Steven Trefz

Image courtesy of © Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews - 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (93 pitches, 68 strikes (73%)) Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (4), Kody Clemens (11) Top 3 WPA: Matthews (0.14), Larnach (0.12), Byron Buxton and Clemens (0.11) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins came into Tuesday night's contest in Arlington, Texas with a couple of unique scenarios in play. First, they were aiming to win their third game in a row for the first time since mid-May's trip to Fenway Park. Second, both teams have an off day looming mid-series,setup with the World Cup coming to Arlington on Wednesday. With a sporadically tough young righty in Kumar Rocker on the hill for the Rangers, Zebby Matthews had an opportunity to vault Twins Territory into a happy off-day with a solid performance. All of the suspense and setup of this paragraph were happily erased by the fourth inning, though. Here's how a much neemuch-neededded laugher unfolded in Minnesota's favor for once. Twins Cash in Early and Often When Derek Shelton moved Byron Buxton into the second spot of the order last week, his goal was to get more runners on base for the slugging center fielder. Trevor Larnach torpedoed his manager's plan to start the game, but this time fa,ns still had something to cheer about. 1-0 Twins on the second pitch. Buxton didn't let Larnach's insubordination deter him, as he quickly reached first on an infield single. The next two batters got out, but managed to advance Buxton to third. Josh Bell then kept his RBI streak rolling with a single to deliver a 2-0 lead. Things moved along with little fanfare until the top of the third inning, when Rocker again faced a leadoff Larnach, who singled this time. Buxton walked to set the stage for tonight's right fielder, Kody Clemens. Clemens broke the game open with one Texas-sized swing. The Twins stacked a Brooks Lee double and a Luke Keaschall walk after that in the third, but they wouldn't strike again until the top of the fourth. This time i,,t was Alex Jackson in the nine spot who got the leadoff knock with a ringing double to left. Larnach couldn't keep the cycle train moving, but Buxton got a two-base gift from Brandon Nimmo and the Twins found themselves back in scoring position. That play ended Rocker's night, as Cal Quantrill got the call to put out the fire. Clemens got intentionally walked with one out, so that Royce Lewis got a bases lobases-loadedaded opportunity. The Rangers had heard that Lewis was prone to trying to yank outside off-speed pitches into double play grounders. They forgot that Lewis learned the power of station-to-station hitting on Sunday afternoon, and he laced an outside cutter into center for a casual, ho-hum, two-run single. 7-0, and the rout was on! What happens when the former number one pick keeps the line moving for his teammates? Bell just keeps raking, that's what. Bell sent a double into the right-field corner, and Nimmo struck again with a throw that bounced into the infield allo,wing Lewis to score as well to make it 9-0. A Keaschall single eventually plated Bell, and Matthews had a 10-0 lead before he ever got the rock for the bottom of the fourth. The Zebby Show Rolls Through the Seventh While the announcers went to B-roll material to try to maintain a level of interest in the blowout, Matthews kept on cruising through the Texas lineup. He surrendered single runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but he escaped damage and completed seven solid frames for the fourth time in seven starts this season. The defense came to play, Matthews didn't walk anyone, and the business that needed to get taken care of when you get spotted such a large early lead got taken care of. No tense bullpen moments tonight. In fact, the Twins tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth just to be sure. Indeed, a fully rested and newly inspired team will take the field on Thursday in search of their first four-game winning streak since mid-April. What’s Next? The Twins will cheer for soccer and such on Wednesday, and then attempt to sweep their way out of Texas. Twins righty Joe Ryan (4-3, 3.17 ERA) looks to provide the knock-out start, while former number two overall pick Jack Leiter (3-6, 4.86 ERA) looks to salvage the finale for the home team. First pitch is scheduled for 1:351:35 pmpm CDT on Thursday. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Laweryson 32 0 0 0 20 52 Adams 0 0 37 0 13 50 Morris 0 9 0 17 0 26 Gómez 0 15 0 10 0 25 Lawrence 0 0 24 0 0 24 Rogers 0 22 0 0 0 22 Banda 0 9 0 11 0 20 Orze 0 16 0 0 0 16 Paredes 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images 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: Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Adams 0 31 0 0 37 68 Paredes 0 58 0 0 0 58 Rogers 17 14 0 22 0 53 Lawrence 26 0 0 0 24 50 Morris 0 39 0 9 0 48 Laweryson 12 0 32 0 0 44 Gómez 0 27 0 15 0 42 Orze 23 0 0 16 0 39 Banda 0 30 0 9 0 39 View full article

Image courtesy of © Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Box Score SP: Taj Bradley - 4.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (89 pitches, 52 strikes (58%)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (19), Josh Bell (7), Brooks Lee (10), Kody Clemens (9) Bottom 3 WPA: Bradley (-0.42), Tristan Gray (-0.19), Victor Caratini (-0.16) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins limped out of their 17-game string between off days by dropping three out of four to the hapless Royals. Nothing says "day off" like traveling to Detroit, only to experience a tornado warning and a two-hour rain delay. With a couple of 25-year-old righties on the mound in Taj Bradley and Troy Melton on Tuesday night in the Motor City, who would come out victorious in the battle of American League Central disappointments? Free Solos Against the Youngsters When the game finally got started, Byron Buxton wasted no time celebrating his return to center field and into the leadoff spot. One pitch, one 428-foot bomb. 1-0 Twins. The Twins' good vibes were short-lived and often stifled throughout tonight's contest, though, as the Tigers responded with solo homers of their own in the first (Dillon Dingler) and second (Riley Greene) to reestablish the lead at 2-1. Greene's home run to start the bottom of the second inning was especially frustrating, given that the Twins had loaded the bases in the top of the frame with only one out, only to see Tristan Gray and Buxton strike out to leave them that way. Josh Bell hit a solo shot of his own in the top of the third to knot things back up, and this one had some historical significance. It was No. 200 for Bell, and put the Twins right back into the game. Bradley's Control Didn't Make the Trip Bradley struggled early and often to find the strike zone, walking the leadoff man in the third and fourth innings to put the pressure immediately back on himself and the Twins' defense. He somehow escaped with only surrendering one run after those walks, but as his pitch count climbed, it became apparent that the Twins bullpen was immediately going to need to use their rested arms in order to find victory. Brooks Lee and Kody Clemens went back-to-back in the top of the fifth to put the Twins back on top, 4-3. Normally, this awesome occurrence would warrant video highlights. In this case, before I could enter them into the recap, Bradley had surrendered a double to start the bottom of the fifth, and then surrendered the lead immediately back by serving up Kerry Carpenter for a two-run jack. In each of those at-bats, Bradley started with a non-competitive pitch for ball one. In each of those at-bats, Bradley served up a center-cut off-speed pitch in hopes of not walking more humans. That was the end of Bradley's night, and the start of this evening's bullpen implosion. No Relief in Sight The bullpen rest didn't do a darn thing. Eric Orze got the Twins out of the bottom of the fifth still within a run, but after Gray and Buxton repeated their "striking out with a chance to knock a run in" vibe in the top of the sixth, Orze got chased with runners on the corners and only one out in the bottom of the sixth. Twins hero Taylor Rogers came in, and unfortunately, memories are all that appear to be left of Rogers's game. After getting Kevin McGonigle to strike out on a high sweeper, Rogers went one-too-many sweepers into the well on Dingler, and by the time the Tiger catcher trotted around the bases, it was 8-4 Detroit. The Twins loaded the bases yet again in the top of the seventh with only one out. Again, the clutch hits with runners on did not pack their bags for Detroit. Victor Caratini struck out, and Royce Lewis got Twins Territory to its feet—only to see his Grand Slam moment drop into Greene's glove on the warning track. Like we've seen so often this season, a Twins failed rally was immediately followed by an opponent's padding of the lead. This time, it was the Justin Lawrence experience who drew the sacrificial lamb role after Rogers stayed in the game and walked the leadoff man. Lawrence followed the night's theme and walked the first man he faced. It looked like the newest Twins would escape the jam after he got the next two outs, but he walked the bases loaded with two outs and then Gray booted a "single" to allow two more runs to score. What’s Next? That's a tough question to answer after a night like this. In theory, the Twins look to rebound and even up the series on Wednesday evening, but they have yet to name their starting pitcher. While the Twins faithful pray for a Marco Raya sighting, the threat of a bullpen game looms larger. The Tigers will send lefty Framber Valdez (3-4, 4.21 ERA) out to win the series. First pitch is scheduled for 5:40 pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Laweryson 0 0 36 0 12 48 Morris 0 0 41 0 0 41 Orze 0 17 0 0 23 40 Lawrence 0 0 12 0 26 38 Rogers 0 15 0 0 17 32 Adams 16 0 0 0 0 16 Gómez 0 14 0 0 0 14 Banda 14 0 0 0 0 14 Paredes 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Box Score SP: Connor Prielipp 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (94 pitches, 62 strikes (66%)) Home Runs: N/A Top 3 WPA: Luke Keaschall (0.23), Tristan Gray (0.23), Alex Jackson (0.14) & Yoendrys Gómez (0.14) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins took advantage of the White Sox's road woes on Monday night, and they looked to keep regaining ground against their division rival on Lou Gehrig Day. Two young starters got a second crack at their foes. Chicago's rising star Davis Martin looked to pick up his second win in less than a week against the Twins, while Minnesota's young lefty Connor Prielipp looked for revenge after giving up six runs in less than five innings earlier in the week to the South-Siders. White Sox Hit the Third Running Prielipp coasted through the first two frames, but ran into some classic 2026 Twins moments in the top of the third inning. The speedster Luisangel Acuña worked a leadoff walk on a full count, and then proceeded to steal second base. Then he stole third base, and Alex Jackson's throw soared into left field, allowing Acuña to trot home for the game's first run without the batter, Jacob Gonzalez, having to do a thing. After Gonzalez struck out, Chase Meidroth and Randal Grichuk struck with a single and a double, which set up Miguel Vargas for a two-run single to put the Pale Hose out to a 3-0 advantage with some uncharacteristic Chicago small ball. Twins Run it Right Back Martin was pitching well, but the Twins batters took advantage of their recent muscle memory in the batter's box and finally broke through on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Tristan Gray led off with a single, and then was gifted second on a Martin balk. Jackson attempted to sacrifice bunt. Instead, Gonzalez decided to cover the ground two feet in front of the base instead of the actual base—and he chose not to try to tag Jackson, either. Runners were at the corners with nobody out, but Byron Buxton struck out looking. Luckily, Brooks Lee kept his RBIs rolling with a sac fly to make it 3-1. Prielipp took care of the Sox in short order in the top of the fourth, and kept the pressure on his opponent. Martin crumbled under that pressure, surrendering six straight hits to plate four runs. Luke Keaschall got the scoring rolling with an RBI single in the fourth, and he ultimately ended the Twins' scoring with an RBI single in the fifth. By the time the Keaschall bookend was finished, it was 6-3 Twins. Honorable RBI mentions go to Gray (2) and Jackson (1) as well, but the highlight is all Luke's. Nothing's Ever Easy at Target Field The fans began to show up mid-game, and by the time the adult beverages had impacted the tarps-off section, the atmosphere lent itself to some on-field excitement. Prielipp attempted to pitch into the seventh inning, but he got chased by two singles, and it was going to be up to the bullpen to hold the home turf. Andrew Morris got the call with runners on the corners and nobody out, and he quickly uncorked a wild bender to make that two Sox in scoring position with nobody out. Meidroth then buried a sinker toward Lee at third, and Lee couldn't quite complete an amazing play. With the lead now cut to 6-4, and still nobody out, Morris hunkered down and took down Grichuk and Vargas on strikeouts while, hitting 100 MPH for the first time. With the situation still on edge, Morris then plunked Colson Montgomery to load the bases. It was Anthony Banda's turn to save the day. Sam Antonacci stood at the plate, and four pitches later, he followed his "sword" back to the dugout, and the Twins fans could breathe again. Banda decided that the eighth inning should also be exciting, as he struck out the first two batters but then got stung by Acuña's speed and a Gonzalez walk. Yoendrys Gómez came in to put out the smoldering fire, and he immediately struck out Meidroth swinging before a flame could flicker. Manager Derek Shelton stuck with Gómez for the ninth, and Gómez repaid his skipper with a 1-2-3, stressless endgame. Time to prep the brooms at Target Field! What’s Next? The Twins look to sweep their way back into the AL Central picture on Wednesday afternoon. It will be a matchup of less familiar faces on the mound, as neither starter took part in the four-game series last week. The Twins will send out righty Taj Bradley (5-1, 3.21 ERA), who last got a no-decision after being chased early in Pittsburgh. The White Sox will send veteran righty Erick Fedde (0-5, 5.40 ERA) out to salvage the finale. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Paredes 0 0 60 0 0 60 Gómez 14 0 0 15 15 44 Banda 18 0 0 0 20 38 Orze 23 0 0 0 0 23 Adams 0 0 0 19 0 19 Morris 0 0 0 0 18 18 Laweryson 16 0 0 0 0 16 Rogers 12 0 0 0 0 12 Lawrence 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Image courtesy of © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Bailey Ober - 4.2 IP, 12 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (97 pitches, 72 strikes (74%)) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Ober (-0.51), Austin Martin (-0.17), Orlando Arcia (-0.16) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins watched a victory turn into defeat in the bottom of the ninth on Friday night on the shores of the Allegheny River. On Saturday, Minnesota played the midpoint game of a brutal 17 games in 17 days stretch of this 2026 season. Bailey Ober took the mound in hopes of providing many innings of quality work for a pitching staff in the midst of injury and roster maneuvering. Ober's hopes, and the hopes of Twins fans everywhere got dashed, and resurrected, and dashed again. Ober and the Anti-Maddux On May 12th, Ober threw a "Maddux," meaning that he got a complete game shutout with less than 100 pitches. On Saturday, Ober threw an "Anti-Maddux," meaning he couldn't clear five innings and gave up eight runs in the first two innings, functionally taking his team out of the game from the start. The misplays started right from the first Pirates batter, as Spencer Horwitz pulled a first pitch 89.9 mph fastball foul. With the entire world shouting "Changeup!," Victor Caratini typed in the heater instead, and Ober grooved a 88.7 mph fastball in the same location that would fit Horwitz's swing perfectly for a booming homer into the river. Things only got worse from there for the Twins' battery. After Kody Clemens doubled to start the second, he came around to tie the game at one on a Caratini blooper into the sun in left (remember that sunshine please). In the bottom of the second inning, Ober tried another high-80's fastball down the heart of the plate after four straight off-speed pitches to the light-hitting Jake Mangum. Mangum now can say he hit a homerun in 2026, and the floodgates began to crack open. With two outs, Horwitz struck again, this time with a lazy fly ball to left field. Trevor Larnach never saw it. Not once. He was wearing his sunglasses. He properly used his glove in an attempt to find it. The ball plopped in front of him, and then the next four batters reached. By the time Oneil Cruz sent his three-run homer into the seats, Ober's day was ruined and things looked bleak with the Pirates leading 7-1 after only two innings. For Everyone Who Turned Off the Game at This Point... With the game effectively over before it could barely begin, Byron Buxton led off the top of the third inning with the kind of single that happens when you are a fast human. He found his way to third base after a wild pitch and a groundout. Turns out he could have stayed at first, because Clemens was cycle-hunting and drove a triple over Cruz's head to close the gap to 7-2. At the time, any excitement generated by this moment was sarcastic. In the top of the fourth, the excitement turned ecstatic. Mitch Keller got Caratini to line out to start the inning, but he gave up singles to Orlando Arcia and Luke Keaschall. Tristan Gray took his second chance at RBI's and delivered with a double that made it 7-4! Buxton walked, but Larnach flied out to put the rally on ice again. That is, until Josh Bell cleared the third baseman's glove with a liner that rolled all the way to the wall to clear the bases and make it 7-6! Remember Clemens? Cycle-hunter? This time it was just a single, but it tied us up at seven apiece! No Relief in Sight for Twins With a brand-new ballgame in the fourth inning, but with both starting pitchers laboring early, it was clear that the bullpens would determine the victor yet again on Saturday. Ober and Caratini started the bullpen action off for the Twins in the fifth by allowing a single, committing a catcher interference, and again grooving a center-cut fastball after success on off-speed pitches to Mangum. That single put the Pirates back up 8-7 and sent Ober to the dugout for another early exit. Kody Funderburk came in and escaped the jam that remained in the fifth, and he survived walks and stolen bases and pressure in the sixth. In the bottom of the seventh, Derek Shelton rode the newly returned lefty two batters too many, as a walk and a single put runners at the corners with nobody out. John Klein got his Day 1 assignment after taking Simeon Woods Richardson's place on the roster, and he eventually allowed Funderburk's runs to score via walks, more stolen bases, hits and a sac fly. Just like that, another winnable game was lost by the Twins' bullpen. For Everyone Who Turned Off the Game at That Point... The bipolar nature of Saturday's ballgame kept on swinging through the top of the eighth, as Keaschall, Ryan Kreidler, and Buxton loaded the bases with one out against lefty reliever Mason Montgomery. Brooks Lee got the pinch-hit call to do what Brooks Lee does, and he walked. With the score now 10-8, and the bases still loaded, Bell came up with a hero moment in his former stomping grounds. He didn't "fail," but he didn't become a hero. Bell's slow ground-out to first plated Kreidler to pull the Twins to within a run, but now the pressure fell to Cycle-Hunter Clemens. The Pirates brough in lefty fireballer Gregory Soto to wreck the comeback plans. Soto threw a 1-1 sinker ball that left Kody's bat at 100.1 mph, but Tyler Callihan snared the grounder with a sweet backhand to break the Twins faithful's hearts once again. Soto stayed on for the ninth, but after two rallies the Twins had nothing left in the tank. 10-9 Pirates. You should have just kept the game turned off after all. What’s Next? The Twins look to salvage the final game of the series, and a .500 road trip by beating the Pirates on Sunday. Twins righty Zebby Matthews (1-2, 2.37 ERA) looks to deliver what Ober could not, while the Pirates will send righty Braxton Ashcraft (4-2, 2.75 ERA) out in hopes of proving they were right to fire their old manager. First pitch on Sunday afternoon is scheduled for 12:35pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Gómez 18 0 17 14 0 71 Orze 0 29 0 23 0 52 Banda 10 0 14 18 0 49 Rogers 16 0 7 12 0 48 Klein 0 0 0 0 39 39 Morris 8 0 29 0 0 37 Funderburk 0 0 0 0 27 27 Laweryson 0 0 0 16 0 16 View full article

Image courtesy of © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Joe Ryan 7.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (98 pitches, 77 strikes (79%)) Home Runs: N/A Top 3 WPA: Brooks Lee (0.29), Luke Keaschall (0.24), Kody Clemens & Taylor Rogers (0.14) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) On Memorial Day afternoon, the Twins discovered that the White Sox are a solid baseball team. Joe Ryan got the call to face the South Side Mashers on Tuesday, in hopes of inching his squad back toward the .500 mark, while Chicago sent young righty Sean Burke out to keep the Twinkies in their third place. PItchers Dominate, but Twins Break Through The first three innings started where Monday night's game left off, with pitchers dominating the game and no hits to be found. Burke had failed to finish five full innings in each of his last three starts, so his success appeared to be fool's gold. In the top of the fourth, the Twins mined two runs on three straight hits. First, Trevor Larnach put a ball in play to right, and Rikuu Nishida couldn't come up with the diving catch in his second career start in right field. Larnach took the double on his stat sheet, and he quickly scampered home when Kody Clemens laced a slump-breaker off the right-field line for a rolling triple to put the Twins up 1-0. With Clemens at third and nobody out, Austin Martin looked to keep Burke and the White Sox on the ropes. He laced a single up the middle to make it 2-0. What happened next didn't appear to be a game-wrecker at the time, but it would loom large as the pitching duel continued. Martin attempted to steal second base with offensive wet blanket Victor Caratini at the plate. Drew Romo threw a perfect strike to second to nab Martin, and the Twins didn't taste the bases again against Burke. The Experience Dominates Early and Often Joe Ryan took this early lead and immediately faced a test in the bottom of the fourth. Colson Montgomery and Chase Meidroth hit a couple of two-out singles to put Ryan on the ropes. Ryan swept out perennial Twins pest and phonics experiment Andrew Benintendi by inducing a harmless grounder to get his squad back into the dugout. Burke found his groove again, and took care of the Twins in order in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. When the White Sox took on Ryan in the bottom of the seventh, they again made some noise with two outs. A single off second base by Benintendi and a questionable hit by pitch to the light-hitting Tristan Peters got Ryan ranting and raving and throwing his glove around. Caratini went to the mound, settled down his ace, and the duo struck out Romo to again keep the zeros coming. But the Murakami Experience is Inevitable Derek Shelton let Ryan take the hill in the eighth with 88 pitches already thrown, with the top of the order (and power) looming. Nishida immediately put Twins Territory on edge with a leadoff single. While he danced the night away off first, Ryan managed to come back to strike out Sam Antonacci for his ninth of the night. American League-leading home run phenom Munetaka Murakami stepped to the plate, and this time, Ryan's attempt to sweep away the threat landed far out in the right field seats for Murakami's 19th of the year. Ryan pitched at a remarkable 76% strike rate, but it was just one too many. Once the sadness settled in, Ryan managed to get one more out before Shelton brought in Anthony Banda to face the lefty Montgomery. Banda immediately gave up a blast to the wall... but not over it. With the go-ahead run now at second base, Banda faced Meidroth with everything on the line. Meidroth beat out a grounder to Luke Keaschall, but luckily, the umpires took the initiative to examine the play more closely because the Twins were all out of challenges. The call was overturned, and we headed to the ninth all square at 2-2. Who Will Enjoy How This Experience Ends? Brooks Lee got himself on first base to start the ninth by hustling out an infield hit. Josh Bell came in to replace Larnach against the lefty Sean Newcomb. That was a poor decision, as Bell grounded into a double play via the usual 5-4-1-Slide Rule review route, as Lee slid wildly past second base, wiping out the fact that Bell beat out the relay. Banda stayed in to start the ninth, and Will Venable took charge by pinch-hitting Randal Grichuk for Benintendi. Banda made that move look foolish with a strikeout. Venable came out yet again to pinch-hit Derek Hill for Peters, and Shelton countered by bringing in the roller coaster that is the Andrew Morris save experience. Morris got the final two outs on quality plays from Keaschall, and bonus baseball would decide tonight's experience. Clemens started out the 10th as the Twins' placed runner, and Martin struck out on a highly questionable check swing to leave him right there. This placed the pressure on the previously mentioned Caratini, who kept the offensive offense narrative going with a strikeout of his own. Shelton went to the Orlando Arcia experience for a pinch-hit in this crucial moment, with the White Sox's big guns waiting at the bottom of the inning. Arcia delivered with a hit, but Nishida made Ramon Borrego look foolish, as he threw out Clemens by a mile at the plate. Unlike Shelton, Venable switched out his zombie runner for a faster option in Luisangel Acuña. Taylor Rogers had no margin for error with Nishida at the plate. While his throw home might have saved the top of the inning, Nishida foul bunted himself on out of the bottom of the 10th. Antonacci bounced a ball off of Rogers' leg, but Arcia held it in the infield to put runners at the corners for Murakami. This had to be how the experience ends right? Wrong! Rogers swept away Murakami on a grounder to Bell, who tagged Antonacci somewhere near Lake Michigan for a double play! Or, if you believe the actual call, he lined out to Bell who then doubled up Antonacci. Either way, the Taylor Rogers Experience sends us to the 11th! Every Experience Needs to End The game's goofy vibe rolled right on into the top of the 11th and off of third baseman Miguel Vargas's leg for a Keaschall leadoff single. This advanced new Manfred Man Ryan Kreidler to third base, and brought up the much-maligned James Outman for a potential hero moment. Outman, predictably, struck out instead, and it was left up to Byron Buxton to break the seal that had paralyzed the Twins' side of the scoreboard since the fourth inning. On a 3-1 pitch, home plate umpire Adam Beck called strike two, but Buxton challenged—and won a walk to load the bases. The newest man of the hour was Lee. New pitcher Tyler Davis got Lee to foul off two straight fastballs. Davis then slowed things down a bit, and Lee sped them back up with a bases-clearing double!!! The Twins left Lee on the bases, and Yoendrys Gómez allowed the Sox's automatic runner to score in the bottom half of the frame to add some angst to the evening once again. But once a Grichuk grounder found its way from Kreidler's arm to Bell's glove, Twins Territory could exhale and soak in the experience in victorious style. What’s Next? The Twins look to keep the momentum rolling against Chicago in the third game of the four-game series. Twins rookie Connor Prielipp (1-2, 4.03 ERA) will make his first start on the South Side, and will face rising ace righty Davis Martin (7-1, 2.04 ERA). On paper, this looks like another big blast-or-bust kind of evening, First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Gómez 13 0 22 0 18 53 Rojas 0 45 0 0 0 45 Morris 0 32 0 0 8 40 Rogers 0 6 13 0 16 35 Woods Richardson 0 0 0 35 0 35 Banda 14 0 10 0 10 34 Adams 29 0 1 0 0 30 Orze 14 0 10 0 0 24 View full article

Image courtesy of Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Taj Bradley 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (73 pitches, 48 strikes (66%)) Home Runs: N/A Top 3 WPA: Taylor Rogers (0.18), Bradley (0.17), Kendry Rojas (0.17) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins welcomed back their flamethrower phenom Taj Bradley to the mound at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon. In a matinee that got pretty heated, Bradley and the Twins kept their cool and stayed hot in Boston. Starting Hot The Red Sox sent a familiar face out as an opener, with lefty Jovani Moran getting the first frame against his former squad. Moran got ahead of Byron Buxton 0-2 to lead things off, but Buck stroked a single to get the offense rolling. Trevor Larnach roped a single of his own to start off his four-hit day, and then Austin Martin took Moran to the gap to get the Twins on the board at 1-0. Bradley's Heater A Josh Bell sacrifice fly spotted Bradley another run to work with, and he worked with the lead quite well. After facing some rehab time for a pectoral muscle issue over the past two weeks, Bradley looked to return to his dominant ways. The first three innings saw little resistance from the Boston bats, with Taj alternating between low-90's movement and 99 mph heaters. The fourth inning saw the Red Sox get their first hit, and eventually their first run as a Ceddanne Rafaela double plated Mickey Gasper. Willson Contreras tried to follow Gasper home, but Martin threw a bead to Orlando Arcia, who in turn threw a pea to Victor Caratini for the tag at home. That play not only kept the Twins in the lead, but it also set a fire under the Twins offense as Caratini took exception to Contreras' bump at the plate, and Contreras took exception to any human interaction that ensued. With the bullpens and benches all lathered up, the top of the fifth inning began with the third of Larnach's four hits. Martin followed with an infield hit up the middle to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Bell stepped to the plate after having been the first man off the bench to skirmish in the previous inning, and he ironically exposed Contreras with a grounder to first that ate up the normally elite defender to load the bases against righty bulk man Brayan Bello. Kody Clemens failed to make them pay by flying out to shallow left, but Caratini hit a fly ball to right jussssssst far enough to score Larnach on a sweet slide to make it 3-1. Arcia then hit a grounder that was headed for out number three until Bello mindlessly reached behind his back and deflected the ball into no mans land. Martin scored, and the Twins bullpen got itself a three-run lead to work with. Rojas Holds the Fireline, and Morris Pours on Gas Bradley wasn't going to go very deep into the game in his first outing back, and Kendry Rojas was ready and waiting to keep the heaters coming. Rojas surrendered only one hit and struck out three over his three innings of work, and it looked like the Twins were on their way to an easy road victory. Then Andrew Morris took the hill for the bottom of the ninth, and Contreras laced a lead-off single into left. Morris followed by walking Rafaela on five pitches. Now the Twins were feeling the heat, and the tying run stepped into the box in the form of young Nick Sogard. Sogard took a 95 mph heater, and then popped up a changeup to ease some of the tension. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit, and Arcia made a slick play on a grounder up the middle to take out the runner at second to get the Twins within one out of a big win. Connor Wong was next man up, and he worked a walk on a full count to load em up. Derek Shelton stuck with the rookie Morris in this new-to-him crucial spot. The first two pitches to Isiah Kiner-Falefa were not close, and Morris was limited to heaters only to finish off the game. On a full count, Morris yanked a fastball into the ground to walk in the second run for the Red Sox. With the tying run on second, Shelton went to lefty Taylor Rogers to face the dangerous lefty Jarren Duran. Rogers got ahead 0-2, and for the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth times on the evening the Red Sox got down to their final strike. This time, Rogers caught Duran looking on a top shelf sweeper. Duran challenged, but the Twins victory got "confirmed." Thank you homeplate umpire Jen Pawol for doing your job well, as the Twins didn't have a challenge left in the tank had you botched that call. Twins Territory owes you a $2 beer next time you come to Target Field! What’s Next? The Twins look to get out the brooms at Fenway for the first time since 2015. The Bearded Nightmare (5-2, 3.63 ERA) looks to keep the good times rolling in Bean Town. Facing Bailey Ober will be former Twins ace Sonny Gray (5-1, 2.93 ERA) who is 1-2 with a non-stellar 7.20 ERA against his former team since leaving via free agency after the 2023 season. First pitch is scheduled for 12:35pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Gómez 0 36 0 13 0 49 Adams 19 0 0 29 0 48 Rojas 0 0 0 0 45 45 Morris 0 10 0 0 32 42 Banda 16 0 0 14 0 30 Orze 0 0 0 14 0 14 Rogers 0 0 0 0 6 6 Woods Richardson 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article