Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober 5.2 IP, 11 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (96 pitches, 69 strikes (72%))
Home Runs: Byron Buxton (19)
Bottom 3 WPA: Ober (-.432), Willi Castro (-.074), Carlos Correa (-.064)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
Bailey Ober ‘s June has been one of the worst months of his career. Ober (4-5, 4.84 ERA) came into Saturday’s matchup with the division-leading Tigers having given up 23 runs in 23.1 innings across his four June 2025 starts. Add in death threats to his family, and public and private concern around his decreased velocity, and Ober and the Twins both needed something hopeful to come out of his last June start.
Opposing Ober today was Tigers righty and all-star candidate Casey Mize (7-2, 2.82 ERA) who had yet to lose at home in 2025, and a host of Detroit offensive weapons looking to enact some revenge from Friday night’s loss. Would the Twins be able to steal another game in the Tigers’ home lair? Or would Detroit continue their dominance at the top of the AL Central?
Early Robberies – Advantage Detroit
Byron Buxton stayed red hot, taking the first pitch he saw to left field for a lead-off single. Buxton attempted to steal during Trevor Larnach‘s at-bat, but ultimately stayed put until he tried three more times in Willi Castro‘s lengthy 10-pitch at-bat. With Buxton successfully swiping his 15th base of the season, the Twins had two chances to deliver the game’s first run in support of Ober. Castro and Carlos Correa both went down swinging, and the robbery failed to pay off.
After Ober took care of the Tigers in the bottom of the first, the Twins once again thought they had cracked the scoreboard safe when Ryan Jeffers launched a deep drive to left field. Kerry Carpenter timed his leap perfectly, however, and robbed yet another Twins run from going up on the board.
Detroit Cashes In Early, but Buck Breaks the Bank
Spencer Torkelson crushed an Ober 90.9 mph fastball off the base of the wall in left for a lead-off double in the bottom of the second. Wenceel Perez delivered a swinging bunt to advance Torkelson, and Twins-killer Matt Vierling took Ober deep enough for a sacrifice fly to deposit the first run of the game. In the top of the third, the Twins immediately responded. Harrison Bader blooped a single to start the action with one out, and then Buxton took a Mize splitter 109.6 mph to the left field bleachers where even Carpenter couldn’t steal it back. 2-1 Twins!
Can Bailey and the Twins Avoid Another Third Inning Collapse?
Yes…and no. The third inning has been especially troublesome for the Twins and Ober this season. The Twins have been outscored by 28 runs in the third inning this season, and Ober and Twins fans recall his recent issues in the same frame. After retiring the first two Tigers easily, Ober continued to show an increase in velocity in both his fastball and slider across the frame.
Unfortunately, his slider location on a full count pitch to Carpenter left something to be desired, and Carpenter delivered a game-tying blast to deep right field to make it 2-2. Ober flirted with collapse, surrendering singles to Riley Greene and Torkelson to put runners at the corners with two out, but Bailey was able to strike out Perez on three pitches to stop the bleeding.
The bottom of the fourth inning began with a Vierling walk and a bloop single to Zach McKinstry to immediately put the pressure back on Ober. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position, and Colt Keith immediately delivered a sacrifice fly to score Vierling to reestablish a Tigers advantage at 3-2. With two outs, Ober’s fastball velocity dropped back down to 90 mph, and Gleybar Torres found a left-center jet stream and just like that, it was 5-2 Tigers.
While Mize continued to handle the Twins offense with ease, Ober and his 75 pitches came back out to face the Tigers in the sixth. Four pitches later Greene golfed the third two-strike homer of the game off of Ober to make it 6-2 Detroit. Ober came back out for the sixth inning, and immediately teed up another gopher ball to McKinstry to continue on his 9.00+ ERA pace in June. Bailey was unable to complete six innings, and the disappointment for him and for Twins Territory was palpable in a game that threw the series momentum back into the Tigers’ paws.
Could the Twins Steal the Game and Momentum Back?
Not really. Joey Wentz only allowed one run in the fifth through seventh innings, but the six-run deficit left no real chance for a comeback. However, Correa did continue to build some personal momentum as he took Tommy Kahnle deep for a two-run shot in the top of the eighth to tighten the margin to 8-4.
That would be as close as the Twins could get to the division leaders in this battle. Walks continued to plague Wentz, and he couldn’t finish the eighth inning, leaving the bases loaded with only one out for Cole Sands. Perez almost went grand salami, but settled for a two-run double off the base of the right field wall to extend their lead back to six yet again at 10-4. Brooks Lee kept his most recent hitting streak alive with a mop-up time double in the ninth, eventually scoring on a Matt Wallner sac fly for a 10-5 final score. The Tigers had lost their last eight Saturday games in a row, but they sent the Comerica Park fans home happy today with their MLB-leading 52nd victory of the season.
What’s Next?
The Twins look to take the series on Sunday evening in an ESPN game of the week. Twins righty Chris Paddack (3-6, 4.64 ERA) will take the hill in hopes of avenging his no-decision against Seattle on Tuesday and lowering his 6.11 ERA in June. Detroit sends guaranteed All-Star lefty Tarik Skubal (9-2, 2.29 ERA) in hopes of claiming the series for the Tigers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10pm CDT.
Postgame Interviews
Coming Soon
Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
TOT
Wentz
0
0
0
0
48
48
Jax
13
9
0
23
0
45
Varland
11
17
0
15
0
43
Sands
0
0
31
0
12
43
Durán
17
9
0
9
0
35
Stewart
11
0
13
0
0
24
Coulombe
0
0
16
6
0
22
Topa
0
0
8
0
0
8