Culpepper sparks Twins to much-needed 'W' from new spot in lineup
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CHICAGO – With the Twins searching for a spark, rookie Kaelen Culpepper provided it.
Making his first career start in the No. 2 spot in the batting order, Culpepper singled, beat out a potential double play ball and doubled, scoring twice and driving in a run as Minnesota scratched out a badly needed win, 6-4 against the White Sox at Rate Field on Saturday night.
Culpepper has quickly made a strong impression with his cool demeanor, impressive tools and quality at-bats, and he brought all those to play on Saturday. The Twins scored in three innings as they rallied from an early 3-0 deficit, and Culpepper played a key role in each of them.
“It always feels nice, especially when I’m doing my job,” said Culpepper. “The coaches, they trust me to put me up early in the lineup. I got the job done whenever they called on me to do it. I got some good pitches in the zone to hit. I took some good swings. I can’t really ask for much right there.”
Ryan Jeffers’ three-run homer was the big blow, but Culpepper played a part in every inning in which the Twins scored. His fourth-inning single was the team’s first hit, and his RBI double in the seventh provided vital breathing room after the game had tightened up.
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Culpepper, 23 years old and playing in his 24th Major League game, had never batted higher than sixth prior to Saturday. But with lefty Anthony Kay on the mound for Chicago and Culpepper hitting well lately, manager Derek Shelton bumped him up to the two spot for Saturday’s game.
It worked beautifully.
“This kid’s got hitting ability,” Shelton said. “And today it was just a function of, we’re facing a left-hander, where are we going to go with him? And he did a good job helping us, sparking our offense.”
Taj Bradley endured a rocky first inning, allowing three runs, before settling in to keep the Twins within striking distance of the White Sox. But when the fourth inning started, it looked like that might not matter, because Minnesota’s only baserunner had come via an error.
Culpepper led off the fourth with a single, though, giving the visitors a spark. Josh Bell doubled, and both came home as the Twins cut the deficit to 3-2.
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An inning later with two on and no out, Culpepper hit a grounder to the right side that could’ve been a double play. But after third baseman Miguel Vargas tagged lead runner Ryan Kreidler, Culpepper beat out the throw. Jeffers followed with the homer that put the Twins ahead for good.
And Culpepper wasn’t done. With the lead down to 5-4 in the seventh, Luke Keaschall hit a leadoff single. Culpepper laced a double down the right-field line, stretching the margin back to two runs.
It was the fifth multi-hit game of Culpepper’s young career, and the first time he has scored two runs in a game. And after racking up some strikeouts in his first few games, he has fanned just eight times in his past 13 games (50 at-bats).
“He's a tough out, and that's hard to do in today's game,” Jeffers said. “It's really hard to get him out. He puts together really good ABs nonstop for the whole game. Wherever he's at in the lineup, whether it's in the two hole or down in the eight, wherever he's been, he's going to be a really tough out, and that's annoying for pitchers.”