Phillies 9, Twins 1: Seven Run Inning Dooms Prielipp and Twins in Lopsided Loss

Box Score
SP: Connor Prielipp 5.0 IP, 8 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 6 K (94 pitches, 58 strikes (62%))
Home Runs: N/A
Bottom 3 WPA: Prielipp (-0.26), Brooks Lee (-0.28), Six Twins batters were between (-0.03 and -0.05)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins had a full Friday off to contemplate what went wrong in Dyersville, and Saturday night was their chance to prove that they indeed belonged in playoff contention against a quality opponent on their actual home turf. Connor Prielipp looked to take some of the corn sweat steam off of the Phillies lefty bats, while fellow lefty Jesus Luzardo and his 1.14 WHIP hasn't had to sweat much this season and looked to continue that trend against Minnesota's full-righty lineup. 

Location, Location, Location
The Twins starters have been surrendering two runs in the first inning for what seems like a month, but Prielipp put an end to that with a 1-2-3 top of the first. Austin Martin started off the bottom of the first with a ringing double to the wall in left, but Luzardo decided to stop providing center-cut fastballs and struck out Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, and Royce Lewis in order. The Phillies quickly put Prielipp on the ropes in the top of the second. Twins immortality Luiz Arraez kept on raking for his latest team, lacing a single on a hanging slider. Alec Bohm drove a sinker that didn't sink for a double, and Edmundo Sosa drew a four pitch walk to load the bases with nobody out. Even though Prielipp was home, his location was less than desirable for a Twins squad desperate to stay in the thick of the race. Ultimately, Connor was able to dial in and only allow one run on a sacrifice fly, keeping his team in the game early.

Again in the bottom of the second, the Twins got a double. This time it came with one out, and Luke Keaschall was the man standing in prime scoring location at second base. There he stayed, as this time it was Brooks Lee and Ryan Kreidler who struck out thanks to Luzardo's superior sweeper location. 

Greedy Baserunning Leaves Both Teams Unsatisfied
Bryce Harper tried to stretch a single into a double in the top of the third, and Martin gunned him down for the third out. In the top of the fourth, Bohm tried to race to third on a grounder to Kaelen Culpepper at short, and Culpeper gunned him down at third to erase a scoring threat. Then in the bottom of the fourth Keaschall found himself at first base this time, and he tried to make it all the way home on a slow gapper from Lee. Keaschall celebrated being called safe, Don Mattingly and the Phillies had the last laugh as the replay showed a bang-bang out instead. The game headed to the fifth inning with the Phillies still nursing a 1-0 lead.

It All Falls Apart
The momentum seemed to be in the Phillies favor heading into the top of the fifth, but it actually started off well for Prielipp, with a leadoff single looking like it was going to get stranded at first after Connor retired the next two batters. Then there were three straight walks, the last netting Arraez an RBI to make it 2-0. Then two straight singles made it 5-0. Then Prielipp hung a center-cut slider to Bryson Stott, and Stott dented the right field foul pole to make it 8-0. Seven runs with two outs. With the Twins facing an All-Star, it was time to move towards the exits in the fifth.

Any Reason to Keep Paying Attention?
Not really. Culpepper laced a double in the bottom of the fifth and got stranded. Jeffers hit a double in the bottom of the sixth and didn't get stranded! Lewis hit the toppiest top of the left field wall and the ball bounced back for the Twins' fifth double of the night. When Lewis got stranded at second with nobody out, it marked the last attempt with a runner in scoring position for the Twins, and 1-for-11 night in that situation at that point (eventually they went 1-for-13 with seven of those being via strikeout). Justin Morneau said during the telecast that hitting with runners in scoring position is a different animal and everything changes in those moments. Well those moments are a large animal, that is currently devouring the Twins' season. The team's power outage in August stands in stark contrast to the homerun barrage taking place in St. Paul this month. Will management make a move to bring new blood up into those moments, or just keep hoping that regression can regress both ways in the same season? 

The Twins bullpen looked solid yet again, a continual bright spot in an otherwise dismal August. Twins fans can only wonder what might have been if Derek Shelton had been ready to go to them a few batters earlier. Like maybe as your starter is actively walking three batters in a row in the fifth with the game still tight? Also, the usage of Minter and Hoffman in a blowout might snipe the club on Sunday should the game remain close. The oddity of the Field of Dreams game and off-day did leave them on the verge of too much rest, but now their availability in a winnable game Sunday is in question. Rogers, Nance, and even Adams were there and ready to be cannon fodder in this blowout. Time will tell if these systemic and managerial non-moves impact past Saturday's defeat. 

What’s Next?
The Twins look to salvage something from this unique and so far lopsided series on Sunday afternoon. The hottest and newest Twins starter, Dean Kremer (2-4, 5.25 ERA, but 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 0.58 WHIP across his two Twins outings) will take the hill to make a stand against the Philadelphia bullies. The Phillies' weakest link in the rotation, RHP Andrew Painter (2-8, 6.27 ERA) will look to bring the brooms to Target Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews

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