Kreidler's 421-Foot Blast Lifts Twins Past Rockies, 3-2
Ryan Kreidler ended the debate with one swing — a 421-foot home run to center in the seventh inning that pushed Minnesota's win probability from 56% to 76% and put the Twins ahead for good. Connor Prielipp made it a night worth remembering on the mound, striking out 10 Rockies over six innings in a 3-2 Minnesota win.
Colorado drew first blood in the first inning when TJ Rumfield reached on an infield single to third, scoring Castro to put the Rockies up 1-0. Minnesota answered immediately in the second — Brooks Lee's infield single to third brought home Lewis on a throwing error by third baseman Karros, knotting it at one. The Twins then grabbed their first lead in the fourth when Kody Clemens drove a 399-foot home run to right, making it 2-1. That's when the game looked like it might belong to Minnesota, but Colorado had other ideas.
Ryan Feltner kept the Rockies competitive, going six innings, allowing just five hits and one earned run without issuing a single walk — and recording zero strikeouts, which looks like a pitch-to-contact masterclass in hindsight. Troy Johnston singled to right in the sixth to score Rumfield and tie the game at 2-2, setting up what appeared to be a genuine toss-up heading into the late innings. Both bullpens then had to answer the bell, and Minnesota's Andrew Morris was sharp — 1.1 innings, no hits, no runs, two strikeouts.
The story of the night, though, was Kreidler's seventh-inning shot. With the game deadlocked, he sent one 421 feet to center, swinging Minnesota's win probability from 56% to 76% in a single moment. That's the kind of swing that doesn't just change a scoreboard — it changes a dugout's entire posture. Prielipp had already done his part, punching out 10 batters over six innings while allowing just two earned runs on six hits with zero walks — a performance that looks like one of the more dominant starting efforts you'll see in a one-run game. For Colorado, Rumfield and Johnston each went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Cole Carrigg added a 2-for-3 night, so the Rockies weren't exactly rolled over. They just ran into a Twins team that had the right answers at the right times — and one very long home run when it mattered most.