Connor Prielipp earns first MLB victory, Twins bats break out in 11-4 rout of Mariners

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Apr 27, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — On a rainy 51-degree evening with a soggy infield, Minnesota Twins rookie left-hander Connor Prielipp looked like there was no place he’d rather be when he made his first career start at Target Field on Monday.

Facing Seattle Mariners lineup that entered on a f 1/2ur-game winning streak, Prielipp, who grew up a 2½-hour drive away in Tomah, Wis., didn’t give up any hits through the first four innings and earned his first major league victory as the Twins beat Seattle 11-4 to end their five-game losing streak.

Kody Clemens and Byron Buxton both homered. Prielipp yielded two runs and one hit over five innings, totaling five strikeouts and three walks.

Prielipp, the 25-year-old lefty, retired 12 of his first 13 batters on 53 pitches. He issued back-to-back walks to begin the fifth inning, pitching with a seven-run lead, then he lost his no-hitter when former Twins catcher Mitch Garver grounded an RBI single through the middle of the infield.

After another run scored on a foul ball that took third baseman Tristan Gray diving over the tarp, trading an out for a run, Prielipp struck out his final two batters.

Prielipp was called up after Mick Abel went on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation, and now he’s trying to make a case to stay for the long haul. Mariners hitters whiffed on 10 of their 21 swings against his offspeed pitches.

Fellow rookie pitcher Andrew Morris gave up four hits and two runs in three innings. He gave up a two-run homer to Cal Raleigh in the eighth inning.

A nifty, acrobatic slide from Josh Bell gave Prielipp a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Bell hit a leadoff single, then he scored from first base when Luke Keaschall hit a two-out RBI double down the right field line. Bell, not exactly the fastest runner, arrived at the plate after a relay throw, but he dodged a tag from Mariners catcher Mitch Garver and snuck his hand over the plate.

Bell was initially called out, which he immediately protested, before it was overturned on a replay review.

It was the first time the Twins ended an inning with a lead since their 5-3 victory over the New York Mets on April 21, six days earlier.

After the Twins left the bases loaded in the second inning — a recurring issue throughout their losing streak — they broke out for a four-run third. Trevor Larnach hit a triple on a fly ball that was misplayed by Mariners center fielder Julio Rodríguez, and Bell drew a walk to put runners on the corners with one out.

Ryan Jeffers dropped a bloop RBI single into right field and Clemens drilled an elevated 94-mph fastball over the right-field wall for a three-run homer.

Four consecutive batters reached base, and they all scored. The Twins had as many runs through their first three innings (five) as they did when they were swept in the three-game series by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Following Gray’s leadoff single in the fourth inning, Buxton demolished an 84-mph slider from Castillo for a two-run homer to the second deck in left field. It was Buxton’s sixth home run of the season, a team high.

The Twins added three more runs in the eighth inning after a pair of walks. Jeffers hit a two-out RBI single off Alex Hoppe, who was making his MLB debut, and Clemens added a two-run single.

Clemens, who went 2 for 5 with five RBI, entered Monday with a .175 batting average and three RBI in 18 games.

All nine Twins starting position players reached base once and eight players scored runs.

If 12 hits, which matched a season high, didn’t provide enough relief, the Twins lucked into a run in the sixth inning. With two runners on base and two outs, Larnach bounced a grounder up the middle, and the ball ricocheted off second base into shallow left field for an RBI single.

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