Cardinals 9, Twins 6: Twins Rallies Can't Overcome Bullpen Implosion This Time

Box Score
SP: Connor Prielipp - 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (98 pitches, 66 strikes (67%))
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (22), Royce Lewis (6), Luke Keaschall (2)
Bottom 3 WPA: Justin Lawrence (-0.32), Travis Adams (-0.14), Prielipp (-0.12)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 


The Twins came into Saturday's matinee at Target Field riding the waves of an exciting comeback victory. Young lefty Connor Prielipp hoped to right his ship after a series of sub-par performances, especially as his 2026 inning count approaches max capacity. Not-so-young lefty Matthew LIberatore took the ball for the Cardinals in hopes of sparking another St. Louis winning streak. 

Prielipp Ambushed Early and Often
This game got off on the wrong foot for the home team, as Prielipp couldn't control his fastball in the opening at-bat, losing Masyn Winn to a five pitch walk with mostly non-competitive efforts. As designated hitter Ivan Herrara stepped into the box, Prielipp was determined to get a fastball over the plate. By the time that center-cut fastball landed in the bullpen for a 2-0 Cardinals lead, the momentum of Friday night had morphed into a typical Saturday afternoon funk.

The top of the second inning didn't start out any better for the home team. Prielipp again served up a center-cut first pitch fastball, this time to Blaze Jordan who promptly put it over the super-short arms of Austin Martin and off of the right-field wall. By the time Ryan Kreidler could catch up to the ball, Jordan was standing on third with a lead-off triple. Pedro Pages doubled in Jordan, and eventually came around to score himself to make it 4-0 Cardinals.

Royce Lewis is On a Tear, and that Buxton Guy
Liberatore tore through the Twins lineup in the early innings like they were wet toilet paper. When he faced Lewis in the bottom of the second inning, Lewis ripped a double but got stranded at third. That was the only hit the Twins could muster in the first three frames, so things were starting to get desperate as the bats came back around in the bottom of the fourth. This time it was Liberatore's turn to see what happened when a first pitch fastball catches the power zone for a major league hitter. That hitter was Byron Buxton, and the Twins were finally on the board.

Two batters later, Lewis decided to not rely on his teammates to get him home. He took of that part himself with his third homer in the last four days to pull the Twins within two at 4-2.

Afternoon Rallies and Homer Hankies
The Twins came into Saturday's contest a measly 14-20 during day/afternoon games in 2026. If they want to get back into the Wild Card race, finding a way to get awake in time for matinee outings will have to be a part of the equation. Liberatore did his best to wake-up the Twins offense again in the bottom of the fifth. After losing Kriedler on a full count walk to start the inning, the Cardinals lefty thought he might get away with a first pitch fastball to Luke Keaschall. Wake up Twins fans! Its a 4-4 ballgame!

Falvey's Sins Remain
As unlikely as it seemed in the second inning, Prielipp managed to cover six full innings before giving way to his minor league bullpen. For all the excitement of last night's victory, the effort left the Twins bullpen pretty exhausted. With few quality options available, first man up was Justin Lawrence. The seventh inning started off innocently enough with two strike outs, but then Herrera and Jordan Walker went back-to-back. Derek Shelton stuck with the steaming hand of Lawrence not once, but twice more, as Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson both got to tee off for singles. Finally, Travis Adams came in to stop the bleeding. Instead, he started a gusher. This time the center-cut fastball gave Blaze Jordan his first career homerun, and the Cardinals a sudden and depressing 9-4 lead.

Adams remained in the game as the sacrificial bullpen lamb, and he managed to get his team into Sunday. The Twins briefly got their rally mojo going again in the bottom of the eighth, but after a Kody Clemens RBI single, Lewis aggressively tried to pull a first pitch changeup on the outside corner. That leads to a rolled-over 6-4-3 rally killer in most Major League ballparks, and it did here today as well. Things got slightly interesting again in the bottom of the ninth, as reliever Riley O'Brien tried his best to keep the home crowd in it by walking the bases loaded to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. Keaschall got the first crack at the hero moment, but went down looking for the first out. Josh Bell got the next attempt, and he could only muster an RBI fielder's choice grounder to second. Shelton thought that Victor Caratini stood a better chance of keeping the rally alive than today's lead off man Austin Martin, but he was wrong. A harmless pop fly generated a 9-6 Cardinals victory, with Buxton left on-deck.

What’s Next?
Tomorrow is another day, but unfortunately for the afternoon-challenged Twins its another day game. Twins righty Taj Bradley (5-3, 4.02 ERA) looks to get his season back, while the Cardinals will turn to former 1st rounder, righty Michael McGreevy (3-5, 2.99 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm CDT. Twins bullpen implosion is scheduled for approximately 3:15pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews:
Coming Soon

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet