika Williams pounced on Morris's first pitch and hit a long fly ball to left-center field. Luke Keaschall neither read it well off the bat nor accelerated especially smoothly once he got moving. He came up just short, on a ball that absolutely has to be caught. Both runners scored, and suddenly, the A's had a 5-4 lead. Darell Hernaiz followed with another two-out RBI single to make it 6-4. Just like that, the Twins had gone from being in complete control to trailing by two.

The bullpen collapse continued in the seventh. Kody Funderburk was brought in with one out to face Lawrence Butler, creating a left-on-left matchup. In a 1-2 count, though, Funderburk left a sweeper up and over the plate. Butler hammered it to left-center for a solo homer, extending the A's lead to 7-4. It was another frustrating sequence for a Twins team that has had far too many leads disappear late in games this season.

Minnesota had one final opportunity to make things interesting in the ninth against Elvis Alvarado, who had recorded a save against the Twins the previous night. Lewis led off with a swinging bunt that was handled by Heim for an out—a frustrating result, considering he was ahead 2-0 in the count. Larnach followed with a single up the middle, and Culpepper then won an eight-pitch battle to draw a walk and bring the tying run to the plate.

Alan Roden nearly delivered, but his fly ball to the warning track in center wasn't deep enough to score either runner. Both Larnach and Culpepper tagged and moved into scoring position, giving Keaschall a chance to extend the game. Instead, he couldn't hold up on a slider out of the zone, ending the game. Now, Minnesota will have to regroup after dropping two straight to the A's. And once again, the biggest question coming out of the game will be how the Twins can stop these late-inning collapses.

What’s Next?
The Twins are off tomorrow before returning home to kick off a 14-game stretch against divisional opponents. That stretch will start this weekend against the White Sox. Dean Kremer is lined up to throw for Minnesota, and he’ll face off against fellow trade deadline acquisition Luis Castillo. First pitch is set for 7:10 PM Friday.

Postgame Interviews
Coming soon!

Bullpen Availability Chart

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[ashbury]

[LastOnePicked]

Not too hard to imagine this one going differently if the Twins were willing to field the best players in their organization for a must-win game. I mean, who knows what would have happened. We can only know what did happen.

It's over. It's been over for awhile, but it's really over now.

Once the offseason starts, someone will have to explain to me how watching yet another pathetic late-season collapse was better for rebuilding fan interest than watching a young team of future stars take lumps and gel, with the promise of even more top prospects making their way up to join them in 2027 or 2028. 

This is not a serious baseball team. And they shouldn't be taken seriously.

[USAFChief]

I've changed my mind on Keaschall. He cannot be in the field in any capacity. Truly awful.

[LastOnePicked]

2 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I've changed my mind on Keaschall. He cannot be in the field in any capacity. Truly awful.

Nonsense. The Twins have assured us that anyone can play anywhere, and with little to no coaching.

[D.C Twins]

For me, this season was, is, and will continue to be all about building for the future. 

With that in mind...

The Good:  Culpepper, Keaschall, and Taj look to be legit, young, controllable MLB players. I'm optimistic on Prielipp and Abel (once they are not tired and injured respectively). I think Lee is also a solid MLB player with a tinge of upside. Lewis may just be an asset again (though I'll never be completely convinced anymore). 

The Bad:  It crushed me that we bought and did not sell at the deadline. Unfortunately, the most likely scenario is playing out for this mediocre team.... no playoffs much less being competitive in the playoffs. It actually looks like we will not even be relevant in September which seemed to be the mantra of those advocating for more puddy in the dam this year. 

We could have gotten a legit prospect for Jeffers who will be gone. We could have traded Larnach as his obvious peak for something relevant. Bell may have even brought something in return. Instead, we traded prospects for puddy in the dam.

But, by far the worst outcome of not selling, is that we blocked playing time for our young prospects. Jenkins should be up. Erod should be up (not that I totally believe in him, but it is time to figure it out because he is out of options next year so....) Hell... it would have even been nice to give Sabato a 6 week look.  

Self-inflicted wounds are always the worst.... 

 

[Mike Sixel]

Really bummed I was right that they should have sold. Now they are down two legit prospects and didn't add more. 

It was clear they weren't serious when Jenkins wasn't up weeks ago. Now? Leave him down I guess for the year of control? 

Rodriguez should be up and playing center the rest of the year. IL Buxton, waive Bell, and DH Keaschell. I don't care what they do about Roden. 

[TheLeviathan]

24 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

Not too hard to imagine this one going differently if the Twins were willing to field the best players in their organization for a must-win game. I mean, who knows what would have happened. We can only know what did happen.

It's over. It's been over for awhile, but it's really over now.

Once the offseason starts, someone will have to explain to me how watching yet another pathetic late-season collapse was better for rebuilding fan interest than watching a young team of future stars take lumps and gel, with the promise of even more top prospects making their way up to join them in 2027 or 2028. 

This is not a serious baseball team. And they shouldn't be taken seriously.

Diehards on a diehard site think they speak for casuals who care that they got Minter and Hoffman.

I commented we'd have meaningless games in September.  I may have been optimistic.

[Parfigliano]

46 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I've changed my mind on Keaschall. He cannot be in the field in any 

Keaschall needs to work hard on one D position all offseason.

[1985Fan]

They’re going to have to figure out what to do with Keaschall. He missed two fly balls that should have been caught. He has played himself out of 2nd base and CF. I don’t think he can be hidden anywhere on the field. Thats not a bright outlook for him. This is what you get when they drafted him knowing he had a weak glove and then rapidly promoted him without teaching him any fundamentals.