The pitching and defense were pretty good all around in this one, and neither offense got much going. The Tigers briefly held the lead after a Kevin McGonigle blast, but the difference was a two-run shot from Kody Clemens in the sixth off of Drew Anderson that gave them a one-run lead which held up. Both teams’ bullpens were sharp, and the Twins evened the series with a 3-2 victory.
Drew Anderson’s shaky command dug him into a hole pretty quickly in this one. Luke Keaschall popped out to start the game, but Anderson hung a curveball a bit and Brooks Lee doubled into the right field corner. Anderson wasn’t missing by a lot, but he was trying to nibble and walked Kody Clemens and Ryan Jeffers. Josh Bell lifted a sacrifice fly to Brett Callahan in left, and Lee scored as Hao-Yu Lee, probably rightly, cut off a strong throw home. Callahan is the best throwing outfielder in the Tigers organization and has racked up a lot of assists during his time in the minors, but Lee runs reasonably well. Royce Lewis fouled a 1-1 fastball off into the visiting dughout and Colt Keith, in pursuit, smashed himself into the railing as the ball fell just beyond his outstretched glove. Fortunately, a good changeup whiffed Lewis to strand two. A long first inning for Anderson, but minimal damage at least.
Dean Kremer took the mound looking to improve over his last start, where the Tigers got to him for four earned runs in five innings on September 2 at Target Field. Kevin McGonigle wouldn’t make it easy for him. After missing his pitch, a 2-2 sinker that was up in the zone and fouled off, the Tigers rookie fought through a 10-pitch at-bat and single to center field to start the bottom half of the first. A little liner off the end of the bat went for a Gleyber Torres single to left, and the Tigers were in business. Colt Keith worked a 2-0 count after Jeffers mistakenly challenged a ball, but then lined out to first and McGonigle was too far off of second base, locked up, and thrown out for a double play. Not great. A wild pitch got Torres to second, but Riley Greene struck out.
1-0 Twins after one inning.
Anderson got Trevor Larnach on a ground out to Torres to start the second, and then punched out Kaelen Culpepper with a good changeup. Walker Jenkins grounded out to Keith at first for a much snappier second for Anderson.
Eduardo Valencia started the bottom half with a single up the left center field gap. A splitter whiffed Callahan, and Max Clark got a fastball up in the zone 2-1 and popped out in foul territory. A cutter tied Hao-Yu Lee up and he popped out as well.
Keaschall doubled to left to start the third. Brooks Lee flew out to Callahan, and it was routine, giving him time to set up. Keaschall foolishly challenged that arm and was thrown out by 10 feet on a perfect strike from the rookie. Kody Clemens bounced out, and that inning went from trouble to helping Anderson get his pitch count in a little better shape at 50 through three frames.
McKinstry grounded out, and McGonigle popped out again, to open the bottom of the third. Gleyber Torres worked a walk, but Keith tapped one back to Kremer to send us to the fourth. Still 1-0 Twins.
Jeffers singled up the middle to open the fourth, but Bell grounded to Keith, who fired to McGonigle and back to Keith for a 3-6-3 double play. Lewis flew out to McKinstry in right on Anderson’s 60th pitch. A squibber to Lee from Riley Greene opened the bottom half, and Valencia and Callahan both lifted deep fly balls but still routine outs. On to the fifth.
Anderson needed just seven pitches to handle the frame. Larnach and Jenkins grounded out, while Culpepper struck out swinging between them.
After Clark flew out and Lee struck out, McKinstry ripped a single to right field. Kevin McGonigle dug in, got an 0-1 fastball over the middle, and smoked it to left field and into the home bullpen for an opposite field two-run homer, his 16th of the year. 2-1 Tigers.
Keaschall started the sixth taking an Anderson fastball off the knob of the bat. He tried to argue for a hit by pitch but home plate umpire Vic Carapazza wasn’t buying it. In a 1-2 count, Anderson got the called strike three on a fastball away, but it was challenged and overturned to a ball. Another heater in the same spot but a little closer to the edge did the job…but Keaschall correctly challenged that one as well, and a changeup walked him. A good slider whiffed Brooks Lee for the first out as Anderson worked to hold Keaschall at first as well. Unfortunately, a 2-2 fastball was up and in the zone and Kody Clemens pulled it just over the fence in right for a two-run homer. 3-2 Twins.
It’s really tough to know what to do with Anderson. He’s fine as a backend starter but his command is just shaky enough to allow too many meatballs that get crushed. At the same time, his relief work shows that tendency even more decisively. And yet he has a sub-4.00 ERA and has been reasonably solid as a starting pitcher, with a 2.29 ERA in that role, though still with a 4.20 FIP. He’s certainly among the Tigers 10 best arms, and maybe middle and long relief is the way to go. The Tigers have a $10M club option on him for 2027
Beau Brieske entered the game and promptly gave up a drive from Jeffers. Callahan cruised back to the wall and while it probably wasn’t quite going to clear the fence, he caught it with his glove on the yellow line at the top of the fence for the second out. A 3-2 fastball to Josh Bell was ripped hard to right field, but McKinstry cruised over and hauled it in on the run.
Lefty AJ Minter took over from Kremer in the bottom of the sixth. AJ Hinch responded by pinch-hitting Spencer Torkelson for Keith, playing first base. He took a fastball on the outer edge in a 2-2 count and Jeffers burned the Twins last challenge. It was still a ball, but Minter dotted a cutter at the top of the zone to strike him out anyway. Greene lifted a shallow fly out to center and Valencia flew out to left.
Brieske spun a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, and Ben Malgeri faced Minter, pinch-hitting for Callahan, in the bottom half of the seventh. Malgeri drew a walk, stole second, and took third as the throw bounced into center field. The Twins pulled in their infield and Max Clark bounced out to Culpepper at shortstop too quickly for Malgeri to try and score. Hao-Yu Lee struck out, and it was up to McKinstry, who flew out to left. Those three at-bats with a man on third were pretty much the death knell in this one.
Still 3-2 Twins, and on to the eighth.
Lefty Brant Hurter took the mound for his first inning of work in the majors since his lower back strain in May. He locked up Jenkins with a set of really nasty looking sweepers from that wide angle and low release point. Keaschall flew out to Clark, and Malgeri made a great diving catch in foul territory in left to retire Brooks Lee. The defense was not the Tigers’ issue in this one.
Jeff Hoffman took over for the Twins in the bottom half, and McGonigle started the inning by flying out to right field just short of the wall for the first out. Torres tapped a 3-2 slider away back to Hoffman for the second out, and so it was up to Torkelson, now without the platoon advantage. He fouled off a first pitch meatball of a slider right down the pipe thigh high, and eventually struck out swinging on one down and away.
So, now it was the Tigers needing a walkoff victory, but first they’d have to hold the Twins in place in the ninth.
Hurter got Clemens to start the inning, and then gave way to the next man up. Yilber Diaz got the assignment with most of the usual high leverage suspects unavailable in this one. He fired 99 mph heaters to get ahead of Jeffers 0-2, but Valencia called for a slider and Diaz left it up. Jeffers doubled to left. Bell hammered a ball to center field, but Clark made a nice play on it and Jeffers had to tag and hold at second. Lewis grounded out to McGonigle, and it was last call. Solid inning for Diaz, who just needs to locate his fastball-slider combination, which is electic. Of course, that’s easier said than done, but Diaz’s life story already reads like a book, and he’s overcome a lot more than control issues, so here’s hoping. The Tigers could really, really use an arm like that in the late innings.
Yoendrys Gomez looked to close it out for the Twins. He tied up Greene with a perfect sweeper to strike him out. Valencia lined out to Ryan Kreidler at second base. Keaschall made a nice sprawling play on a sinking drive from Malgeri in right field, and that was that.
They’ll decide the series at 1:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday. RHP Keider Montero will take on RHP Zebby Matthews in that one.
