Make it Official! Twins 4,Tigers 3: By the Hair of Their Chin

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (82 pitches 57 strikes, 14 whiffs)
Home Runs: N/A
Top 3 WPA: Bailey Ober (.264), Griffin Jax (.162), Byron Buxton (.108)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Ober Keeps Cruising
For whatever reason the Kansas City Royals have had Bailey Ober’s number throughout his career. That remained the case when they blew him up during his first start of the season. Since that outing Minnesota’s third starter has been great. That continued on Saturday as Ober worked against the Tigers.

Rocco Baldelli had Ober on the bump last Sunday against Detroit and his starter flirted with a shutout, going six innings and allowing no runs on just 84 pitches. On Saturday, Ober was again in position to pitch deep deep into the game. At just 58 pitches through five innings, and staked to a 2-0 lead, things looked promising once again.

Sac Flies Get it Done
With Ober holding down the Tigers offense, giving up just one hit to Detroit through the first five innings, Minnesota was methodical in getting on the board. Byron Buxton ripped his sixth double of the season to open the 2nd inning, and a Reese Olson wild pitch pushed him to third base. Riley Greene robbed Willi Castro of a base hit on a diving catch, but Buxton scored the game’s first run.

In the 3rd inning, it was more of the same. Austin Martin doubled to lead off before advancing on an Edouard Julien ground out. Ryan Jeffers then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field and Martin waltzed home.

Minnesota plated two more runs in the 5th inning for their first crooked number of the day. Another Martin leadoff base hit led to a run when a Spencer Torkelson error allowed him to scamper home. Taking advantage of Jeffers still standing at third base, Trevor Larnach continued to be productive and his sacrifice fly brought in the Twins catcher. Through five, Minnesota had a comfortable 4-0 lead.

Tigers Break Through
Cruising through the first five innings, Ober found trouble for the first time in the 6th inning. Getting Parker Meadows and Jake Rogers on two quick strikeouts, he was just an out away from ending the frame. A walk to Greene came back to hurt though when Wenceel Perez tripled and gave the Tigers their first run of the ballgame. Ober responded by getting Torkelson to fly out and stranded a run 90 feet from home.

Minnesota didn’t have an immediate answer in the 6th inning after Jose Miranda flew out and Castro struck out. Jair Camargo, still looking for his first big league hit, grounded out to third base. Ober’s day was over and Steven Okert was on for the 7th inning.

Bullpen Memories Brought Back
After Ober looked great for six innings in his last time out against the Tigers, it was the bullpen that came on and coughed up the game. Those same memories began to rear their head in the 7th inning on Saturday. Okert got Kerry Carpenter to ground out, but Matt Vierling singled and then the lefty walked Buddy Kennedy fresh off the bench to bring the tying run to the plate. Rather than let this go sideways, Baldelli had a quick hook and brought Cole Sands on to face Javier Baez.

After two strikes off of the plate, Baez got a Sands bender to hang and lined it to left field. Martin left his feet and the ball got by him. Vierling came home and the Twins lead was now just 4-2 with the tying run in scoring position. Meadows popped out, and pinch hitter Mark Canha struck out. Sands walked a tightrope but escaped with the lead intact.

The Twins did attempt to respond in the bottom half, but came up short. Julien squeaked a ball through the infield before Jeffers drew a one-out walk. Against the lefty Joey Wentz, Baldelli went with Carlos Santana off the bench. A weak fly out dropped him to 0-for-14 on the year with runners in scoring position, and he has just three hits in his last 40 at bats (.075). Manuel Margot grounded out on the first pitch of his pinch hit at-bat, and both runners were left on the bases.

Kody Funderburk made a slight mess of his appearance, and while he was able to get a pair of outs, the leadoff walk to Greene proved costly with him coming around to score on a Carpenter single. Matt Bowman came on to get the final out of the 8th inning, but it was a 4-3 game.

Runners (Never) In Scoring Position
The Twins had a chance to give their bullpen a breather in the bottom of the 8th inning. Buxton grounded out to start the inning, but Kyle Farmer took his base after getting plunked, and Castro singled to put the pair on second and third. Camargo stepped in for his biggest at-bat yet, and needing to put the ball in play, struck out on a foul tip. Martin’s looper to right got caught, and the threat was averted.

As has been the case all year, ineptitude with runners in scoring position was again a problem today. Although the Twins struck out just six times, they managed to go 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and they left eight runners on base. Despite the seven hits and four runs, there was so much more meat left on the bone for Baldelli’s lineup.

Griffin Jax came on looking to grab a save and immediately struck out the pinch-hitting Zach McKinstry. Jax got Baez to strike out on a six-pitch at bat the the lumber never left his shoulder, and Meadows flew out to Margot ending the game. Minnesota put an end to a five-game losing streak, and while the offense wasn't what it should have been today, they got it done.

Notes
Max Kepler is closing in on a return to the Twins after playing multiple rehab games with Triple-A St. Paul. Jhoan Duran, after facing live hitters pregame on Friday, is nearing a rehab assignment of his own, and would provide a big boost to the bullpen. Daniel Duarte, who opened the season in relief after being a non-roster invitee this spring, is done for the year and will undergo an elbow procedure on May 8.

What’s Next? 
Minnesota wraps up a series with the Tigers during a matinee affair on Sunday. Louie Varland gets the ball for the Twins with Casey Mize going for Detroit. The culmination of the series ends a stretch in which the teams will have played each other seven out of their past ten games.

Postgame Interviews

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet