Culpepper's Fireworks Spark Twins' Comeback

Kaelen Culpepper's introduction to the Major Leagues was a whirlwind that began with tears and ended with a clubhouse celebration involving mustard and baby powder in his hair. As MLB.com first reported, the 23-year-old was notified of his call-up while in the shower with Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, an emotional moment that led Culpepper to start crying in manager Brian Dinkelman's office.

By Friday night, the Twins' No. 2 prospect—and MLB Pipeline's No. 29 overall prospect—was playing before a sellout crowd of 42,118 at American Family Field. After popping out in his first at-bat, Culpepper stepped in during the fourth inning with Minnesota trailing 4-2. Despite falling behind 0-2 against Brewers left-hander Shane Drohan, Culpepper drove a four-seam fastball 390 feet into the left-center field bullpen.

MLB.com reports the ball left the bat at 100.2 mph, marking Culpepper's first career hit and home run. He is the first Twins player to homer in his debut since Matt Wallner did so on Sept. 17, 2022. The blast provided an early spark for a Minnesota offense that had struggled since the All-Star break, scoring three runs or fewer in 11 of its first 19 games.

Minnesota eventually erased a four-run deficit to win 8-6. The comeback featured a two-run homer from Josh Bell, who finished 4-for-5, and go-ahead doubles from Royce Lewis and Ryan Jeffers. Manager Derek Shelton noted that Culpepper's home run helped inject life into the team, while Bell described the rookie as a "huge athlete."