The return of the Bomba Squad? These Twins have started to really rely on the long ball and it's working.
Manny Margot and Carlos Correa went deep to keep Minnesota’s club-record home run streak going at 20 games, and the Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Tuesday night.
Byron Buxton scored the go-ahead run in the seventh with a head-first dive into home plate after leading off the inning with a double, and Royce Lewis hit a two-run double off Tigers ace Tarik Skubal before departing with tightness in his left groin muscle.
After rookie Simeon Woods Richardson pitched two outs into the sixth to match Skubal, who has quietly become one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors, the Twins got shutdown relief from Jorge Alcala (2-3), Griffin Jax in the eighth and closer Jhoan Duran in a perfect ninth to move a season-high 11 games (48-37) above the .500 mark. Duran earned his 13th save of the season.
“We’ve been clicking,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We want to carry this on to the second half and get even better.”
Justyn-Henry Malloy homered and Ryan Kreidler hit a two-run shot off Woods Richardson for the Tigers (38-47), who lost for the 17th time in their last 24 games.
Skubal gave up consecutive singles with one out in the third inning and was dragged through an 11-pitch at-bat by Correa, who hit six foul balls before taking a called third strike.
“I think he threw everything but a curveball to him, right?” Lewis said. “I thought he was going to get a hit. I was so locked into the at-bat, I didn’t even know how many outs there were.”
Lewis refocused to smack a changeup — the same pitch in the same spot he took a called third strike on in his first at-bat — down the left-field line.
“Hats off to that lineup. They made me battle,” Skubal said. “I thought I threw the ball where I wanted to.”
Buxton, who also walked twice, made a diving catch of Riley Greene’s sinking line drive to center field in the first inning. He has been heating up this summer after a slow start coming off yet another injury-marred season in 2023.
Buxton took third on a wild pitch by Will Vest (1-2) in the seventh and, on a high chopper by Ryan Jeffers that cleared the mound and was fielded by second baseman Colt Keith, raced home with the infield in to beat the throw and put the Twins back in front.
“We’re seeing it right now. He’s very explosive and playing the game the way he knows how to play it,” Baldelli said.
Skubal, whose 2.45 ERA is sixth in MLB among pitchers with a qualifying amount of innings, threw 94 pitches against the best-hitting team in baseball against left-handers.
“We’ve been very consistent with Tarik and what we’re asking out of him this year,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’ve leaned on him a ton. He’s a power pitcher. He empties his tank. We felt like he’d done his part.”
GAME TWO PREVIEW
Note: Wednesday night's game will be followed by a fireworks show for fans at Target Field.
Detroit Tigers (38-47, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (48-37, second in the AL Central)
Minneapolis; Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. Pregame 6:30 on 830 WCCO Radio and the Audacy app (in-market restrictions apply).
PITCHING PROBABLES: Tigers: Keider Montero (0-0); Twins: David Festa (1-0, 9.00 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, two strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Twins -164, Tigers +138; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins lead 1-0 in a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers.
Minnesota has a 48-37 record overall and a 24-16 record in home games. The Twins have a 20-4 record in games when they did not give up a home run.
Detroit has a 38-47 record overall and a 19-25 record in road games. The Tigers have a 17-3 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.
The teams meet Wednesday for the ninth time this season. The season series is tied 4-4.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Correa has 15 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs for the Twins. Jose Miranda is 15-for-38 with four doubles and a home run over the past 10 games.
Riley Greene has 16 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs and 41 RBI for the Tigers. Justyn-Henry Malloy is 7-for-29 with a double, two home runs and three RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 7-3, .276 batting average, 2.96 ERA, outscored opponents by 28 runs
Tigers: 3-7, .204 batting average, 4.86 ERA, outscored by 13 runs
INJURIES: Twins: Chris Paddack: 15-Day IL (arm), Alex Kirilloff: 10-Day IL (back), Justin Topa: 60-Day IL (knee), Brock Stewart: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Daniel Duarte: 60-Day IL (tricep), Zack Weiss: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Anthony DeSclafani: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Tigers: Casey Mize: day-to-day (leg), Matthew Vierling: day-to-day (foot), Javier Baez: 10-Day IL (spine), Kerry Carpenter: 10-Day IL (spine), Sawyer Gipson-Long: 60-Day IL (groin)
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
