Twins

Pesky Tigers Take Down Gibson, Twins to Avoid Target Field Sweep

Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Other than a quirky first-inning double, Wednesday afternoon was a yawner for the Minnesota Twins as the Detroit Tigers salvaged game three to stave off a sweep on getaway day at Target Field by a 4-1 margin.

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Michael Fulmer was very good, but Kyle Gibson was pretty solid in his own right as well. After starting the game with a home ERA of 6.16 on the season, Gibson went to work on reducing that number much like Lance Lynn did the night before.

The results weren’t what he might have wanted, but overall he had a fairly strong afternoon.

Here’s what we saw from our vantage point:

Fulmer was very, very good for the Tigers

The saving grace for the Twins should have been that they ran Fulmer’s pitch count up — he threw 20-plus pitches in each of his first three innings — which in theory would have gotten them to the Tigers’ vulnerable bullpen.

But Fulmer sped up his pace a little bit as the day went on, and managed to get into the sixth inning before departing with a 3-1 lead.

“He’s got 94-97 (mph) and he’s got a nice split-finger and breaking ball,” manager Paul Molitor said. “He threw a lot of front-door two-seamers to our lefties that we had trouble with. He just mixes it up. He’s a strike thrower and we didn’t muster much offensively.”

Fulmer went 5.2 innings, fanning five batters and walking three while allowing four hits and just the one earned run.

The other thing the Twins weren’t particularly able to take advantage of was that Fulmer started just 11 of the 23 batters he faced with first-pitch strikes.

Fulmer mixed his pitches especially well, too. He threw 34 two-seamers (three swinging strikes), 29 four-seamers (four), 19 changeups (four) and 31 sliders (four). The fastball was as high as 97.5 mph, too, so he brought plenty of heat on a muggy May day at Target Field.

Gibson was pretty good for the Twins, too

Gibson showed better-than-usual velocity as well, touching 96 mph — well technically 95.8 — with his two-seamer and 95.3 with the four-seamer. The swinging strikes weren’t in ample supply (nine in 97 pitches), but he did induce six whiffs on a really, really good slider (26.1 percent).

In all, it was a minimalist’s quality start for Gibson, who completed six innings with three earned runs on six hits with three strikeouts and a walk. Nothing really jumped off the screen — in a good way or otherwise.

It was an old friend who bit the Twins, however

The one pitch Gibson obviously would like back was a home run to former Twins farmhand Niko Goodrum, which was promptly deposited into the right-field seats to untie a 1-1 game.

May 23, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Detroit Tigers third baseman Niko Goodrum (28) runs the bases after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (left) at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

After falling behind 0-2, Goodrum took two pitches out of the zone to even the count, then attacked a 92 mph four-seamer for the fifth homer of his MLB career.

“Today we tried to elevate on him a couple times with two strikes,” Molitor said. “We didn’t quite get it where we needed to and he did some damage.”

Goodrum was 1-for-17 — his lone hit an infield single — for the Twins last year, and had spent eight years in the team’s minor league system, batting .250/.333/.379 while playing all over the diamond.

Brian Dozier hit one of the weirdest doubles in recent memory

Dozier pasted a 1-1 fastball from Fulmer deep to dead center, and it managed to stick right in between two folds of the outfield fence for a ground-rule double — missing a homer by mere inches.

Tigers center fielder Leonys Martin took what we’ll call a circuitous route to the ball, but stopped almost dumbfounded when the ball did not carom to him. Instinctively, he threw his hands up to get the attention of the umpires, who ruled the ball dead and awarded Dozier with a double.

If you watch enough baseball, you’ll see something you couldn’t even envision.

Besides the Dozier double, it was the Eddie Rosario show for the Twins

Rosario had three hits, including the RBI single that drove home Dozier after the strange double. Overall, Rosario was 3-for-4, and between he and Dozier, the pair went 4-for-7.

The issue is that the rest of the offense went a combined 1-for-23. Chalk it up not only to Fulmer, but the collaborated bullpen effort of Louis Coleman, Joe Jimenez and Shane Greene, who combined for 3.1 innings of shutout relief with one hit allowed, three strikeouts and just one walk.

The only hit allowed by the Tigers bullpen? A Rosario single to left off Jimenez.

It was a balanced offensive effort for the Tigers

The Tigers don’t exactly have a world-beating offense — especially with Miguel Cabrera on the shelf — but only two starters were held hitless in the win: Jose Iglesias and Dixon Machado.

Everyone else on the Tigers had at least one hit, with Nicholas Castellanos, Victor Martinez and Goodrum coming up with two apiece. Not bad for the 2-3-4 in your lineup.

Byron Buxton hustled out a double maybe no other MLB player could have gotten

Other than Dozier’s double, Buxton’s was the only other extra-base hit as the Twins offense was quiet on Wednesday afternoon.

May 23, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (left) slides safely into second in the fifth inning against Detroit Tigers second baseman Dixon Machado (49) at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Buxton hit a grounder past Iglesias at short. When Martin was slow getting over to field the ball, Buxton turned on the jets — with a broken toe, mind you — and slid in head first with a brilliant slide into second.

Check it out:

Ehire Adrianza flashed some serious leather — well, sort of

We’ve noted it before, but these are the kinds of plays that keep Adrianza in the lineup even when he isn’t hitting.

Even the visiting media has taken notice:

That’s pretty good praise from someone who watches Iglesias play short on a regular basis.

May 23, 2018; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Ehire Adrianza (16) fields a ground ball in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

No roster moves — yet

Molitor said the Twins will wait to see how Miguel Sano comes through Wednesday night’s game for the Rochester Red Wings before any decision on his activation is made. If he comes through without any issues, he’s expected to join the team in Seattle for Friday night’s game.

The video board operator took the “Bosio v. Gardy” situation into their own hands

In each of the first two games of the series, Twins fans stood up and loudly applauded mound visits for the Tigers. That’s all good and well if the fans thought they were cheering for Ron Gardenhire —  but it wasn’t him. 

It was pitching coach Chris Bosio, who bears a slight resemblance to a larger Gardenhire before he dropped 40 pounds over the last few years.

So the video guys got in on the fun — and it was pretty good:

Up Next

The Twins are off on Thursday before opening a road trip with a three-game set in Seattle.

These are the probables for that series:

  • RHP Fernando Romero vs. LHP James Paxton
  • RHP Jake Odorizzi vs. LHP Wade LeBlanc
  • RHP Jose Berrios vs. RHP Mike Leake

Notes

  • Molitor said that Sano would play first base on Wednesday evening as he prepares for his return to the big-league club. With Joe Mauer shelved, there’ll be room for Sano to not only play third base, but mix in at first base and DH with Logan Morrison.
  • It would not be surprising to see Jake Cave sent back to Rochester when Sano is ready. Playing time is already going to be sparse in the outfield, but adding Ryan LaMarre will make it even more unlikely he’ll see much time in the lineup moving forward. Gregorio Petit is an option as well, but less likely.
  • The loss dropped the Twins to 21-24, 11-12 at Target Field and 4-5 on the homestand.

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