Bailey Ober threw a two-hitter for his first career shutout, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 3-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night in their series opener.
Byron Buxton stole home and Ryan Jeffers hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who have won three straight games.
Ober (4-2) threw 89 pitches in his third career complete game. He struck out seven, walked none and didn't allow a hit after the fourth.
Ober pitched just the third complete game in the major leagues this year after a shutout by Miami’s Sandy Alcantara against the Chicago White Sox on April 1 and an eight-inning loss by Seattle’s George Kirby at Texas on April 7.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool," said Ober after the win. "You kinda lose a little feeling in your limbs and kind of tingly a little bit. So it's super exciting and something as a pitcher you always hope to be able to achieve, be able to throw a complete game shutout and help the team, help the bullpen. Yeah, it feels it feels pretty good."
Eury Pérez (2-5) didn't allow a hit until the fifth, when Trevor Larnach's single moved Buxton to third to set up the double-steal.
"You don't see it with very many people that you got to have elite, like first two-step speed to be able to turn the jets on that fast. And thankfully, he has that," said Twins Manager Derek Shelton about Buxton's steal of home.
According to the Twins, the last time they pulled off this play was September 7th of last year at Kansas City, with Royce Lewis on 1st and Luke Keaschall on 3rd - ironically, in a game where Bailey Ober picked up the win.
Perez pitched six innings and allowed three runs and three hits with eight strikeouts and three walks and three hits. Reliever Josh Ekness walked three in the seventh inning.
Byron Buxton has now stolen 121 bases in his career, the sixth most in a Twins uniform.
The performance by Ober is colloquially dubbed a "Maddux" in reference to the Hall of Fame pitcher from Atlanta who was known for incredible control. A Maddux is a complete game shutout, with less than 100 pitches thrown.
"I mean, the command was elite tonight," Shelton added. "Ability to use the changeup versus right and versus left, make the fastball, and then got a ton of early count, soft contact, a lot of early count pop-ups. But overall, I mean, there's not much you can say other than that was just outstanding. It was efficient and really proud to have watched it."
It’s the 16th time that a Twins pitcher has thrown a Maddux. The last to do it was Ervin Santana on June 9th, 2017 vs the Giants. The other Twins pitchers to throw a Maddux are Scott Diamond, Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Johan Santana, Joe Mays, Carlos Silva, Brad Radke, Bob Tewksbury, Bill Krueger and Allan Anderson.
Prior to Bailey's performance, the last MLB pitchers to throw a Maddux are Tarik Skubal (May 25, 2025) and Nathan Eovaldi (April 1, 2025).
And yes, with Ober's performance and the Twins scratching out just three runs in the win, it was a very fast MLB baseball game: 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Miami Marlins (19-23, fourth in the NL East) vs. Minnesota Twins (19-23, third in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. Pregame at 6:00 on 830 WCCO and the Audacy App (in-market only)
PITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Max Meyer (2-0, 2.79 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 45 strikeouts); Twins: Simeon Woods Richardson (0-5, 6.92 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 19 strikeouts)
LINE: Marlins -125, Twins +105; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins host the Miami Marlins with a 1-0 series lead.
Minnesota is 11-10 at home and 19-23 overall. The Twins are 13-5 in games when they scored at least five runs.
Miami has a 5-11 record on the road and a 19-23 record overall. Marlins hitters are batting a collective .244, the 10th-best team batting average in MLB play.
Wednesday's game is the second time these teams match up this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Byron Buxton has seven doubles, a triple and 13 home runs for the Twins. Brooks Lee is 13 for 38 with three doubles over the last 10 games.
Liam Hicks has nine home runs, 11 walks and 35 RBIs while hitting .298 for the Marlins. Otto Lopez is 14 for 40 with three doubles, a home run and three RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 5-5, .243 batting average, 5.16 ERA, outscored by 14 runs
Marlins: 4-6, .224 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored by six runs
INJURIES: Twins: Cody Laweryson: 15-Day IL (forearm), Taj Bradley: 15-Day IL (pectoral), Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Garrett Acton: 15-Day IL (shoulder), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Mick Abel: 15-Day IL (elbow), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Marlins: Griffin Conine: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Pete Fairbanks: 15-Day IL (thumb), Ronny Henriquez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Adam Mazur: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Ober becomes the first Twins pitcher to throw a "Maddux" (complete game shutout less than 100 pitches) since 2017
Ober becomes the first Twins pitcher to throw a "Maddux" (complete game shutout less than 100 pitches) since 2017
