Guardians 6, Twins 4: Apple TV Game Goes Awry

Box Score
Connor Prielipp: 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (12)
Bottom 3 WPA: Connor Prielipp (-.240), Ryan Jeffers (-.190), Matt Wallner (-.160)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Ah, the first Apple TV game of the year. How well did you do in finding a way to watch the game? This author—who is 27 years old, by the way—struggled to use their fiancé’s email to sign up for a free trial solely for this game. The process took ten minutes. We needed her face ID three times. The dinosaurs feel more relatable with each passing day. At least we were rewarded with baseball played by the 2026 Twins.

Byron Buxton doubled to lead off the game—a false hope, as he remained at the base, cursed to watch his teammates fail to even advance him to third.

In poetic juxtaposition, the Guardians scored their first baserunner—and many more (man, two em dashes so early seem a little aggressive, but we’ll work with it). Steven Kwan singled, and Connor Prielipp doinked a slider off Angel Martínez’s foot. José Ramírez chopped a grounder that should have netted at least one out, yet Luke Keaschall positioned himself too close to the dashing Martínez, who blinded the young second baseman, allowing the ball to escape him entirely and roll softly, harmlessly into the outfield, scoring one. Rhys Hoskins added on with a sacrifice fly.

The damage would have been rationalized if Travis Bazzana didn’t soon clobber a hanging Prielipp slider to make the first an Officially Disastrous frame™. Cleveland led 4-0.

And Cleveland starter Parker Messick was in no mood to relinquish that advantage. The 25-year-old Mark Buehrle impersonator tore through the Twins lineup. No runner again reached second base until the sixth; he simply didn’t allow it. Rather, the lefty worked at his accelerated pace, changed speeds, and kept Minnesota’s batters guessing, often incorrectly. 

But fortune changed in the sixth. Austin Martin “doubled” on a 56-degree chip shot over the first baseman’s head, enabling Ryan Jeffers to shoot an RBI single to right field. Impossibly, the Twins totaled three more consecutive hits without scoring another run; the lethargic Jeffers was thrown out at home following a Keaschall knock. 

“You know how to avoid getting thrown out at home? By blasting one out of the park?” -Byron Buxton, probably.

The homer brought the game within one. 

Which was as close as things would get. Cleveland added on in the seventh and eighth to stretch things to a 6-3 advantage over the Twins. Minnesota put men on the corners with no one out in the ninth to spice matters up late, but a Jeffers double play neutered the rally. They fell one batter later. 

Notes:

Post-Game Interview:

What’s Next?
The Twins and Guardians will meet on standard TV for an early-evening Saturday affair. Joe Ryan is scheduled to start opposite Tanner Bibbee. First pitch is at 5:10 PM.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet