Shocking information: Detroit Tigers fight to a series split with the…
For their first home series against an AL Central opponent, the Detroit Tigers
welcomed the Minnesota Twins to Comerica Park. Dramatic swings abound in
this series; the Tigers won decisively in the first game but found it difficult to
sustain their lead in the Saturday doubleheader. Luckily, they maintained their
youthful tenacity, pulling off a stunning comeback late in game four to defeat
the Twins and tie the series at two.
After Thursday’s rainout, the Tigers-Twins series got underway with a bang for
Detroit. Tarik Skubal, the outstanding left-hander for the Tigers, entered the
mound on Friday and quickly retired the first eight batters. His changeup,
which he has tremendously improved this season, was the standout pitch in
his outing. Skubal demonstrated his refined pitching technique by balancing
his usage of changeups, which made up half of his 20 calls.
Skubal pitched five scoreless innings with five strikeouts, and while it wasn’t a
spectacular performance, it was clearly effective. He assisted in laying the
groundwork for the Tigers’ 8-2 demolition of the reigning AL Central
champions. Riley Greene, a left fielder, was 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and
an RBI. Mark Canha, the right fielder, was also quite successful on the day,
going 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. The Tigers’ offensive output was
enhanced by two RBIs apiece from Matt Vierling and Spencer Torkelson.
The doubleheader’s first game on Saturday went into extra innings following a
closely contested nine innings that concluded in a 3-3 tie. The Twins won 11-5
in the 12th inning, their second win in seven games, as the game slipped away
from the Tigers. As the Twins’ designated hitter, Ryan Jeffers came up big and
scored five vital runs starting in the eighth inning.
After each team scored a run in the eleventh and a half, extending the game
into the 12th, the score was still tied. Before engaging in a protracted battle
with Jeffers, former closer Alex Lange took the mound for Detroit but
struggled, walking a run and almost getting out of the inning. Following a 12-
pitch at-bat that had six balls that were foul after a 0-2 count, Jeffers grounded
Lange’s last curveball to third. The ball rolled into the left-field corner after
escaping under Zack McKinstry’s glove and clearing the bases. After replacing
Lange with McKinstry, the Twins increased their lead with a three-run home
run, ending the Tigers’ hopes with an 11-5 loss.
The batting struggles of Detroit continued into the late afternoon in the second
game of the doubleheader on Saturday. After being called up from Triple-A St.
Paul for a pinch start, Simeon Woods Richardson shut down the Tigers lineup.
In six innings, he allowed just one run on two hits while striking out five and
setting down his final 14 batters. Over the first three games of the series, the
Tigers’ hitters struck out ten times, for 42 strikeouts overall—the most in a
three-game span since August 2022.
Despite not having his greatest game, Tigers starter Matt Manning, who was
also called up for a spot start, managed to keep the game close. Pitching for 6.2
innings, he gave up two home runs and four earned runs in addition to five
hits. He also gave up two walks and struck out seven Twins. Out of the 92
pitches Manning threw, 68 were strikes. Detroit lost 4-1 despite Joey Wentz’s
2.1 innings of bullpen work during which he gave up two singles, a walk, and
four strikeouts. The offense was just not there.
