Two Changes in Twins' Game 2 Lineup, Culpepper Shines in Triple-A Debut

Derek Shelton has made two changes to his lineup for the second game of the season, as the Twins go from facing a lefty on Thursday to Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish on Saturday. Here's the starting nine that will look to even up the series in Baltimore at 3:05 p.m. CT.

Kody Clemens, 1B (L)
Byron Buxton, CF (R)
Luke Keaschall, 2B (R)
Matt Wallner, RF (L)
Josh Bell, DH (S)
Ryan Jeffers, C (R)
Trevor Larnach, LF (L)
Royce Lewis, 3B (R)
Brooks Lee, SS (S)

The first thing that stands out is that Clemens is hitting leadoff for the first time in his MLB career. It's an interesting call from Shelton, considering Clemens' OBP against righties was just .286 last year. He did slug .496 against RHP with 19 home runs. Victor Caratini, who started the opener at first base, heads to the bench.

Buxton and Keaschall remain in the 2 and 3 spots, which indicates that's how Shelton plans on using his top two hitters for the time being. Wallner slides up one spot into the cleanup hole against a righty, with Bell also moving up a spot. Jeffers drops from 4 down to 6 without the platoon advantage.

Larnach, who struck out to end Thursday's game as a pinch-hitter for Lewis, replaces Austin Martin in left field and steps into Caratini's seventh slot in the lineup. Lewis and Lee once again round out the order in the final two spots.

It'll be another tough test for the Twins' offense, with the Orioles sending Kyle Bradish to the mound for game two. Since struggling as a rookie in 2022, Bradish has a 2.78 ERA across 44 starts over the past three years. Taj Bradley (career 4.86 ERA) gets the nod for Minnesota.

Culpepper shines in Triple-A debut

The Triple-A St. Paul Saints began their season with a 4-2 road win over the Indianapolis Indians on Friday evening. A pair of top-five prospects in the Twins' organization led the way.

Making his Triple-A debut, reigning Twins minor league player of the year Kaelen Culpepper picked up three hits from the No. 3 spot in the batting order. He scored a run in a three-run first inning and drove in Walker Jenkins in the fifth.

Kaelen Culpepper tallies three knocks in his Triple-A debut!

MLB's No. 52 prospect had 131 hits between High-A and Double-A last season -- the second-most among @Twins Minor Leaguers. pic.twitter.com/u42X7NBEEM
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 28, 2026

Alan Roden also was big for the Saints with a two-run single and four walks in five plate appearances.

Getting the Opening Day start on the mound for St. Paul was lefty Connor Prielipp, the top pitching prospect in the Twins' system. He was sharp over four innings, allowing just one run on one hit and two walks while striking out five. Prielipp was up to 97 with his fastball and generated nine whiffs on 61 pitches.

Connor Prielipp settled down after the first to retire the final 11 batters he faced including fanning the last batter he faced. Went 4.0 innings allowing one run on on hit, walking two and striking out five. pic.twitter.com/uzcKv5Gruv
— St. Paul Saints (@StPaulSaints) March 27, 2026