Bell 2 HRs, Powers Twins past Astros 6-3

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Minneapolis:

By Troy Geary

Geary Sports & Entertainment Network

Houston Astros starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai signed a three-year, $54 million contract with Houston in January after spending eight seasons with the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League. Imai was a three-time NPB All-Star, but his transition to the majors hasn’t gone as planned. After making two starts to open the season, he missed a month with what the Astros called arm fatigue. In his return last Tuesday against Seattle, he gave up six runs in four innings in a loss. Astros manager Joe Espada said afterward, “We want him to pound the zone with two pitches that he can command and control.”

Imai took the mound Monday night against the Twins hoping to show progress. If not, Houston may eventually have to consider other options, whether that’s a bullpen role or time in the minors. With that contract, it’s not an easy decision. Imai is also trying to avoid the “bust” label and prove his success in Japan was no fluke.

The Twins countered with one of their top prospects, Kendry Rojas. Since being called up a few weeks ago, Rojas had mostly pitched out of the bullpen. But with the struggles of Simeon Woods Richardson, who was moved to relief, Rojas got the spot start in what figured to be a bullpen game for Minnesota.

Houston threatened immediately in the top of the first. Jeremy Peña, freshly activated from the injured list, was hit by a pitch. Isaac Paredes followed with a sinking liner to center that James Outman couldn’t haul in on a diving attempt. Yordan Alvarez then walked on four pitches to load the bases with no outs.

Things looked shaky for Rojas early, but he settled down. He got Christian Walker to pop out to Luke Keaschall, then Zach Dezenzo lined into a double play when Brooks Lee made the catch and fired to second to double off Paredes and end the inning.

Imai looked sharp in the bottom of the first. He retired Austin Martin on a fly ball, struck out Trevor Larnach on a checked swing, and got Ryan Jeffers on a weak grounder to second.

Rojas appeared more comfortable in the second inning, recording two quick outs before Cam Smith singled to center on a ball that appeared to glance off Rojas’ hand. After trainers checked on him, he stayed in the game and retired former Twin Christian Vázquez on a sharp liner to Outman in center to keep the game scoreless.

Imai cruised early as well, striking out Kody Clemens with a nasty slider to open the second. But veteran Josh Bell jumped on a belt-high fastball and crushed it 429 feet to dead center for his fourth home run of the season, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.

Rojas retired the Astros in order in the third, while Imai worked around a leadoff single by Tristan Gray thanks to a double play off the bat of Martin.

In the fourth, Rojas needed just seven pitches to retire Houston, including a strikeout of Braden Shewmake to end the inning.

The Twins added on in the bottom half. Larnach led off with a soft single down the third-base line against Houston’s shifting defense. After Clemens flew out, Bell struck again, launching his second homer of the night to left field to make it 3-0. It was Bell’s fifth home run of the season and the 12th multi-homer game of his career.

Minnesota turned to the bullpen in the fifth, bringing in Woods Richardson. Rojas finished with four scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out three. Woods Richardson worked around a leadoff bunt single by Brice Matthews and a walk to Vázquez before striking out Paredes to end the inning.

Imai returned for the bottom of the fifth and retired Lee and Gray before Outman singled. Moments later, the game was halted by a rain and lightning delay that lasted 1 hour and 57 minutes.

After the delay, Houston went to reliever Jayden Murray. Imai’s final line: 4.2 innings, three runs allowed, and five strikeouts. Outman was later picked off before a pitch was thrown, keeping the score 3-0.

Reliever Andrew Morris entered in the sixth and worked around a leadoff walk to Alvarez and a single by Walker. Dezenzo grounded into a 6-4-3 double play before Morris got Shewmake to fly out and end the inning.

The Twins broke it open in the bottom of the sixth. Larnach walked, and Jeffers doubled down the right-field line to put runners on second and third with no outs. Clemens then walked to load the bases. Bell followed with an RBI single to right, his third hit and fourth RBI of the night, making it 4-0. Keaschall added a two-run bloop single to shallow left to stretch the lead to 6-0. Lee singled later in the inning, but Bell was thrown out trying to scramble back to third after overrunning the bag.

Justin Topa took over in the seventh and ran into immediate trouble. He walked Matthews and hit Smith with a pitch before Vázquez drove in Houston’s first run with an RBI single. Peña added a sacrifice fly to make it 6-2, and Walker later singled home another run to cut the lead to 6-3. Topa’s rough stretch continued as he has now allowed 15 runs over his last 13.2 innings pitched.

Twins' manager Derek Shelton brought in Eric Orze, who got pinch hitter Zach Cole to ground out and end the inning.

Houston reliever AJ Blubaugh retired the Twins in order in the seventh, while Orze answered with a scoreless eighth.

Jeffers appeared to suffer an injury leading off the bottom of the eighth after fouling a ball off on a broken bat. Victor Caratini replaced him and drew a walk, but Minnesota couldn’t add on.

Yoendrys Gómez came on in the ninth looking for the save but struggled with his command. He walked Vázquez and later Paredes, bringing Alvarez to the plate as the tying run. Shelton then turned to Taylor Rogers, who struck out Alvarez before getting Walker to ground out to shortstop to end the game and secure the 6-3 Twins victory. It was Rogers’ first save of the season.

Game 2 of the series is Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. The Twins are expected to start Zebby Matthews (1-0, 0.00 ERA), while Houston counters with Lance McCullers Jr. (2-3, 6.86 ERA).

Minneapolis:

By Troy Geary

Geary Sports & Entertainment Network

Bailey Ober began the season posting a 5.49 ERA (19.2 IP, 12 ER) with a .253 opponent batting average over his first four starts from March 29-April 13. But over his last five starts entering Sunday, Ober had settled in, posting a 2.23 ERA (32.1 IP, 8 ER) with a .159 opponent batting average since April 19. Ober looked to keep that momentum going Sunday afternoon against the Brewers.

Milwaukee entered Sunday’s game red hot, winning eight of its last 10 games and riding a three-game winning streak. The Brewers also got Christian Yelich back in the lineup after he missed the previous four games with back soreness. Jackson Chourio led off the game with a single, but Ober quickly settled in and retired the next three batters to end the top of the first.

The Twins were trying to avoid being swept for the third time this season after previous home sweeps by the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays. Austin Martin led off the bottom of the first with a walk. Brewers starter Robert Gasser, making his first start of the season, then got Brooks Lee and Ryan Jeffers to pop out. But Kody Clemens, who went 2-for-3 Saturday, stayed hot at the plate and ripped a double down the right field line to score Martin from first and give the Twins an early 1-0 lead.

Luke Keaschall followed with a walk to put runners on first and second with two outs for Victor Caratini. Gasser then hit Caratini with a pitch to load the bases for Royce Lewis. Lewis, who entered the game batting just .168, battled through a 10-pitch at-bat before striking out to end the inning.

The Twins’ lead didn’t last long. Jake Bauers led off the top of the second with a walk, and Sal Frelick doubled down the right field line on a ball Austin Martin nearly made a diving catch on. The ball got past Martin, allowing Bauers to score from first and tie the game 1-1.

Ober regrouped and got Garrett Mitchell to fly out to center. Joey Ortiz then walked before David Hamilton laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third with two outs. Chourio, who had swung a hot bat all series, flew out to left to end the threat.

Minnesota answered in the bottom of the third. Jeffers lined a single to center, and Clemens stayed scorching hot with another double, this one down the left field line that Chourio couldn’t cut off. It was Clemens’ second double of the game. On the relay throw home, Ortiz sailed the throw into the Twins dugout. Jeffers scored easily, and Clemens was awarded home on the error to give the Twins a 3-1 lead.

Milwaukee responded again in the fourth. Garrett Mitchell hit his second home run of the season, a 400-foot shot to left-center, to cut the lead to 3-2. Ortiz followed with a double to left-center, but Ober battled back to strike out Hamilton and eventually got out of the inning after Chourio flew out to center.

The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, and the Brewers capitalized in the fifth. With two outs, Yelich launched his second home run of the season, a towering shot to left-center, tying the game at 3-3.

Milwaukee went to the bullpen in the bottom of the fifth, bringing in Grant Anderson. Jeffers answered immediately, blasting his seventh home run of the season to left field to put the Twins back in front 4-3.

Gasser finished his season debut going four innings, allowing three runs while striking out three. Ober went five innings for the Twins, giving up three runs while striking out one batter.

Both bullpens traded scoreless sixth and seventh innings.

The Brewers threatened in the top of the eighth when Bauers led off with a double. The Twins turned to Justin Topa, who got Frelick to ground out to third and Mitchell to ground out to second for the first two outs. After Ortiz walked, Luis Rengifo pinch hit for Hamilton and grounded out to third to end the inning.

Minnesota added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when Keaschall tripled into the gap in right-center. Caratini followed with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Keaschall and extending the lead to 5-3.

Luis Garcia came on in the ninth looking for the save. After getting Chourio to fly out, Garcia walked Brice Turang. William Contreras then hit a ground ball that Keaschall dove to stop but couldn’t make a play on, putting runners on first and second. With the tying run aboard, Yelich struck out swinging on a high sinker from Garcia. Bauers then singled to right, scoring Turang and cutting the lead to 5-4. But Frelick, representing Milwaukee’s final chance, popped out to Caratini to end the game as the Twins salvaged the series finale 5-4.

Garcia picked up his second save of the season, and the Twins improved to 21-26.

Up Next:

The Twins continue their nine-game homestand Monday evening when the Houston Astros come to town

Minneapolis:

By Troy Geary

Geary Sports & Entertainment Network 

Twins starter Connor Prielipp grew up in Tomah, Wisconsin, and on Saturday night he faced the team he grew up rooting for. With plenty of family and friends in attendance, he delivered another quality start.


Prielipp was the Gatorade National Player of the Year during his senior season in 2019. Drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 38th round, he chose instead to attend the University of Alabama. The Twins later selected him in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft, 48th overall. In just three years he has quickly climbed through the minors and made his Major League debut earlier this season against the New York Mets. Since arriving in the big leagues, he has pitched well, and with injuries impacting the Twins rotation, he continues to show he deserves to be a mainstay.


Prielipp came out with plenty of adrenaline, striking out the first two Brewers batters and three total through the first two innings. He needed only 22 pitches to get through the opening two frames.


Brewers starter Logan Henderson cruised through the first inning but ran into trouble in the second. Designated hitter Josh Bell led off with a single to center, and first baseman Kody Clemens followed with a double down the right field line. The Twins had runners on second and third with nobody out, but Henderson responded by striking out third baseman Royce Lewis. Second baseman Tristan Gray then drew a walk to load the bases. Center fielder James Outman, playing in place of Byron Buxton who has missed the past few games with left hip soreness, struck out. Right fielder Austin Martin then struck out as well, leaving the bases loaded and valuable runs stranded.


Prielipp returned in the third and allowed only a one-out walk. The Twins finally gave him some run support in the bottom half of the inning when left fielder Trevor Larnach hit his second home run of the season to right field, giving Minnesota a 1-0 lead after three innings.


The Brewers tried to answer in the fourth. Second baseman Brice Turang led off with a single to right. After a flyout by designated hitter William Contreras, first baseman Andrew Vaughn walked. Third baseman Luis Rengifo then hit a sharp ground ball to Royce Lewis, but the ball rolled under Lewis’ glove, allowing Turang to score. Lewis was charged with an error on the play. Catcher Gary Sanchez followed by grounding into a routine 6-4-3 double play to end the inning with the score tied 1-1.


The Twins continued to struggle with runners in scoring position in the fifth. After back-to-back singles by Clemens and Lewis, they once again failed to capitalize. Gray and Outman struck out, and Martin flied out to left to end the inning.


Milwaukee took the lead in the top of the sixth when Jackson Chourio jumped on a first-pitch fastball and sent it into the bullpen in left-center field for a 2-1 lead. It was Prielipp’s only real mistake in an otherwise outstanding outing. Henderson finished five innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out six. The Brewers then turned to reliever Chad Patrick, who retired the Twins in order in the sixth.


Prielipp finished six innings, allowing just one earned run on three hits while striking out eight. Another quality start from a Twins starter. Minnesota then turned to the bullpen, bringing in Eric Orze for the seventh inning. Orze retired the Brewers in order.


The Twins threatened again in the bottom of the seventh when James Outman tripled into the right field corner, but Minnesota again failed to cash in. Through seven innings, the Twins were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, an issue that has plagued them for much of the season.


Orze returned for the eighth. Chourio led off with a double, and after Turang struck out, Contreras singled. With runners on first and third, Andrew Vaughn popped out to shortstop, and Rengifo followed with another pop out to short to end the inning.


The Twins’ bats stayed quiet in the bottom of the eighth as Patrick continued to dominate.


Minnesota then turned to reliever Yoendrys Gomez in the ninth. Gomez hit Sanchez to begin the inning but worked around it to keep the game within reach.


Patrick came back out for his fourth inning of work and retired the Twins in order, earning his first save of the season and securing the Brewers’ 2-1 victory.


The Twins will look to salvage the series Sunday when Bailey Ober, 4-2 with a 3.46 ERA, takes the mound. The Brewers starter is still to be announced. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m.

Minneapolis:

By Troy Geary

Geary Sports & Entertainment Network 

The Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers opened a three-game series Friday night, but this border battle didn’t come without controversy. Twins third baseman Royce Lewis was called for obstruction in the eighth inning, Twins manager Derek Shelton was ejected arguing the call, and the Brewers rallied for a 3-2 win over the Twins.

With runners on second and third, no outs, and the Twins clinging to a one-run lead in the eighth inning, William Contreras hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop. Brooks Lee fielded it cleanly and quickly fired to third, where Lewis tagged Jackson Chourio as he retreated back to the bag.

Third-base umpire Jordan Baker initially called Chourio out before the umpiring crew gathered for a conference. After discussion, the umpires ruled Lewis had obstructed Chourio while he was attempting to return to third base. The call not only erased the out, but Chourio was awarded home plate, tying the game at 2-2.

Shelton immediately stormed out of the dugout to argue the ruling and was ejected for the third time this season. Moments later, Jake Bauers delivered a double that gave Milwaukee the go-ahead run and ultimately a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of the series.

Twins starter Joe Ryan, making his second start since his injury scare a few weeks ago, pitched well again. Ryan went six innings, allowing just one run while striking out seven. Brewers starter Cameron Crowe also turned in a strong performance in spot-start duty, going five innings while allowing one run and striking out three.

Contreras drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single in the opening inning to give Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.

The Twins were held scoreless until the sixth inning, when Lee brought home the tying run on a double-play ball.

Lewis then gave Minnesota the lead in the seventh inning with an RBI single that scored Luke Keaschall to make it 2-1.

Then came the controversy.

The Twins were unable to answer in either the eighth or ninth inning and dropped the opener of the series, falling to 20-25 on the season.

Game 2 of the series is Saturday at 6:10 p.m. as the Twins send Connor Prielipp (1-1, 3.32 ERA) to the mound, while the Brewers counter with Logan Henderson (0-1, 4.15 ERA).

Game Notes:

Brewers reliever Aaron Ashby picked up his league-leading eighth win of the season and improved to 8-0.

 Minneapolis:

By Troy Geary

Geary Sports & Entertainment Network

Max Meyer technically made a road start Wednesday night when he took the mound against the Minnesota Twins. But Meyer likely never felt more at home. The Woodbury, Minnesota native and former Golden Gopher made his first career start at Target Field. Meyer, who entered the night 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA through eight starts, has been off to a strong start this season after battling injuries the past few years. Drafted by the Twins in the 34th round out of high school in 2017, Meyer elected not to sign and instead stayed home to pitch for the Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball. A standout college career eventually led the Miami Marlins to select him third overall in the 2020 MLB Draft.

“I expect so many friends and family to be here tonight, but I’ll let others handle the logistics and just have fun. I’m guessing a lot of people texted me, but I haven’t responded to hardly anyone,” Meyer said. Meyer wasn’t the only Marlins player returning home. First baseman Connor Norby also grew up in Minnesota and found himself in a similar situation.

The Twins looked to spoil Meyer’s homecoming. Minnesota had won three straight games entering Wednesday, including a 3-0 victory in the opener Tuesday night behind a complete-game, two-hit shutout from Bailey Ober.

The Marlins gave Meyer early run support in the top of the first inning. Second baseman Xavier Edwards led off with a walk. Designated hitter Liam Hicks then hit a ball to Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall, who couldn’t handle it for an error, putting runners on first and third. Shortstop Otto Lopez followed with a ground ball to first baseman Kody Clemens, but Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson couldn’t get to the bag in time and Lopez was safe as Edwards scored to make it 1-0 Marlins.

Norby then grounded into a 5-4-3 double play, but Hicks scored to extend the lead to 2-0. Center fielder Jacob Marsee, who was a key contributor for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, later walked before being thrown out trying to steal second by Twins catcher Victor Caratini to end the inning.

Twins center fielder Byron Buxton wasted no time in the bottom of the first, blasting the first pitch he saw into the left-field seats to cut the deficit to 2-1. It was Buxton’s 14th home run of the season and the 23rd leadoff homer of his career.

Shortstop Brooks Lee then grounded out before left fielder Austin Martin singled to right. Martin has been swinging a hot bat lately, raising his average nearly 60 points over the last two weeks to a team-leading .330. Martin stole second before Josh Bell hit a comebacker to Meyer. The Marlins pitcher caught Martin between second and third, but his throw sailed into center field, and everyone was safe with runners on the corners.

Clemens couldn’t bring home the tying run, popping out to second, and Keaschall struck out to strand two runners.

Woods Richardson continued to struggle in the second inning. Third baseman Leo Jimenez singled to open the frame before right fielder Owen Caissie, a highly regarded prospect acquired from the Chicago Cubs last season, launched a two-run homer to left-center to make it 4-1. After a mound visit from pitching coach Pete Maki, Woods Richardson settled down and retired the next three batters.

Meyer then answered with a dominant inning of his own, striking out two as the Marlins maintained a 4-1 lead after two innings.

Woods Richardson finally put together a clean inning in the third, retiring the Marlins quietly. But Buxton stayed red hot in the bottom half, crushing his second homer of the night to make it 4-2. It was his 15th home run of the season and the 19th multi-homer game of his career. Meyer responded again by striking out two more Twins hitters to escape further trouble.

The fourth inning ended Woods Richardson’s night. Jimenez doubled for his second hit of the game, and Caissie followed with a walk. Catcher Joe Mack then delivered a two-run single to push the lead to 6-2. The Twins turned to recently recalled reliever Travis Adams from AAA St. Paul, but the Marlins kept adding on. Hicks singled to center to score two more runs and make it 8-2 before Adams escaped the inning. Woods Richardson’s final line: three innings pitched, six earned runs allowed, and one strikeout as his ERA climbed to 7.71.

Minnesota answered in the fifth. Lee walked, Martin collected his second hit of the night with a double, and Bell followed with a two-run double of his own to trim the deficit to 8-4. Meyer battled through the inning to complete five frames and put himself in line for the win.

The Marlins added another run in the sixth when Edwards tripled into the gap in right-center. Hicks hit a ground ball to Keaschall, who tried to cut down the speedy Edwards at the plate, but the throw was late as Miami extended the lead to 9-4.

Meyer returned for the sixth and, after allowing a single to Caratini, struck out Matt Wallner for his ninth strikeout of the night before getting Tristan Gray to fly out. The Marlins then turned to the bullpen.

Meyer finished his night pitching 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out nine.

Reliever Tyler Phillips recorded the final out of the sixth by getting Buxton to pop out to first.

Justin Topa worked a clean seventh inning for Minnesota, allowing only a single to Jimenez. Phillips matched him by retiring the Twins in order in the bottom half.

The Twins brought in Luis Garcia in the eighth inning. Garcia, who was acquired off waivers last month, entered the game struggling this season, but a nice over-the-shoulder catch by Gray helped him retire the Marlins in order.

Miami countered with left-hander John King in the bottom of the eighth, but Clemens jumped on the first pitch he saw and homered to right field, his fourth of the season, cutting the lead to 9-5.

Garcia returned for the ninth and turned in his best outing as a Twin, allowing only a single to Norby. Miami then handed the ball to Josh Ekness, filling in as closer while Pete Fairbanks remains on the injured list.

Buxton drew a one-out walk, but the Twins couldn’t capitalize. Ekness retired Lee and Martin to end the game and secure a 9-5 Marlins victory.

The rubber match of the series is Thursday afternoon. Zebby Matthews is expected to be activated from AAA St. Paul to make his first start of the season, meaning a roster move will be needed. The Marlins will counter with Braxton Garrett, who will be making his MLB season debut. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 p.m.

Miami Marlins

1. Xavier Edwards — 2B

2. Liam Hicks — DH

3. Otto Lopez — SS

4. Kyle Stowers — LF

5. Connor Norby — 1B

6. Jakob Marsee — CF

7. Leo Jiménez — 3B

8. Owen Caissie — RF

9. Joe Mack — C

Pitcher: Max Meyer (RHP)

Minnesota Twins

1. Byron Buxton — CF

2. Brooks Lee — SS

3. Austin Martin — LF

4. Josh Bell — DH

5. Kody Clemens — 1B

6. Luke Keaschall — 2B

7. Victor Caratini — C

8. Matt Wallner — RF

9. Tristan Gray — 3B

Pitcher: Simeon Woods Richardson (RHP)