Twins 11, A's 8: Connor Prielipp Sharp In Return, Twins' Bats (and Legs) Win Sloppy Slugfest Late

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Connor Prielipp: 5 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (72 Pitches, 44 Strikes, 61.1%)
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Kody Clemens (0.19), Prielipp (0.14), Ryan Jeffers (0.11)
Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant):

The Twins needed a series victory over the battered Athletics in the worst way. After losing the opener at Target Field on Friday, the home team took game two behind a nice outing from Kendry Rojas and the bullpen. The Athletics lost their All-Star catcher, Shea Langeliers, in the process, and then had to turn to the struggling Jeffrey Springs in the rubber game.

Springs is a lefty, and we all know how the Twins offense tends to shut down against that type of pitcher. Not today, although some of the production against Springs could certainly be ascribed to dumb luck. It started with Austin Martin doubling off the glove of left fielder Tyler Soderstrom. Ryan Jeffers lofted a bloop single to get Martin to third, and after a Royce Lewis RBI groundout, Kody Clemens tripled to the gap in right-center field and scored after the throw to third base went out of play. It was 3-0 Twins in a blink, thanks partially to the A's.

Another bloop single by Alex Jackson started the second inning, and Brooks Lee followed with a walk. Ryan Kreidler then hit the hardest ball against Springs of all (107 MPH), but that ball was caught. Springs left with a hip injury, capping a brutal day at the ballpark for a pitcher who used to be legitimately All-Star caliber, just a few years ago. Martin drew a walk, bringing up Byron Buxton with the bases loaded. Springs was probably psyched for a minute, as Buxton lined into a double play, but the out call on Lee at second base was overturned. Then reliever Luis Morales balked Jackson home for the fourth Twins run, a call that got A's manager Mark Kotsay ejected.

Ryan Jeffers then continued to crush the hearts of anyone who is still a fan of the Athletics, lining a single to right to score two more.

Meanwhile, Connor Prielipp was on the mound after a brief stay on the IL with a blister issue. The time off seemed to have done him some good, as Prielipp was painting the corners of the zone with all of his pitches, striking out three in his first three innings (all perfect frames) while hitting 98 MPH on his fastball.

He wavered a bit in the fourth, walking Nick Kurtz with one out and falling behind the next hitter, Jonah Heim, 3-0. He fought back into the count and eventually got Heim to tap to Lee at third, who started an around-the-horn double play with Jackson, who was making his first start at first base, sprawling out to collect the relay throw from Lewis. The A's got their first hit in the fifth inning off the bat of Soderstrom, but he, too, was erased on an inning-ending double play.

Prielipp began the sixth with only 62 pitches thrown, which surely made Derek Shelton a little uncomfortable. Prielipp's workload has been intensely managed, but all of the Twins' top relievers were used in Saturday's victory, and the A's had not eclipsed 100 MPH on any ball they had put in play to that point. Prielipp got the first two outs on 10 more pitches before giving way to Cole Sands with the top of the lineup coming up for the third time.

That may have been too cute a move, as Sands—making his first appearance in nearly three months—hit Jacob Wilson with a pitch on an 0-2 count and served up a splitter to Kurtz, who smashed it out into the bullpen in left-center field, 412 feet.

Their lead reduced from seven to four, Ryan Kreidler doubled with one out in the bottom of the frame and then, for the third time in two games, stole third base. Martin lofted a ball deep enough to score him, but Soderstrom took his eye off the ball and it skittered away, allowing Kreidler to score and Martin to reach third.

Sands stayed on for the seventh and appeared to get the first out off the bat of Soderstrom, but this time it was Martin in left field who couldn't track down a fly ball in the direct sun, allowing Soderstrom to reach second. Tommy White then singled, followed by a walk to pinch-hitter Lawrence Butler. That spelled the end for Sands, who was relieved by Tommy Nance. Nance promptly walked another pinch-hitter, Donovan Walton, to force in the A's' fourth run and bring the tying run to the plate. An RBI groundout and sacrifice fly later, the lead was down to two. Clemens made a diving catch on a liner from Wilson to finally end the inning, one of the biggest defensive plays of the Twins' season to date.

The Twins answered right away, too, with Clemens hitting his second triple of the game, this one to the base of the wall in right-center. He would then score on a sacrifice fly by Keaschall for a key insurance run. The Twins would add another in the eighth, with Kreidler delivering his third double of the day to score Lee. He would score when Jeffers hit a tapper to third base that White made a poor throw on, pushing the cushion to five runs.

Travis Adams made it interesting in the ninth, allowing three hits, but kept it together enough to secure the 11-8 victory.

Stuff I'm Tracking:

• Luke Keaschall entered play with a .493 OBP in July and an OPS over 1.000. 
• Martin has an OBP over .400 in July after looking like a good candidate for a return to Triple-A for a while, adding a double and a walk today.
• Buxton looks rough at the plate right now, missing the pitches he normally crushes, and chasing the pitches he usually spits on.
• Sands didn't look great before he got hurt, and looked awful today in this return. Relievers sometimes have a short shelf life, but hopefully that is not the case with Sands, who was nails as a high-leverage guy in 2024.

What’s Next: Taj Bradley (9-4, 3.69 ERA) takes on Seth Lugo (4-6, 4.36 ERA) as the Twins welcome the Royals to Target Field for a three-game set starting Tuesday. The Royals look like clear sellers for this year's trade deadline, with their formerly prized pitching staff failing them, as they have allowed even more runs than the Twins this year. A series victory would get the Twins back to .500 before their final pre-deadline series in Seattle.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart: