Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Chris Paddack: 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB 3 K (91 Pitches, 59 Strikes, 64.8%)
Home Runs: None
Bottom 3 WPA: Brooks Lee (-.128), Paddack (-.114), Byron Buxton (-.089)
Win Probability Chart (Via FanGraphs):
The Twins somehow had a chance to take a road series against one of the league’s best teams, who also happen to lead the AL Central. Standing in their way was defending Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, and he was in no mood to make this game seem winnable at any point, finishing with 13 strikeouts across seven scoreless innings.
Byron Buxton began the game by striking out on a filthy changeup from Skubal. Ryan Jeffers followed with a routine fly out, and from there, Skubal went scorched-earth, striking out the next seven batters by locating his 98-MPH fastball wherever he wanted, and keeping the Twins off balance with his disappearing changeup, unreachable to any right-handed batter.
Chris Paddack was on the mound for the Twins and was amped, hitting 98 MPH with his fastball in the first inning. The Tigers had some trouble squaring up the fastball, but seemed content to wait for his other offerings—highlighted by Kerry Carpenter launching his 16th home run off a sloppy changeup from Paddack.
Paddack continued allowing hard contact, but was bailed out by his defense, most notably on an over-the-shoulder catch at the wall by Willi Castro that saved a sure run in the third. However, Riley Green sat on another changeup in the fourth, and launched it 381 feet to double Detroit’s lead.
Meanwhile, Skubal took a perfect game into the fifth before he gave up a one-out gapper off the bat of Ty France. That proved inconsequential, as Skubal struck out Harrison Bader on yet another filthy changeup, and got Brooks Lee swinging at 99 MPH at his eyes to end it.
The Tigers pounced on that missed opportunity in the fifth. Following a hit-by-pitch of Colt Keith, Carpenter slammed a Paddack fastball up in the zone down the right-field line with two outs. Castro tried to chase it down, but it ping-ponged in the corner, which allowed Keith to score the game’s third run. That was the end of the road for Paddack, as Danny Coulombe came in to retire Greene.
Skubal coasted from there, walking Christian Vázquez at one point but otherwise completely shutting down the Twins lineup. The Twins seemed to be starting a mini-rally in the eighth against Tommy Kahnle, with Bader singling to start the inning and Lee hitting a sharp grounder to the hole between first and second. But Spencer Torkelson made an excellent play, spearing the ball and making a great feed to second, with Lee unable to beat out the twin-killing.
Stray Observations:
-Skubal is the best left-handed starter in the game, with all due respect to Max Fried and Garret Crochet. He throws harder, has better mound presence, and goes deeper in games. He’s an absolute menace.
-I wonder if Paddack has any trade value left, now that his ERA has settled back into the mid-4s. The problem is that you can’t market him as an innings-eater, as he has been one of the least durable pitchers in baseball, and you can’t say he’d be a difference-maker, since he’s never been that effective. Maybe other teams are interested in a really nice guy who never backs down from a challenge, even though he will almost always lose said challenge.
“Who will save us from the alien invasion?!”
Paddack: “I’ll do it.”
“Chris Paddack? Wasn’t he sort of good in 2019, but spent the last six years hurt and ineffective?”
“I’m gonna save the day. I’m a sheriff.”
“Wow he’s so loyal and nice! Hopefully the aliens won’t sit on his offspeed and breaking pitches.”
“Oh, he’s dead.”
What’s Next: The Twins head to Miami for an off day Monday, before beginning a series against the Marlins. Joe Ryan (8-3, 2.86 ERA) opposes Edward Cabrera (2-2, 3.78 ERA) as the Twins try to start salvaging their season with the trade deadline getting closer and reinforcements on the way—either in or out.
Postgame Interviews:
Coming soon
Bullpen Usage Chart:
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
TOT
Wentz
0
0
0
48
0
48
Sands
0
31
0
12
0
43
Topa
0
8
0
0
30
38
Jax
9
0
23
0
0
32
Varland
17
0
15
0
0
32
Stewart
0
13
0
0
14
27
Coulombe
0
16
6
0
1
23
Durán
9
0
9
0
0
18