Steven Trefz

Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Zebby Matthews 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (90 pitches, 58 strikes (64%)) Home Runs: Josh Bell (17) Top 3 WPA: Bell (0.17), Matthews (0.15), A.J. Minter (0.12) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) An 11-game and seven-year winless drought against the Braves was broken Monday night, and Zebby Matthews hoped to shock the world again by pitching the Twins to a series win on Tuesday night. The foe was ex-Twin Tyler Mahle, who has been taking care of business for his new team in two starts since the trade deadline. If you had "pitchers duel" on your bingo card, you were the only one—and you went home happy. The question remained, though: would Twins fans go home happy yet again? Starting Well Again For a solid week, the Twins seemed to repeatedly surrender first-inning runs in heart-wrenching fashion. The past two games saw the Twins jumping on the board early, with mixed eventual results. Tonight's game saw Matthews cruise through the top of the first, and Mahle initially looked poised to do the same—that is, until Ryan Jeffers reached second base on some outfielder pinball with two outs, and Josh Bell decided to send an 87.4-MPH splitter back at 110 MPH (with a 30° launch angle). Just like that, it was 2-0 Twins. Good Pitching Defeats Good Hitting... Every Time The second through sixth innings featured both pitches commanding the zone and fielders making the plays in front of them. Mahle needed 26 pitches to escape the first inning, but he only needed 41 pitches to mow through the next five, without surrendering another run. The Twins' early starts and mid-game fizzle were on full display yet again. Matthews matched Mahle in results at twice the effort, as he reached the 90-pitch mark in the sixth after serving up Drake Baldwin's 21st homer of the year. With only a one-run lead, Matthews stayed in and got into more trouble with runners at first and second with two outs. Derek Shelton brought in the emergency relief, and Kody Funderburk came through to keep the game 2-1 in favor of the home team. Can the Twins Really Win a Game Like This, After a Week Like That? Andrew Morris wore Sunday's Phillies loss, but he took the Braves out in order in the seventh. A.J. Minter faced the dangerous Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr., and Matt Olson trio in the eighth, but they all went back to the dugout disgruntled. Meanwhile, the Twins' bats had been dormant since the first, but Kaelen Culpepper ain't scared of relievers. He singled to start the bottom of the eighth. Luke Keaschall failed to advance him, but Shelton pinch-hit Byron Buxton for Trevor Larnach, which caused Walt Weiss to bring in the righty Didier Fuentes. Buxton singled on the first pitch he saw, and it took Ryan Jeffers only two pitches to make it a 4-1 Twins lead with a ringing double. With the game still a save situation, Yoendrys Gómez came in to shut the door. Michael Harris II instead slammed a leadoff double to put the anxiety back into the room. Harris never got past third base, however, and the unthinkable became reality at Target Field. Series victory in the books. It's time to see if Philly left any brooms in the building. What’s Next? The Twins look to sweep the Braves. I never thought I would get to type that, but here we are. Twins righty Taj Bradley (9-5, 3.98 ERA) looks to avenge his Field of Broken Dreams start, while the Braves will send recent call-up RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 4.15 ERA) out to attempt to salvage a game. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Morris 0 23 28 0 13 64 Hoffman 0 17 0 20 0 37 Gomez 0 0 0 19 16 35 Minter 0 12 14 0 6 32 Rogers 0 0 16 11 0 27 Funderburk 0 16 4 0 4 24 Adams 0 0 0 18 0 18 Nance 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images 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 Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Adams 0 0 42 0 0 42 Hoffman 0 24 0 0 17 41 Morris 0 18 0 0 23 41 Funderburk 22 0 0 0 16 38 Nance 18 0 16 0 0 34 Rogers 18 0 10 0 0 28 Minter 0 9 0 0 12 21 Gomez 0 11 0 0 0 11 View full article

Image courtesy of Brad Rempel-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Bailey Ober 6.0 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (100 pitches, 60 strikes (60%)) Home Runs: N/A Bottom 3 WPA: Ober (-0.23), Alan Roden (-0.18), Kaelen Culpepper and Trevor Larnach (-0.14) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins looked to continue their home cooked success against a dwindling Baltimore club. Bailey Ober hadn't lost since his return on July 9th, even though he mostly endured no decisions along the way with only one actual victory. Brandon Young stood on the mound for the Orioles, and his July and August efforts resulted in similar win/loss results. The wild card race somehow still involves these sub-.500 teams, so Tuesday night mattered whether anyone liked it or not. The Margin Between Meat and Crafty The Twins struggled last week when their starters continuously put their team behind 2-0 early. After two batters Tuesday the Orioles were ahead 2-0, as Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso ripped a double and homer respectively off of center-cut 88 mph "fastballs." The Twins couldn't muster anything in their half of the first, and Gunnar struck again in the top of the second, this time a two-run homer of his own to make it 4-0. The "crafty" Young meanwhile gave up a couple of singles and a hit batter to load the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the second, but an Alan Roden dribbler for an out was the only RBI of the inning, as Brooks Lee was meat at home on a Kaelen Culpepper grounder to third, and Trevor Larnach also couldn't deliver with runners in scoring position. Before you could say "at least we are only down three now," Christian Encarnacion-Strand took an 82.8 mph changeup 460 feet. 5-1 Orioles, and Ober's meatball offerings were dampening the Target Field faithful's spirits on an already intolerably muggy night. Getting Into Gear, but Still Slipping in the Clutch The bottom of the third saw the Twins once again put two men on with nobody out on a Ryan Jeffers infield single and a catchers interference that allowed Josh Bell to reach. Kody Clemens and Royce Lewis couldn't move the runners, but Lee snuck a grounder past a diving Polar Bear for a run-scoring double. Luke Keaschall worked a walk to load the bases yet again, but Roden couldn't make contact and another bases loaded threat went unfulfilled. Ober survived the fourth, and Culpepper led off the bottom of the fourth with a single, and advanced to second on a Larnach ground-out. Jeffers struck out and Bell hit the one millionth ground ball to second base on the evening (sarcasm alert), and the home team was 1-for-9 with scoring opportunities through four innings. A Tale of Two Bullpens Once the air began to cool, so did the Orioles offense, and Ober survived six innings and 100 pitches. Kody Funderburk came in to tackle the top of the seventh and he set down the first two batters in quick order. The next three to drive the nail in the coffin, as a single and a walk put clutter on the bases and Tyler O'Neill ripped a single to left. Alonso tried to score on the play, but Larnach gunned him down at the plate to keep the game within striking distance. The problem was that the Twins couldn't strike against the Baltimore pen either. They got runners on against old friend Yennier Cano in the bottom of the eighth, but new friends Roden and Culpepper again failed to plate their teammates as Roden continues to underwhelm in clutch situations, and Culpepper's shine begins to wear off in the field (botched communication led to an extra run in the second) and at the plate (the strike zone continues to elude him). That was as close to scoring as Minnesota would come, and the game ended much like it began: disappointingly. What’s Next? The Twins look to win another home series in a Wednesday matinee. Twins righty Zebby Matthews (5-8, 5.23 ERA) hopes to survive his blistered foot and give his squad another quality start. The Orioles will march out the young righty Shane Baz (4-11, 3.76 ERA), whose record speaks more to the Orioles lack of offense this season than any weakness on his part. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Funderburk 0 21 15 0 22 58 Nance 24 0 11 0 18 53 Rogers 0 0 0 30 18 48 Hoffman 25 15 0 0 0 40 Adams 0 15 0 21 0 36 Morris 13 0 14 0 0 27 Gomez 12 0 9 0 0 21 Minter 3 0 16 0 0 19 View full article

"Technical difficulty" and no post-game video from Shelty...would love to have been a fly on that wall.

Image courtesy of Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Taj Bradley 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (97 pitches, 62 strikes (64%)) Home Runs: N/A Bottom 3 WPA: Jeff Hoffman (-0.23), Brooks Lee (-0.15), Trevor Larnach (-0.12) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Kaelen Culpepper's debut on Friday night sparked the offense out of its duldrums and led to a surprise victory in the lair of the MLB-leading Brewers. Against a lefty no less! Saturday night's game involved facing another lefty starter in Robert Gasser (3-4, 4.48 ERA), while the Twins countered with their young ace, Taj Bradley (9-4, 3.69 ERA). With the Miz lying in wait for Sunday's matinee, Saturday night looked to be the clearest path to a series victory for Minnesota. Could Culpepper's lightning still be in that bottle for game two? Give and Take The Twins got runners onto the corners with two outs to start the game, but Kody Clemens, who was 3-for-25 since his ultimate slam on July 30th, made it 3-for-26 with a fielder's choice ground out to end the inning. Bradley got ahead of leadoff man Brice Turang 0-2 but surrendered a double to start the bottom of the first. Then a walk and a single loaded the bases with nobody out for William Contreras. Contreras took one for the team, and the Brewers took a 1-0 lead. With the bases still loaded, things looked bleak for Bradley, but Garrett Mitchell lined out, Andrew Vaughn struck out, and the immortal Christian Yelich bounced out to Culpepper to escape a dire situation. Luke Keaschall decided to follow the Brewer blueprint to start the second, as he laced a leadoff double. Culpepper wore one, and suddenly the Twins once again had a threat going. Brooks Lee laced a ball to left that Jackson Chourio robbed, and Ryan Kreidler popped out to the infield, and it looked like the Twins were once again going to let a golden opportunity slip. Then Gasser's unusual wildness came to bite the Brewers, as Austin Martin got plunked to load the bases. Ryan Jeffers worked the count full and drew a game-tying walk. This set up the red-hot Royce Lewis for his latest hero moment, and he delivered with a two-run double to make it 3-1. Give Again Bradley cruised through the second and third innings, striking out five in a row at one point. The Twins found baserunners in the third and fourth innings again, but in the third inning Keaschall got greedy in an attempt to steal third, and Martin grounded into a double play in the fourth. It felt like a two-run lead was going to be plenty for Bradley, but all of that unraveled in the bottom of the fourth. After 28 pitches in the inning, Bradley found the bases loaded with two outs, and Turang took the 29th pitch into the right field gap to plate two Brewers for a 3-3 tie. Bully Pens The tie game stayed that way thanks to bending-but-not-breaking bullpen members. The Twins had a depleted list of available arms, but Travis Adams and Kody Funderburk struck out three Brewers each in the sixth and seventh innings respectively. Unfortunately, the Brewers have one of the best pens in baseball, and they kept the Twins from threatening through the sixth, seventh, and eighth. New Twin righty reliever Jeff Hoffman came in to take care of things in the bottom of the eighth, and Contreras blooped one to shallow center. Keaschall elected not to dive, and the ball landed for a single. Brewer baseball took over with a pinch runner, a stolen base, and an opposite field single by Vaughn to retake the lead at 4-3. The only thing crushed the whole inning was the collective heart of Twins Territory, as the missed opportunities of the early innings loomed large as we headed to the ninth. Comeback Magic? If the Twins were going to reach .500 again tonight, it was going to have to come against former Twin Trevor Megill. If anyone got on base, Lewis would get a chance. Trevor Larnach got the first crack, and he lined a loud out to the right field warning track. Alan Roden pinch hit, and weakly popped up in foul territory on the first pitch he saw. Jeffers didn't want to wait either, and he popped up the first pitch he saw to take all potential excitement out of the picture. It was a game the Twins had in their grasp, but back to two games under the .500 mark they went. What’s Next? The Twins look to do what very few have done this season on Sunday afternoon, and that's beat Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski (11-5, 1.63 ERA). Minnesota will send out their young lefty Connor Prielipp (3-5, 4.75 ERA) in hopes of stealing a series victory in this iteration of the Border Battle. First pitch in Milwaukee is scheduled for 1:10pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Funderburk 14 0 20 0 21 55 Hoffman 0 11 0 25 15 51 Adams 20 0 0 0 15 35 Nance 0 7 0 24 0 31 Gomez 0 0 18 12 0 30 Morris 0 0 13 13 0 26 Minter 0 12 0 3 0 15 Rogers 14 0 0 0 0 14 View full article

Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Kyle Bischoff) As the summer heated up, so did the action across the Twins Minor League Affiliate complexes. Prospects found their way through promotions, demotions, and the awkward weeks of the trade deadline with various degrees of success. Last year at the deadline the Twins decided to fire sale the Major League bullpen in order to restock their starting pitching prospect pool. This year, the minor league pitching depth was the trade bait in order to restock that same Major League bullpen. After all the dust settled, here are the top Minor League arms in the Twins system to be excited about due to an awesome month of June. Honorable Mentions: RHP Chris Vallimont (Wind Surge): 6 G, 25 2/3 IP, 3.16 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 23 K, 8 BB RHP Mitch Mueller (Kernels (7)/ Wind Surge (1)): 8 G, 14 1/3 IP, 3.14 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, 23 K, 3 BB RHP Ricky Castro (Saints): 4 G, 10 IP, 2.70 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6 K, 2 BB 4. RHP Merit Jones – Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (Cedar Rapids promotion 8/4) July Stats (6 G): 0.73 ERA, 24 2/3 IP, 30 K, 8 BB, 1.18 WHIP, .219 BA Nothing says "You've had a great month" better than a promotion, and that's just what Jones obtained after the trade deadline. The move to Cedar Rapids came after the 6'4", 200-pound righty continues to blossom during his first full season in the Twins organization. A 14th round pick out of Utah in the 2025 draft, Jones has been stretched into five innings of work per outing as the month came to a close. His fastball plays up to 96 mph, and his slider brings whiffs in its wake. There is much to be hopeful for as he continues his climb up the organizational ladder. 3. RHP Eduardo Salazar – St. Paul Saints July Stats (8 G): 0.73 ERA, 12 1/3 IP, 11 K, 3 BB, 0.89 WHIP, .190 BA On the other end of the development trajectory resides Salazar, a 28-year-old veteran of the minor league carousel. Since being signed as an international free agent by the Reds in 2023, Salazar has traveled from the Reds, to the Dodgers, to the Mariners, to the Nationals, and finally to the Twins organization in February of 2026. This 6'2", 177-pound right-handed reliever just got placed on the development list after the deadline shuffle but looks to keep his current success going before the season ends. Salazar's four-pitch mix actually plays to reverse splits, with lefties batting a meager .192 against him. He has the pitches to create swings and ground balls, key to any reliever who inevitably will be called upon to escape jams. Does he have a path to the majors? That appears less clear. Either way, keep an eye on how the Twins handle the remainder of Salazar's season for clues as to how they envision restocking their bullpen into 2027. 2. RHP Garrett Acton – St. Paul Saints July Stats (7 G): 3.72 ERA, 9 2/3 IP, 11 K, 4 BB, 0.62 WHIP, .065 BA This season has been a frustrating one for Acton, as his April right shoulder injury in Tampa derailed what was shaping up to be his first full major league season. Acton rode the rehab train from Fort Myers to St. Paul in July, and he rode it well. Other than a Florida Coast League hiccup in his second outing where he walked three and gave up three runs, Acton delivered nine innings of lights out relief, only surrendering a solo homer and striking out 10 along the way. Acton holds one of the most precious commodities in baseball: a 40-man roster spot. The bullpen trades made his path back up to the big-league club in 2026 a difficult one, but should someone go down Acton will be ready and waiting in St. Paul. So will his magic rising fastball and knee-buckling slider. 1. RHP Kyle Bischoff– Wichita Wind Surge July Stats (10 G): 0.00 ERA, 11 1/3 IP, 17 K, 7 BB, 1.15 WHIP, .154 BA It's hard to compete with zeros. Bischoff took what had been a somewhat disappointing 2026 campaign and turned things around with a stellar July. Signed as a free agent in 2023, the Michigan State alum took his 6'2", 210-pound frame and showed what being effectively wild can do. While his walk rate jumped up slightly from June to July, his strikeouts nearly doubled. And if you take out the first outing of the month, his last nine outings all ended in zeros. Bischoff is 27 years old and was pitching in St. Paul to finish 2024 before going back down the ladder in 2025. The time to climb is now, if ever, and Bischoff is doing his best to get his fastball/slider mix noticed again. Congrats to Kyle, your efforts did not go unnoticed here as you are the Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Month! --------- July featured a combined no-hitter for Vallimont and the Wichita crew, as well as several outstanding performances which were rewarded with promotions around the system. Obviously, those positioned at St. Paul have the clearest path up to the big-league club, but the newly acquired bullpen arms might create a logjam for these prospects that will push their debuts back into 2027...or even 2028 should labor strife ensue. Who do you think had the best month of July for our farm system hurlers? As you ponder that, here is one more moment of zen... View full article

Image courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect Box Score SP: Joe Ryan 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (99 pitches, 65 strikes (66%)) Home Runs: Josh Bell (14) Bottom 3 WPA: Ryan (-0.23), Luke Keaschall (-0.11), Ryan Jeffers (-0.11) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins spent the trade deadline adding to their bullpen, and failing to add to their lineup either via trade or call-up. They faced Randy Dobnak a week after getting shut-out over seven innings without any new bats up their sleeves. Joe Ryan took the loss against Dobnak last week, after giving up four runs over six frames. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Let's get nuts Twins Territory! Behind the Two-Ball Yet Again The most recent road trip began in Seattle and involved the Twins offense failing early and the Twins starters surrendering two-run leads in the first inning in all three ballgames. Tuesday night in Kansas City started with Dobnak inducing three easy groundouts with only 13 pitches, and Ryan surrendering three hits and two runs in the first inning. Any momentum gained by keeping the lineup intact and being a spender on the market fell flat in the face of Dobnak's sinker. Royce Lewis kept his wingspan of amazing pull radius alive and well with a one-out double down the line in the top of the second, but Brooks Lee looked overmatched and Alan Roden flew out harmlessly to end the threat. Twins Offense Continues to Be Offensive Post-Break The Twins have been struggling to push runs across before the late innings since the All-Star Break, and they continued to flounder with runners in scoring position tonight. Lewis was 3-for-3 in the first six innings, but even his hit with a runner at second didn't score the runner. With seven at-bats having a chance to score a Twin in the early frames, only a Roden sac fly plated a runner in the fourth inning. With the game now within a run, Ryan looked to keep his squad in the game. He couldn't. In the bottom of the fifth, a single and a walk put runners on ahead of Witt Jr., and again the superstar did what superstars do with a double past a diving Lee to plate two more royals. Ryan Kreidler chucked the relay throw thirty feet over Jeffers' head, allowing Witt Jr. to reach third base. A single plated him and suddenly the Twins were right back where they were on July 29. Down four runs to Dobnak with only a few innings left to play. Ryan's velocity continues to tick down game by game, and red flags are flying everywhere as he tries to battle through the start of the second half. The Royals Bullpen Compels You! If we learned anything from last week's action, its that Twins fans shouldn't turn off the game until its actually over. Add the fact that the Royals bullpen is involved. Daniel Lynch IV and John Schreiber kept Minnesota off the board, but Steven Cruz was in the giving mood to start the eighth. Josh Bell jumped all over a first pitch fastball for his 14th jack of the season to start the late inning surge. But that's where the rallies ended, and the night ended with yet another lost opportunity to jump back into the playoff picture. Travis Adams failed to finish the bottom of the eighth after some bobbled grounders and throws, and Taylor Rogers allowed both inherited runners plus one of his own to score to end things with an embarrassing 8-2 loss all to show for keeping the strong clubhouse vibe through the trade deadline. What’s Next? The Twins look to recover from this four day hangover and get even with the Royals in game two of the series on Wednesday night. The new and shiny RHP Dean Kremer (1-4, 6.50 ERA) will make his first start for his new squad. The Royals will counter with LHP Noah Cameron (5-8, 4.59 ERA) whose last outing involved almost no-hitting the Twins before Kody Clemens slammed the Royals bullpen ultimately. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Gomez 25 0 19 0 0 44 Funderburk 19 3 0 0 14 36 Adams 0 11 0 0 20 31 Rogers 0 14 0 0 14 28 Nance 11 16 0 0 0 27 Minter 0 1 19 0 0 20 Morris 6 12 0 0 0 18 Hoffman 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Image courtesy of Steven Bisig-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Connor Prielipp 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K (88 pitches, 58 strikes (66%)) Home Runs: Luke Keaschall (5), Trevor Larnach (9) Bottom 3 WPA: Andrew Morris (-0.38), Prielipp (-0.14), Victor Caratini (-0.13) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) While trade rumors continued to swirl around the Twins organization, the team had a chance to keep above the .500 mark against a Seattle club suddenly on the "sellers" side of the ledger. Connor Prielipp hoped to build on a solid start last week, while veteran Logan Gilbert looked to turn the tide of his club towards "buyers" again. The Mariners came into the game 29th in the league against left-handed pitching, while the Twins looked to keep their recent homer surge rolling with the wind blowing out to left against a recently-stingy hurler. Something had to give on Saturday afternoon, but who would it be? Prielipp Gives First In Friday night's game, Zebby Matthews struggled out of the gate and loaded the bases before eventually surrendering two runs. Saturday afternoon looked like groundhog day for Prielipp, with lack of control again proving problematic early. Cole Young went first pitch hunting in the bottom of the first, and he ripped a leadoff double. Then Prielipp walked the bases loaded with nobody out, and Julio Rodriguez hit a grounder up the middle that Ryan Kreidler stopped but couldn't offload. With the Mariners up 1-0 and the bases still loaded, things looked dire for the young lefty, but he recovered to strike out Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor. Things looked positive as Mitch Garver fell behind 0-2 in the next at-bat, but Prielipp couldn't put him away with fastballs, and eventually lost him as well to make it 2-0 Seattle. After the 35-pitch first, Connor came back out for the second and mowed down the first two batters and got two strikes against Randy Arozarena but then the aforementioned wind turned a warning track fly ball into a second row homer to make it 3-0. Gilbert Gives Little Meanwhile, Gilbert took care of the Twins with relative ease in the early innings. Royce Lewis hit a hard grounder to third to lead off the second, and Weston Wilson swiped the ball up and out into left for a double. Brooks Lee hit a rope to deep right, but his launch angle this afternoon didn't match his homer arc from Friday and it was tracked down at the wall. Lewis advanced to third, but was stranded there as Luke Keaschall and Victor Caratini struck out swinging to end the scoring opporunity. Gilbert was dealing with the Twins' kryptonite: splitters. Powering Back Little by Little Gilbert remained in the game after Lewis tried to break his shin in the top of the fourth, and he got Lee to ground out to start the fifth. Covering first base on the play also made Gilbert test that leg, and when he returned to the mound Keaschall was waiting to ambush him. The Twins were finally on the board as Keaschall connects for fifth homer of the season. In the top of the sixth, it was Trevor Larnach's turn to turn the trade noise into a booming crack with a moon shot solo homer to right to make it 3-2. GIlbert was only at 71 pitches, but he was beginning to look less invincible by the at-bat. Kody "Missile" Clemens missed tying the game by mere inches as his rocket turned right past the foul pole, but he drew a two-out walk to bring up Lewis to the plate. With Gilbert still wearing the results of Lewis' last swing, a battle at the crux of the game ensued. A passed ball on a swinging strike sweeper put Clemens into scoring position, but a 3-2 high slider froze Lewis and kept Seattle in the lead. Prielipp and the Pen Hold the Line While the first two innings were rough, Prielipp cruised through the middle innings and kept the Twins in the game until the sixth. After taking care of Naylor to start the inning, Derek Shelton went to the pen and brought in Travis Adams to hold the line. Adams decided to hold the line by walking Garver on four pitches, and could have walked Wilson right after that but Caratini rescued a strike with a challenge and hung on to a foul tip strike three. Next came some umpire confusion and a bit of bad luck for the twins, as Cole Emerson hit a sinking liner to center that Keaschall appeared to catch. He also appeared to trap it. One umpire declared "out," while another declared "no out." The umpires gathered together, and the feeling from the reply was that whatever the call on the field would be would not have enough evidence to overturn the call either way. The umpire huddle stated "no out," but the call stood and now runners were at first and second with two out. This led to the Twins debut of A.J. Minter, who promptly induced a Young fly out on only one pitch. More Late Inning Magic? GIlbert stayed in the game to start the seventh, and Lee ambushed the first pitch he saw for a double down the right field line. Keaschall followed up his homer with a first pitch sac bunt to advance Lee to third, putting the onus on Caratini who hadn't connected from Gilbert all afternoon. Caratini still didn't hit anything solid, but his swinging bunt to third got the job done and tied the game. The Twins tried to get into the lead in the top of the eighth, but Andres Munoz came in to strike out Lewis with runners on second and third to end the threat. Taylor Rogers came in to work the bottom of the eighth, and Naylor led off with a single and stolen base to immediately put the pressure on Rogers and the Twins defense. Naylor advanced to third on a ground out to third, but Wilson went to ambush Rogers and hit it right to the mound for out number two. Twins legend Rob Refsnyder came in to pinch hit, and Shelton elected to walk him. Yes, that happened with Young on deck. The stage was set for an evening of teeth gnashing and rage-posting, but Shelton won that chess match as Young bounced out to Lewis to end the Seattle threat. Lee led off the ninth with a single against the nasty Munoz, but a strike-em-out, throw-em-out took care of that when Caratini froze after failing to challenge ball four, and Keaschall spun out on his way to second. Andrew Morris continued his quest to earn the moniker "nasty" with his third outing in a row, but an Arozarena was nastier and he laced a leadoff double off the wall in left. A fly out advanced Arozarena, and Shelton brought in Martin as a fifth infielder and walked Julio Rodriguez to put the double play into play. Morris induced a double play ball to Lewis... but Lewis then had a brain freeze and didn't know where to go with it once he touched first base. With the force at second no longer in play, Lewis needed to throw home but the hesitation allowed Rodriguez to slide across home plate for the kind of loss good teams don't have. The Twins rise above .500 lasted less than 24 hours. What’s Next? The Twins look to take the series and to once again taste that sweet nector of winning baseball on Sunday afternoon. Twins righty Taj Bradley (9-4, 3.65 ERA) will look to keep being the ace of the staff, while trade bait rumor RHP George Kirby (8-9, 3.98 ERA) is scheduled to start but stay tuned for deadline news. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Rojas 0 52 0 0 0 52 Funderburk 27 0 0 19 3 49 Gomez 0 0 21 25 0 46 Rogers 0 0 27 0 14 41 Morris 0 0 12 6 12 30 Nance 0 0 0 11 16 27 Adams 11 0 0 0 11 22 Anderson 13 0 0 0 0 13 Minter 0 0 0 0 1 1 View full article