The Tigers wrapped up their series against the Twins this afternoon, with the hope that they might be able to sneak away with a series win after a dismal showing on Tuesday evening. To get the job done, they were hoping for a turnaround game from Jack Flaherty, who was up against Pierson Ohl for the Twins. Flaherty’s command struggles from previous games would definitely be a concern in this outing, but the Tigers (and their fans) were hopeful for a clean win.
Things started poorly almost immediately for Flaherty and the Tigers. Alan Roden and Matt Wallner got back-to-back singles in the top of the first. Two outs followed, but then Luke Keaschall doubled to drive in two runs, putting the Twins on the board first. They’d have to settle for just the two, but the Tigers’ work was already cut out for them. Detroit did little to chip away at that lead, going 1-2-3 in the home half.
Brooks Lee and Edouard Julien got back-to-back singles at the top of the second. A wild pitch allowed Lee, who was on third, to score and give the Twins a 3-0 lead. Two outs followed to end the inning. In the bottom half, Spencer Torkelson got one back for the Tigers with a one-out home run to start things off.
Three outs followed the home run, but the Tigers had at least made a small dent in the Twins’ lead.
Flaherty got his groove back slightly in the third, getting the Twins out in order. In the home half, the Tigers continued their efforts with a solo home run from Zach McKinstry.
With one out, Colt Keith singled. Then, one out later, Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer.
With the tigers now in the lead, Ohl’s game was done, replaced by Thomas Hatch to get the final out of the inning.
The lead didn’t last long as Brooks Lee got a one-out home run in the top of the fourth to tie the game. Julien drew a walk. But two outs followed, so the Twins would have to settle for a tie. Wenceel Perez got a one-out single in the home half. Perez then stole second. Dillon Dingler initially got a safe call at first, but after the Twins asked for a review, the call on the field was overturned. Dingler was out, and Perez was safely on third. A McKinstry groundout ended the inning, leaving Perez stranded.
In the top of the fifth, Matt Wallner reached on a fielding error by Gleyber Torres. Ryan Jeffers then doubled to score Wallner. After one out, Keaschall hit a ground-rule double to score Jeffers. With two outs in the inning, Flaherty’s day was done; his final line for the game was 4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR on 82 pitches. Not awesome. Tyler Holton replaced him and got the final out of the inning. Colt Keith got a one-out walk in the home half, but was eliminated in a double-play off the bat of Gleyber Torres to end the inning.
A pinch-hitting Austin Martin came in for Julien in the top of the sixth and immediately hit a solo home run. For the record, that was Martin’s first home run of the season. Alan Roden then got a one-out home run, extending the Twins’ lead to 8-4. With two outs in the inning, Holton’s day was done. Tommy Kahnle was in next from the Tigers’ pen. Jeffers singled, but Kahnle did manage to get the final out of the inning. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the home half.
Royce Lewis got a one-out walk in the top of the seventh. Brooks Lee and Austin Martin followed him with walks to load the bases, and that was all she write for Kahnle, who was replaced by Brant Hurter. Hurter induced a groundout to Mickey Gasper, but Lewis scored. The final out of the inning couldn’t come soon enough, and the Twins were up 9-4. The Tigers went down in order in the home half.
With one out in the top of the eighth, Jeffers was hit by a pitch, but the free baserunner was soon back in the dugout after being eliminated in a double play off the bat of Kody Clemens. Matt Vierling singled to start the home half. Kody Funderburk then replaced Hatch and rose to the top of my 20:80 naming scale. With one out, Torres singled and got Vierling to third. A pinch-hitting Jahmai Jones hit into a double play to end the inning.
The Twins, blessedly, went 1-2-3 at the top of the ninth, so it was down to the final three outs of the game for the Tigers to get something done. Brooks Kriske was the next Twins reliever in the game. Torkelson singled to start things off. Unfortunately, that was as far as the comeback effort went, and the Tigers dropped the game and series to the Twins.