Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K
Homeruns: None
Top 3 WPA: Sonny Gray .389, Gio Urshela .148, Carlos Correa .116
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)
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On Tuesday night, the Twins were out to secure another series win against Detroit. Here’s how they lined up against the Detroit Tigers.
Sonny Gray came out looking comfortable on Tuesday night. Through his first two innings, he allowed two soft singles to Miguel Cabrera and Spencer Torkelson (66 mph and 71 mph respectively). Gray appeared ‘on’ from the get go, locating well, with Ryan Jeffers stealing plenty of close calls for the Twins pitcher.
After a solid first inning, Tigers starter Beau Brieske ran into trouble in the second inning. He walked Max Kepler, who came around to score on a Gio Urshela single. Kepler would have been dead to rights at home plate, had Javy Baez not inexplicably indicated to Tigers’ left fielder Willi Castro to throw to second. The Twins were up, 1-0 after two innings.
The Twins increased the lead in the third inning. Byron Buxton, mired in a slump, just missed a home-run to right center-field. The ball had a .970 xBA and was recorded at 105.7 mph off the bat, a promising sign. A Luis Arraez single and Carlos Correa double increased the lead to 2-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, Jeimer Candelario scalded a ball into the right center field gap. Byron Buxton made his best catch of the season to prevent extra bases for Detroit.
The Twins had a threat in the bottom of the fourth inning. Gio Urshela singled (110 mph) and Jose Miranda doubled (108 mph) to put men on second and third with one out. Ryan Jeffers flew out to center field and Gio Urshela was thrown out at home plate after tagging up at third. At the end of four innings, the Twins led just 2-0 in a game that could have been put on ice. Twins fans have to be encouraged by Miranda, who seems to be driving the ball more consistently in recent games.
Meanwhile, Gray was on cruise control. Through five innings, he had given up three hits, one walk, and struck out six Tigers hitters on just 68 pitchers. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Twins threatened again. Luis Arraez missed a home run to right field by a few feet and had to settle for a single. Carlos Correa and Gary Sanchez walked to load the bases with Max Kepler up, fresh off a grand slam on Monday night. Kepler flew out to shallow left field, not deep enough for Arraez to tag. Gilberto Celestino grounded out to end the inning. Through five innings, the Twins had seven hits, three walks, but only two runs to show for it.
Gray had retired seven straight hitters when Jonathan Schoop singled in the top of the sixth inning. A rare passed ball by Ryan Jeffers moved Schoop to second base, with no outs. Gray bucked down, striking out two of the next three hitters to escape the inning unscathed, his seventh and eight strikeouts of the game. In the bottom of the inning, Gio Urshela led off with his third hit of the game, before Jose Miranda grounded into a double play to extinguish yet another Twins scoring opportunity.
Gray came out to start the seventh inning with a pitch count of 83. He left it at 95 pitches, having retired the side in order and struck out 10 in seven innings of scoreless work.
Tyler Duffey relieved Gray in the eighth inning. Duffey struck out two and retired the side in order on just 12 pitches. The Twins offered nothing in the bottom of the eight inning, leaving Jhoan Duran to close the game out for Minnesota. Duran allowed a single to Miguel Cabrera and hit Jeimer Candelario to put runners on first and second base with one out. Duran got Willi Castro to ground into a double play to secure the shutout for the Twins.
The Twins have now won six in a row, their second such streak in 2022. They’ve won four series in a row since being swept by Houston and sit 11 games over .500, with a 5.5 game lead over the White Sox. So sound the clubhouse gong, its just like Max Kepler said, ‘vibes over everything.’
Bullpen Usage Chart
| - | FRI | SAT | SUN | MON | TUE | TOT |
| Jax | 18 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 51 |
| Pagán | 19 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 47 |
| Duran | 16 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 47 |
| Duffey | 18 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 44 |
| Cano | 0 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
| Smith | 0 | 21 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 38 |
| Megill | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 31 |
| Thielbar | 0 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| Stashak | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
Next Up
On Wednesday, the Twins will conclude their series against Detroit. Dylan Bundy starts for Minnesota, against Rony Garcia of the Tigers. First pitch is 12:10 CT. By the way, the game is on YouTube on Wednesday.
Postgame Interviews
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