Make It Official! Twins 3, Mariners 1: One-Twelfth of a Whole New Streak

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson  6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (82 pitches, 51 strikes (62.1% strikes))
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Woods Richardson .358, Carlos Correa .259, Max Kepler .122

Win Probability Chart 

Woods Richardson Goes Toe to Toe against Castillo 
The first four innings of this game were all pitching on both sides. The young and inexperienced Woods Richardson took the mound for the Twins against the Cy Young favorite Luis Castillo.

To start things off, Woods Richardson struck out the side in the top of the first on just 16 pitches, including former Twin and teammate Jorge Polanco to end the inning. The second and third innings would be much of the same as Woods Richardson continued to pile up strikeouts, tallying up four more by the end of the third, but it did not come without giving up a lead-off single in the third to former Twin Mitch Garver.

Woods Richardson’s first challenge came in the fifth as he allowed a lead-off walk to catcher Cal Raleigh. He was able to get the next batter Ty France out on a fly out to Max Kepler, but a wild pitch advanced Raleigh to second. 

Garver stepped to the plate with the first opportunity in the game for both teams to do damage with a running scoring position. But Woods Richardson came back to strike Garver out for his eighth of the game, and former Twin farm hand Luke Raley grounded out to end the inning. 
Woods Richardson didn’t record any strikeouts in the sixth but he still faced the minimum number of Mariners and kept them to one hit in his final inning of work. 

He’d end the night totaling eight strikeouts, getting Mariners batters to swing and miss at 27% of the pitches they swung at (10 for 37), and his third start this season where he’s only allowed one walk. 

Rebuttal in the Fifth 
The Twins followed up the Mariners' first threat to score in the top of the fifth with a little offensive spark of their own. Max Kepler would reach base on a fielding error that advanced him to second to lead off the Twins' half of the inning. 

Carlos Correa took advantage of this mistake made by the Mariners infield tagging a double of the right-center field scoreboard allowing Kepler to score the first run of the game and put the Twins up 1-0. But that would be the only run for the Twins in the fifth as only Carlos Santana followed Correa by reaching base on a walk. 

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Polanco’s Return Sparks Mariners' Comeback
It was a bittersweet return for two former Twins on the Mariners Monday night, but no former Twin had as big a spotlight as Jorge Polanco.

Polanco played his first-ever game against the team he’d spent all 15 years of his professional with before being traded to the Mariners on January 29. Like every other team in MLB, the Twins paid tribute to Polanco with a 90-second tribute video of some of his best moments in a Twins uniform before the start of the game. They also played Polanco’s walk-up song as he took his first-ever at-bat in a visiting uniform at Target Field. 

Polanco came into Target Field Monday night with a seven-game hitting streak on the line. It wouldn’t be until the seventh inning, when Griffin Jax entered the game that Polanco would get a hit to extend the hitting streak to eight games. 

The Mariners would rally around Polanco’s lead-off single as Mitch Haniger followed behind him with another single and Raleigh drew his second walk in the game. Garver would be the man to drive Polanco home on a sacrifice fly off of Griffin Jax. Jax would escape the jam started by his old teammate and keep the game tied at 1-1 into the bottom half of the seventh. 

Rallying For a New Sausage
While the Twins' former second baseman was the spark plug to tie the game for the Mariners, the Twins returned to answer in the bottom of the seventh. 

Kepler took the lead to mount a rally drawing a lead-off walk against Castillo to start the inning. Correa doubled once again, but this time to left field, which kept Kepler from advancing past third to score. 

Willi Castro followed up with a hit right to first baseman Ty France, but France threw the ball to Mariners third baseman Josh Rojas as he and Raleigh caught Kepler in a rundown and prevented him from breaking the tie. 

With two runners on and Santana coming to the plate, the Mariners decided to take their chances with the bases loaded against catcher Christian Vazquez instead of letting Santana hit with runners on first and second. That decision came back to bite them as Vazquez achieved the bare minimum hitting a sacrifice fly and breaking the tie. 

The sacrifice fly was enough for Castillo to be pulled from the game, who had a no-hit bid through 4 ⅓ innings. Even with a fresh arm on the mound in Trent Thorton, the Twins wouldn’t stop adding runs as Manuel Margot broke out of a 1 for 14 cold streak with an RBI single to make it 3-1 Twins. 

Thielbar Continues Rebound From Cold Season Start
With the Twins utilizing Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning, the save opportunity was given to Caleb Thielbar in the ninth. Thielbar had a rough start to his season, (which started late due to a hamstring injury), allowing five earned runs in his first three innings of work.

But since then he’s kept opponents scoreless as he’s overcome jams that could have cost the Twins chances to keep their 12-game winning streak going. But Thielbar showed his vintage self on Monday night retiring the minimum number of Mariners, retiring the minimum with two strikeouts and a flyout to give the Twins a 3-1 victory. 

What’s Next? 
The Twins play the second game in the series against Seattle on Tuesday night with another 6:40 start time. Bailey Ober will go for the Twins against Mariners' rookie Emerson Hancock. 

Postgame Interview 
Coming soon.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet