Twins 11, Tigers 1: Offensive Explosion Starts Crucial Week Right for Twins

Box Score 
SP: Taj Bradley - 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K (104 pitches, 66 strikes (63.5% strikes))
Top 3 WPA (via FanGraphs): Taj Bradley (0.28), Luke Keaschall (0.15), Ryan Jeffers (0.14)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs): 

Looking to hold on to their slim hopes of making the playoffs, turned to Taj Bradley Monday to square off with Kevin McGonigle and the struggling Tigers. Detroit countered with former phenom Jackson Jobe, making his fifth appearance this year and first against the Twins. 

Bradley had a nice first inning, sending the Tigers down in order. He recorded two strikeouts and induced a lineout on a nice play by Brooks Lee. The Twins offense made some noise right away, with Luke Keaschall leading off the bottom of the first inning with a double down the left-field line. He eventually scored on a Kody Clemens sacrifice fly, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead. Jobe was able to limit the damage, striking out Ryan Jeffers to finish his first inning of work. 

Taj Bradley kept rolling, not giving up a base runner in the second, either. He added two more punchouts along the way. The Tigers got their first baserunner in the top of the third, when Spencer Torkelson battled to a seven-pitch leadoff walk. Bradley was able to erase the baserunner with a nifty 5-6-3 double play off the bat of rookie outfielder Max Clark, though. Third baseman Hao-Yu Lee got the Tigers' first hit after the double play, but Bradley was able to keep the Tigers off the board on an inning-ending groundout, preserving the one-run lead. 

The bottom of the third inning started with a bang. Shortstop Kaelen Culpepper led off with a double down the left-field line, and two batters later, Keaschall collected his second hit of the game, putting runners on first and third with one out. Unfortunately, Brooks Lee grounded into an inning-ending double play, keeping the score a taut 1-0.

Jobe wasn’t so lucky in the fourth inning, with Kody Clemens getting hold of one and depositing it onto the plaza in right field to lead off the inning. It was his 23rd home run on the season. 

The Twins loaded the bases later in the inning, giving Walker Jenkins an RBI chance, but Jenkins flied out to left field to end the inning. The Twins offense didn’t stay quiet in the fifth inning, however. Keaschall led off with a single, then stole second during what ended up as a Clemens walk. Then Jeffers did this: 

The Twins added on in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Lee (with some really good baserunning by Lee and Keaschall), extending the lead to 8-1. 

Those runs were more than enough for Bradley and the bullpen. The de facto ace of the Twins staff struck out nine over seven impressive innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Jeffers stayed hot, hitting his second home run of the game to give the Twins an eight-run lead. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Jenkins hit his first career home run—off starting right fielder Zach McKinstry, who was pitching for Detroit. This gave the Twins a 10-run lead. Luckily for Jenkins, the ball went off the foul pole, so it came back onto the field and could be returned to Jenkins with no issues. 

Tommy Nance finished the game with two scoreless innings, striking out two and giving the rest of the bullpen a day off heading into an extremely important stretch wherein the team is hoping they will be relied upon to close out some wins.

Other Notes: 

• With the rosters expanding tomorrow, the Twins will be calling up utility prospect Ben Ross and righty Garrett Acton. Ross will make his major-league debut, and Acton will be recalled after pitching well at Triple-A.
• Across Double-A and Triple-A, Ross has hit .274/.378/.506 while playing second base, third base, shortstop, and both left field and center field. Now 25 years old, Ross was a fifth-round pick by the Twins back in 2022 out of Notre Dame College in Ohio. 
• Acton made four appearances for the Twins earlier this year, throwing 6 ⅔ innings, striking out nine and walking three. With the Saints, he has thrown 17 ⅔ innings over 13 appearances, with 23 strikeouts and a 2.55 ERA. 

Post Game Interview

What’s Next?

The Twins will host the Tigers for two more, with tomorrow’s game seeing Connor Prielipp (3-7, 5.55 ERA) face off with righty Troy Melton (7-3, 1.86 ERA) in the second game of the series. 

In his most recent start, Prielipp threw 5 ⅓ innings against the Athletics, giving up three runs and striking out five. He received a no-decision in a game the Twins went on to lose 7-4. 

BULLPEN CHART