Bailey Ober threw an absolute gem on Tuesday, leading his Minnesota Twins to a 3-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. In the process, Ober further etched his name in the Twins’ history books.
The right-hander needed just 89 pitches to throw his first complete game shut out. He joined a list of five other Twins pitchers, including himself, to throw a complete game in under 90 pitches. But now, Ober joins Bill Krueger in 1992 as the only Minnesota pitchers to do so in a shutout, via Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
Over his 89 pitches, Ober held the Marlins to two hits and no walks while striking out seven. It was undoubtedly his best performance of the year and will now live on in Twins lore.
Heading into Tuesday’s matchup, Ober had pitched to a 4.19 ERA and a 32/15 K/BB ratio. He has now lowered his ERA to 3.46 while his 39 strikeouts rank third amongst Minnesota pitchers. The Twins will hope the right-hander’s performance is the stepping stone for a breakout season from Ober.
One question that does remain is where he will finish the 2026 campaign. Even with the shut out win, Minnesota is still just 19-23 on the season. They are likely to be deemed sellers at the trade deadline, and Ober will be a prime candidate to be dealt; especially if he keeps pitching this way.
But that will be a problem the future Twins need to answer. For now, they will relish in the victory and Ober’s historic performance on the mound. All eyes will be on him in his next start to see if he can replicate the success.
Bailey Ober threw an absolute gem on Tuesday, leading his Minnesota Twins to a 3-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. In the process, Ober further etched his name in the Twins’ history books. The right-hander needed just 89 pitches to throw his first complete game shut out. He joined a list of five other Twins pitchers, including himself, to throw a complete game in under 90 pitches.