Article: Instant Reaction: Twins Beat Tigers 6-2

[John Bonnes]

The summary of the Twins Wednesday night 6-2 win over the Detroit Tigers is simple: this one was on Tigers starting pitcher Kyle Lobstein. Lobstein is essentially the Tigers version of Tommy Milone: he's left-handed, has a solid mix of pitches, none of which are particularly nasty, and he needs to hit his spots and keep the ball in the park to stay effective. He didn't do either of those in this game, but it was a lapse in control in the third inning that really hurt him.To the Twins credit, they took advantage, stringing together five hits and a walk in seven at-bats. Joe Mauer's triple was the ballgame's breakthrough hit, but give some credit to Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki for their alternate but effective approaches in Mauer's wake. Plouffe went up hacking, going after the first pitch and delivered a second triple and a fifth run. Suzuki alternately worked a 3-1 count before his double, which ended Lobstein's night after 2.1 innings and mostly cemented the game.

 

Lobstein is not terribly well known outside of Detroit and has a funny name, so it might be tempting to write this game off as the Twins taking advantage of a bad pitcher. That's at least partially true. Lobstein is only in the rotation because of Justin Verlander's status and his likely path is that of a back-of-the-rotation starter.

 

But he also entered today's game with a 3.00 ERA. In his last start he threw 7.2 innings while giving up just one run - and it was unearned. He has oddly been one of the Tigers most consistent pitchers this year, so while the Twins did what they were supposed to do, they also did something that no other team has done this year when they chased him early.

 

Overlooked Gem

I'm sure starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco will get plenty of credit for this win, but the most valuable pitcher was Twins reliever Michael Tonkin. He entered the game in the bottom of the seventh, leading 6-2 but with runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs and needing to face the heart of the Tigers order: Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. Four batters later he walked off the mound and into the dugout with three outs and no change in score. Fangraphs will tell you that he cut Detroit's chances to win that game from 16% to less than 4% with his work.

 

He did get a little help. Danny Santana ranged pretty deep into left field to get the first out on a pop fly. Eddie Rosario got to a ground ball in a hurry to make sure that Cabrera's single didn't drive home (the admittedly hobbled) Jose Iglesias from second base. And Tigers manager Brad Ausmus helped by writing Victor Martinez in the cleanup spot in the Tigers lineup.

 

Martinez looks totally lost right now. His batting average is down to .226. His OPS is just .603. He left six Tigers on base tonight, going 0-4 with three strikeouts. This game could've been much tighter with any contribution at all from him.

 

Come, America to Comerica

This was my first visit to Comerica Park and I left a lot more impressed than I expected. I've been somewhat reluctant to give it the benefit of the doubt because I loved the Tigers old ballpark, Tiger Stadium, so much. But they did Comerica right.

 

Nearby are some decent establishments to socialize before the game. We chose Cheli's Chile Bar where they have a beer garden with standard but good fare and inside they have 20 or so taps. Michigan has a vibrant craft brew culture, and you'll find that reflected almost everywhere, including in the ballpark, where there's an enclave near the main gate with 11 craft beers on tap.

 

Comerica doesn't have a signature architectural feature, other than maybe the big concrete cats all over, but it stays visually interesting with lots of levels, entertaining side areas and appealing decorations that tie in the Tigers rich and long history. My favorite is the ballplayer sculptures by Lou Cella in center field, which are a cool combination, both realistic and abstract.

 

The weather was cold, but the Tigers fans were friendly, the ballpark was fun, the beer was good and the Twins got a relatively easy win. Comerica isn't making it into my Top Ten MLB ballparks, but it's close, and an easy "thumbs up." It's worth a special trip and I'd love to come back.

 

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[Seth Stohs]

I really liked Comerica. I think Target Field is better, but they do a great job of showing off their history. I like their little theme park within the ballpark. I also like all the tigers around the outside of the stadium. They're intimidating, as in you can't take your eyes off of them, and huge. 

[Squirrel]

For all my years living in Chiicago, I've neglected to make the trip to both Detroit and Cleveland. I'll have to try and rectify that this summer. Thanks for the report!

[MileHighTwinsFan]

Twins bullpen was the key to the game.  Tonkin and Boyer were particularly impressive.

 

Pretty exciting to see a bullpen, missing its key setup man, fight off one of the most potent lineups in baseball. 

 

The injury to one Martinez and futility of another didn't hurt.

 

[Circus Boy]

Haven't been to Comerica, but do have great memories of Briggs Stadium from the 1960s when my family lived in Flint. Saw Denny McClain outpitch Jim Kaat 3-2 in May 1969.

[jokin]

 

Twins bullpen was the key to the game.  Tonkin and Boyer were particularly impressive.

 

Pretty exciting to see a bullpen, missing its key setup man, fight off one of the most potent lineups in baseball. 

 

The injury to one Martinez and futility of another didn't hurt.

 

Yeah, the injury to JD Martinez sure helped to crush any chances for the Tigers.  The dude is killing the Twins this year with an 1.181 OPS and 211 OPS+ (and was 2-2 when he left the game).  On the matter of the other Martinez, I'm not sure why VMart isn't on the DL- he looks really injured.  Ausmus would have been much better off moving JD and Cespedes up in the order.  Cespedes has always killed the Twins, as well (1.051 OPS 179 OPS+ in 2015...  1.065 OPS  169 OPS+ for his career). 

[Brock Beauchamp]

For all my years living in Chiicago, I've neglected to make the trip to both Detroit and Cleveland.

You and the rest of the United States who prefer their metro areas to be populated and bear-free and their rivers not aflame.

[woolywoolhouse]

I was in Detroit this winter (Super Bowl Weekend) for work, and walked down to Comerica (and Ford Field, which looks like nothing more than a giant warehouse from the outside.) Even though it was bitterly cold- and we were less than 24 hours from a terrible blizzard, I'm glad I did. Lets of pictures of the concrete tigers, and I stopped at Cheli's Chile Bar for a cheesesteak and beer- both great. Made plans right then and there to make Detroit one of my upcoming summer roadtrips to see the Twins (this year bringing the father-in-law for his first out-of-state game to Milwaukee.)

[Mike Sixel]

So, the beer is better......interesting. Unless something changed recently at TF, the craft beer scene there is mostly in bottles, mostly.

 

I remember interviewing for a job in Detroit, and they didn't want me to walk 2 blocks due to the danger. That pretty much sealed the deal for me not going there.

 

I do know a couple people that live there, and they really like it. But even they admit it can be intimidating.

[Steve Penz]

Mauers at bats concerned me. That's seems nuts being that he cleared the bases with a triple but he also weakly hit two balls to left. I love his new initiative to rip and try to pull balls that are middle or inside. The two weak balls to left seemed to be middle of the plate and down and in. It is like he reverts to last-year Mauer with those swings. Anybody have thoughts on this?

[twinsnorth49]

Considering the Twins share a partnership with InBev they do pretty well with their craft beer selection. More taps would be nice but they have pretty decent presence overall. If they only had Surly Furious I'd have no complaint at all.

[Loosey]

Bonnes, Who are in your list of top 10 stadiums?  Actually maybe I will start a thread on this in the forum.  I love baseball stadiums and talking to people about their favorites and why.