Twins 3, Tigers 1: Mick Abel Shoves, Brooks Lee Delivers Late to Seal Sweep

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Mick Abel - 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6K (102 pitches, 70 strikes (69% strikes))
Home Runs: Josh Bell
Top 3 WPA: Mick Abel (0.37), Brooks Lee (0.31), Josh Bell (0.17)
Win Probability Chart (via Baseball Savant): 

The Twins came into Thursday afternoon riding a three-game winning streak, with a chance to finish off a four-game sweep of the Tigers—who started the season as the favorites to win the AL Central. Behind a bounce-back effort from their starter and a late offensive breakthrough, they did exactly that, grinding out a 3-1 win to wrap up the series.

They didn’t dominate from start to finish. But they pitched, they adjusted, and when the moment finally came late, they delivered.

MICK ABEL RESPONDS
After a tough start to his season, Mick Abel really needed a clean outing. It didn’t start easy, though. For much of the afternoon, Abel was pitching with traffic on the bases. Soft contact, long at-bats, and a couple of walks pushed his pitch count up early, forcing him to work through constant pressure.

With any young pitcher, the risk is that mounting pressure will eventually burst the pipe. Happily, Abel never let it do so. He leaned on his fastball to generate whiffs and consistently got ahead in counts, throwing first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 25 batters he faced. Even when Detroit put runners in scoring position, which they did in five of his six innings, he found a way out every time.

By the middle innings, things started to settle. A much more efficient third and fourth frame stabilized his pitch count, and from there, he was in control. He mixed all five pitches, generated swings and misses throughout the day, and kept hitters from ever connecting on a big swing—though there were a few long, loud fly balls, including a double by Javier Báez that dented the right-field wall.

The final line tells part of the story: six scoreless innings while working around traffic in nearly every frame. But the bigger takeaway was how Abel handled adversity. Detroit went hitless in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position, and Abel never looked uncomfortable.

For a pitcher looking to reset his season, this was a big step in the right direction.

QUIET EARLY, JUST ENOUGH TO STAY CLOSE
The Twins had chances early, but couldn't break through against Jack Flaherty. They put together quality at-bats right away. Trevor Larnach worked a one-out walk in the first, and Josh Bell followed with a single. Matt Wallner smoked a ball 102 MPH, but right into a double play that killed the rally.

That set the tone for much of the afternoon. There was traffic, and there was hard contact. But there wasn’t a run until the fourth inning.

Bell changed that with one swing, jumping on a first-pitch slider and driving it out to right-center for a solo home run. It came off the bat at 106 MPH and traveled over 400 feet, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead in a game where every run felt massive.

From there, it settled into a true pitcher’s duel. Flaherty matched Abel for most of the day, keeping the Twins from adding on and forcing them to wait for another opportunity. Meanwhile, they came back to knot things up 1-1 as soon as Abel left, in the seventh.

BROOKS LEE DELIVERS THE MOMENT
The game finally cracked open in the eighth, and it came down to one at-bat. After a Wallner walk and a Victor Caratini base hit, Royce Lewis fought through visible discomfort to reach base and load them, and the Twins had their shot. Two outs, tie game, bases loaded.

Brooks Lee stepped in. He worked the count full, giving himself a chance to live out every young baseball player’s dream, and he delivered. Lee ripped a single through the right side, scoring two and turning a 1-1 game into a 3-1 lead. After a slow start to his season, that swing felt significant—not just for the game, but for the embattled Lee, who hadn't started the game and erupted with uncharacteristic emotion when he came up with the game-winning hit.

BULLPEN HOLDS ON
The tablesetter for that feast was an uncomfortable stint from the bullpen. Newly acquired reliever Garrett Acton made his Twins debut in the seventh and immediately ran into trouble. A hit batter and a ground ball through the infield set up Detroit’s first real breakthrough, and a sacrifice fly tied the game at 1-1. It wasn’t clean, and the inning took 23 pitches—not ideal for a bullpen that had already been heavily used in recent days. But Acton bounced back.

After the stressful seventh, he went back out in the eighth and needed just 12 pitches to retire the side in order. That quick inning ended up being massive, keeping the game tied and giving the offense a chance to respond.

Once the Twins grabbed the lead in the bottom half, it was up to Eric Orze, and he delivered. Despite a couple of balls in play to start the inning (including one that looked like it might fall for a hit; Byron Buxton made a great play), the defense held up. Orze finished it off with a strikeout, locking down the save and sealing the sweep.

The bullpen bent, but it didn’t break. That group deserves some credit, especially in the context of the series as a whole. With four different relievers recording a save in this series (Cody Laweryson, Justin Topa, Kody Funderburk, and Eric Orze), the Twins leaned on a mix of arms to navigate tight games and protect leads throughout. It’s a sign of both the workload they’ve taken on and the trust the staff has in different options late in games.

What’s Next
The Twins will head north of the border tomorrow to start a three-game series with the reigning American League champions, the Toronto Blue Jays. Simeon Woods Richardson will take the hill for the Twins, with left-hander Patrick Corbin throwing for Toronto. First pitch is set for 6:07 PM CT.

Postgame Interviews
Coming soon!

Bullpen Usage Chart

	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	THU	TOT
Rogers	18	0	12	0	0	30
Funderburk	3	20	0	20	0	43
Sands	21	0	12	9	0	42
Topa	15	0	14	10	0	39
Laweryson	0	14	0	25	0	39
Banda	0	17	0	0	0	17
Orze	0	12	19	0	14	45
Acton	0	0	0	0	35	35

 

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[Aggies7]

[LewFordLives]

Winning is so much more fun.

[bunsen82]

Well Banda got crushed yesterday,  maybe we don't want to remember he pitched,  but probably need to put those pitches in the bullpen counter LOL.  

Gutty performance by Abel.  Its been a tough start to the year, just for the mental part of it he really needed this start.  Boy did the Bullpen need this day.  8 innings covered by Acton and Abel and we still got the win.  Good job.  

Bell is absolutely mashing the ball this year.  Every hit seems to be a line drive.  For a player that had hit a lot of grounders the difference is really showing up.    

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Raise your hand if you saw this coming 

[karcherd]

It was great to see them sweep the Tigers.  There appears to be an organizational shift, whether it is from Zoll or Shelton, I am glad that this twice thru the order and removed is no longer in play for the pitchers.  There is no way last year Abel would have been out there in the fifth inning much less the sixth.  The pitchers need to learn to work their way thru the lineup and to get out of trouble.  This bullpen is not going to hold up without reinforcements and it is good to get innings from the starters.

[Nshore]

The starting  rotation is the foundation of a baseball team. I would say so far so good.  Maybe Tom Pohlad is a genius.

[tony&rodney]

13 minutes ago, karcherd said:

The pitchers need to learn to work their way thru the lineup and to get out of trouble.

Totally agree. Shelton has shown faith in the starters and it has worked. I'm not going to ask for 120+ pitches from starters but depending on a guy is pitching on any given day, there really isn't any reason to see a starter going to 110+ pitches if the command and stuff play. When Shelton came to the mound in the 6th today it seemed like he wanted to hear from Caratini and Abel what he was watching, which is that he should trust Mick to get through the inning.

On another unrelated note, I don't see the Twins calling up any position players, except as necessary due to injury, until at least mid May to early June. The guys they have need time to show what they can offer and the players in AAA can all benefit from learning the game.

[Twinsrtheworst]

24 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Raise your hand if you saw this coming 

Ahem, ✋🏽

[Nshore]

Oddly enough, with all their shortcomings, I can foresee Lee or Martin slapping a crucial single in Yankee Stadium in  October or November.  So leave them alone you hyenas.

[Parfigliano]

Over .500 after 13 games.  Didn't see that happening.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Hopefully this season ends with another 4 game sweep. This time against the Dodgers in the World Series.

[GopherMike]

Eric Orze is playing so well, Derek Falvey might trade him to Tampa for a starting pitcher!

[GopherMike]

22 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

On another unrelated note, I don't see the Twins calling up any position players, except as necessary due to injury, until at least mid May to early June. The guys they have need time to show what they can offer and the players in AAA can all benefit from learning the game.

James Outman benefits by being able to play center, but at a certain point he needs to show that he can literally do anything on offense. Brooks Lee has a longer leash, I'd bet, but Outman doesn't necessitate that. 

[thelanges5]

Great to get the win but even better to see Abel bounce back from his previous 2 starts. 

[LastOnePicked]

30 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Over .500 after 13 games.  Didn't see that happening.

Same here. In fact, they've just bested my predicted season win total.

[KirbyDome89]

50 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

On another unrelated note, I don't see the Twins calling up any position players, except as necessary due to injury, until at least mid May to early June.

I'm cool with swapping Roden for Outman yesterday. 

[jorgenswest]

So many positives to notice today. Outman’s catch in the 7th was huge. That ball sure looked like it was going to land fair. In that case the Tigers break the tie and have another runner in scoring position. Action probably doesn’t make it through the 7th. With that catch the score stays tied and Acton makes it through 8.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Tomorrow vs Patrick Corbin, pretty much the worst pitcher in baseball.  How does he keep getting contracts.  Also SWR with Toronto lineage…

[Jacksson]

Hawkins needs to reemphasize to his relievers that when they enter a game, they SHOULD NOT HIT OR WALK BATTERS.  If the guy in the bullpen can't seem to throw strikes or close to strikes, don't let him get into the game and get somebody else warming up.

Another LUCKY win.  Those catch up to a team in a hurry and soon go the other way.

[bunsen82]

1 hour ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Raise your hand if you saw this coming 

Do I win since I thought we would be around .500  LOL

[soyouresayingtheresachance]

Much needed quality start from Abel. Great to see it! Really helped to give most of the bullpen the day off. 

Hasnt been much good from Lee yet this year. Nice at bat to drive in a couple runs when it was needed. 

Let's get after Corbin tomorrow and keep the streak going! Go Twins!

[arby58]

3 hours ago, karcherd said:

It was great to see them sweep the Tigers.  There appears to be an organizational shift, whether it is from Zoll or Shelton, I am glad that this twice thru the order and removed is no longer in play for the pitchers.  There is no way last year Abel would have been out there in the fifth inning much less the sixth.  The pitchers need to learn to work their way thru the lineup and to get out of trouble.  This bullpen is not going to hold up without reinforcements and it is good to get innings from the starters.

It IS different, and I wasn't a Rocco hater. Shelton just seems to trust his players (both pitchers and hitters) a little more, which is odd, given that Rocco was a player. My guess is the players appreciate it as well.

[BrokenCompass]

Take a picture: 

• Over .500
• 4 game win streak
• 2nd place

We may not see any of those marks again this season, folks. Soak it up and enjoy.

[arby58]

1 hour ago, Jacksson said:

Hawkins needs to reemphasize to his relievers that when they enter a game, they SHOULD NOT HIT OR WALK BATTERS.  If the guy in the bullpen can't seem to throw strikes or close to strikes, don't let him get into the game and get somebody else warming up.

Another LUCKY win.  Those catch up to a team in a hurry and soon go the other way.

I doubt Hawkins needs to reemphasize this. I doubt any of the pitchers hits or walks batters because they  have forgotten advice from the bullpen coach.

Seemed like a well earned (rather than lucky) win to me. YMMV.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

3 hours ago, Twinsrtheworst said:

Ahem, ✋🏽

Twinsrtheworst...did you really see this coming?

[tarheeltwinsfan]

A fun game. I agree that winning is so much more fun than losing. I would like to see Martin playing LF every day. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

58 minutes ago, arby58 said:

It IS different, and I wasn't a Rocco hater. Shelton just seems to trust his players (both pitchers and hitters) a little more, which is odd, given that Rocco was a player. My guess is the players appreciate it as well.

Good point. I think C-4 sometimes messed things up by being in charge instead of Rocco. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed C-4 and his play and advice, but I was confused sometimes as to who was really in charge of the team when C-4 was on the Twins.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

2 hours ago, bunsen82 said:

Do I win since I thought we would be around .500  LOL

Yes, you are the grand prize winner. You have won a free night in a hotel in Cleveland. The second place winner  has won 2 nights in a hotel in Cleveland.

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, AlwaysinModeration said:

Tomorrow vs Patrick Corbin, pretty much the worst pitcher in baseball.  How does he keep getting contracts. 

Corbin can be the poster boy for Flags Fly Forever.  He won Game 7 of the 2019 World Series.  That was the first year of his massive 6-year contract with the Nationals.  He's been bad ever since.  Do they regret his contract?  Well, flags fly forever and Washington had a pretty big Big Three in their rotation that year.

And yet, somehow, despite his rapid decline he's started 30+ games every year, except only 11 in Covid-shortened 2020. He's also a poster boy for Innings Eater.