Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober 4 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K (97 pitches, 64 strikes (66%))
Home Runs: Matt Wallner (2)
Bottom 3 WPA: Kody Clemens (-.468), Jorge Alcala (-.438), Bailey Ober (-.214)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 
The Twins looked to follow up Friday night’s miraculous comeback with another victory in the Pacific Northwest in a simulated night game on Saturday afternoon (time zones are weird). Bailey Ober took the hill for the Twins in search of win number five, while Bryce Miller looked to put the Mariners back in the win column after a short IL stint. Matt Wallner rejoined the lineup after destroying Triple-A pitching for the past week, and with the Mariners’ bullpen being depleted, things pointed towards a Twins victory on paper. That’s why they play the games.
Welcome Back Wallner!
Both pitchers took care of business in the first inning, but Miller’s night began to unravel in the top of the second. Carlos Correa led off the inning with a walk, and Wallner strode to the plate and worked the count into his favor at 3-1. On the next pitch, Wallner did what he’s been doing for St. Paul, and suddenly it was 2-0 Twins.
The Twins weren’t done yet, as Willi Castro worked his way around the bases to get to third base, and with two outs, Byron Buxton delivered run number three with a single to make it 3-0.
Cal Raleigh is Really Good
Ober’s outing started to unravel in the bottom of the third, just as many pitchers who have faced the Mariners this month have similarly unraveled. He had to face Cal Raleigh, and Raleigh’s 22 home run of the season (you read that right) plated Ben Williamson to make it a 3-2 ballgame.
Ober’s night ended after only four innings due to pitch count, and this stands in stark contrast to what Zebby Matthews was able to provide after his initial struggles Friday night. Ober tried to go in the fifth, but gave up two baserunners to put men on the corners with nobody out and Raleigh back up at the plate. Louis Varland got the unenviable call in relief, and he pitched perhaps his best outing of the 2025 campaign by striking out Raleigh and Jose Rodriguez, and working out of the jam.
Missed Opportunities Doom the Twins
After cashing in every possible run at the end of Friday night’s game, the Twins looked to have solved their issues with runners in scoring position. In the third, fourth, and sixth innings, however, the Twins squandered one-out doubles in each inning, failing to build on their lead and giving the Mariners hope for a comeback of their own. That opportunity came with Jorge Alcala on the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning. Alcala again got burned by a leadoff walk, because as everyone was wondering about what to do with Raleigh in the on-deck circle, JP Crawford stole the show with a two-run homer to swing the game back in Seattle’s favor at 4-3.
In the top of the eighth, the Twins once again had a man at second base, with Wallner leading off by getting hit by a pitch and then advancing to second base on a Castro single to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Kody Clemens almost got another hero turn, but his line drive was caught by Rodriguez and Wallner was caught off second base in no-man’s land for a double play in the worst kind of way for Minnesota.
Don’t Write that Obituary Just Yet…Again
Reliever Carlos Vargas came into the game to try to get the save thanks to the aforementioned depleted bullpen. He got Ryan Jeffers easily enough, and looked like he was on his way to victory when Buxton hit a comebacker right to him. Vargas rushed the throw, chucked the ball into the outfield, and all of a sudden the Twins had Buxton at third base with only one out. Trevor Larnach was next up, and two pitches later Larnach was on first base with a single and the game was all square at four apiece!
How’s it Going to End?
Griffin Jax got the ball to face the bottom of the Mariners’ lineup in the bottom of the ninth. Cole Young welcomed him with his first Major League hit with a lead-off single. With two outs, Crawford blooped a double into left field to put runners at second and third. Raleigh got the intentional walk to set up Rodriguez for a bases-loaded duel with Jax. After a nasty strikeout, Jax was pumped, and we were headed back to bonus baseball.
Unfortunately, in the tenth and eleventh innings, the Twins continued to leave runners in scoring position, and in the bottom of the eleventh, Young followed up his first hit with his second, this time a walk-off dribbler to first to plate the winning run. In a game that the Twins should have won by five, the Mariners finally exercised their extra-inning demons for a 5-4 victory.
A Surprise Ejection
Neither Carlo Correa nor Rocco Baldelli had to watch the painful ending of this game from the dugout – because they were not allowed to. Both were tossed by home plate umpire Austin Jones in the top of the seventh inning in a bizarre exchange where details were still unclear as the game ended.
Correa was on-deck, had some words for … someone around home plate. Jones tossed Correa immediately and Baldelli rushed out to save his player and seemed to be irate at Jones quick trigger, especially because Correa seemed to be protesting that he hadn’t directed his comment at Jones.
What’s Next?
The Twins look to find a way to win the series in a Sunday afternoon contest. Twins righty Chris Paddack (2-5, 3.92 ERA) will look to start June the way he finished May. Righty Luis Castillo (4-3, 3.32 ERA) gets the start for the Mariners. First pitch is scheduled for 3:10pm CDT.
Postgame Interviews
Coming Soon?
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
TOT
Sands
0
15
0
21
6
36
Durán
20
0
0
13
14
33
Stewart
0
0
0
17
11
28
Funderburk
0
19
0
0
0
19
Jax
14
0
0
0
18
14
Alcalá
0
11
0
0
28
11
Varland
11
0
0
0
18
11
Topa
0
0
0
0
10
0