Twins Rally for 9-8 Win Over Cardinals as Stanek Gives Up 3 Late Homers

Q: After another poor start from Leahy and a blown save, is the Cardinals' entire pitching staff on the verge of collapse?

No — but the warning signs are real, especially around run prevention depth. Friday’s 9-8 loss to Minnesota exposed two separate problems. Kyle Leahy’s move into the rotation has become shakier: his ERA is 4.64 through 13 starts, and the underlying indicators are worse. He is allowing much harder contact than in 2025, with a 12.0% barrel rate, 50.2% hard-hit rate and a sharply elevated home-run rate. His velocity is also down, which helps explain why his pitch mix has produced mostly negative run values this season. The bullpen is a bigger concern than one blown save alone. Ryne Stanek’s outing against the Twins was damaging — he entered with a lead, allowed the tying shot, then gave up two more homers in the eighth. Season-long, though, the picture is mixed. One data set puts the Cardinals’ bullpen ERA at 4.14, which is mediocre rather than catastrophic. Other reporting paints a much darker recent stretch, including a 6.15 ERA and 1.83 WHIP over a 41-inning sample, suggesting severe instability in parts of the relief corps. That does not prove the entire staff is collapsing. It does show a staff under strain: Leahy is trending the wrong way, the bridge and late-inning relief have been unreliable, and the club is already searching for internal fixes. But there is still enough evidence of usable arms and active roster adjustment to say this is a pitching problem, not yet a full organizational breakdown.

Q: Can Joe Ryan's elite analytics overcome his team's defensive flaws, or is he destined for a season of no-decisions?

Joe Ryan’s analytics say he should be winning more, but unless Minnesota cleans up its defense and support around him, he is likely to keep piling up no-decisions despite pitching at a high level. The evidence is strong. Through 15 starts, Ryan is 4-3 with a 3.17 ERA, 92 strikeouts in 82.1 innings, a 1.00 WHIP, a 27.7% strikeout rate and a 4.8% walk rate. His fielding-independent indicators are even better: earlier this season his FIP sat around 2.06, and more recent estimates still place it below his ERA. That gap suggests Ryan’s underlying performance has been better than his traditional results. Friday’s game against St. Louis was a clear example. Ryan gave the Twins a quality start — three runs, six hits, eight strikeouts over six innings — and still got no decision in a 9-8 win. He left in position to help his club, but the game turned into a bullpen-and-defense grind. Minnesota’s defense remains a real drag on his results. The Twins have rated near the bottom of MLB in Defensive Runs Saved, with major problems on the infield. Tristan Gray’s negative defensive metrics and the club’s instability at shortstop fit the broader pattern. Poor defense raises Ryan’s BABIP, extends innings and inflates pitch counts, even when he is missing bats and limiting walks. So yes, Ryan’s elite analytics can offset some of the damage, but not fully. If the Twins’ defense and game support stay shaky, his season may continue to look better in FIP and strikeout totals than in wins.

Q: With ongoing infield errors, when will the Twins call up their top shortstop prospect to fix their defensive woes?

The Twins’ most likely answer is Kaelen Culpepper, and the timing appears to be soon, but there is no confirmed call-up date yet. Minnesota’s shortstop defense has been a problem. Tristan Gray’s defensive interference play against St. Louis added to a rough defensive profile, and the broader infield picture has been shaky. Gray’s 2026 metrics are poor, and Brooks Lee had already been moved off shortstop earlier in the season because of his own struggles there. That leaves the club without a stable long-term defensive answer at the position on the major league roster. Culpepper is the organization’s top shortstop prospect and is currently in Triple-A. Multiple reports describe him as “on the brink” and “closing in on the big leagues,” with an MLB ETA of 2026. He is viewed as a reliable defender with enough arm strength and athleticism to handle shortstop regularly in the majors, even if he is not considered an elite-range defender. So the practical answer is that the Twins could make the move at any time if the errors continue, especially if they decide defense has become too costly to ignore. Based on the available reporting, Culpepper’s debut looks closer than distant, but as of June 13, the club has not publicly set a date.

3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jun 13

Three home runs off Ryne Stanek in the final two innings swung Minnesota past St. Louis 9-8, with Kody Clemens tying it in the seventh before Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee went deep in the eighth.
St. Louis had surged ahead 7-4 in the seventh when Jordan Walker lined a three-run double after Alec Burleson drew a bases-loaded walk, putting the Twins on the brink.
Anthony Banda escaped a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the eighth for the win, and Andrew Morris threw a perfect ninth for his second career save.
Byron Buxton fueled Minnesota earlier with his 21st homer, two doubles and three runs, while Burleson hit his 12th and extended his hitting streak to 12 games for the Cardinals.