Detroit Tigers back Matthew Boyd in series-opening 8-4 win over Twins: Game thread recap
Detroit Tigers (27-39) vs. Minnesota Twins (35-33)
When: 7:10 p.m. Thursday; series opener.
Where: Target Field in Minneapolis.
TV: Bally Sports Detroit.
Radio: WXYT-FM (97.1 in Detroit; Tigers radio affiliates).
Probable pitchers: Tigers LHP Matthew Boyd (3-5, 5.55 ERA) vs. Twins RHP Sonny Gray (4-1, 2.25).
Tigers lineup:
SS Javier Báez
3B Nick Maton
2B Andy Ibáñez
P Matthew Boyd
WEDNESDAY'S GAME 1: Tigers fall apart after three home runs off Spencer Strider in 10-7 loss to Braves
Game notes: Finally, in Game 67, the Tigers and Twins meet for the first time this season. The American League Central leaders — two games above .500 for the first time since June 4! (three games above .500? Not since June 1) — have underplayed their expected record (according to their runs scored and allowed) by four games. So what’s gone wrong?
To start with, their top position player (by WAR, according to Baseball Reference) entering Wednesday had been Willi Castro at 1.2 WAR, courtesy of a .241/.300/.394 slash line. Nothing against the ex-Tiger, but that’s not that far off the .241/.284/.367 line he posted last season in Detroit. If you’re more of a Fangraphs WAR adherent, Castro is only the Twins’ fourth-best position player, with his 0.7 WAR falling behind Ryan Jeffers (0.8), Byron Buxton (0.9) and Michael A. Taylor (1.2).
Either way, that’s probably not entirely what the Twins expected in handing Buxton a $100 million deal before last season, outfielder Joey Gallo (who leads the Twins with 11 homers in just 47 games) a one-year, $11 million deal in December and shortstop Carlos Correa (.217/.302/.415) a $200 million deal in January.
After all, the Twins thought they had so much offense they could afford to trade infielder Luis Arraez — who’s chasing .400 with the Miami Marlins this season — for righty Pablo López to lead their rotation. Unfortunately for the Twins, López has been inconsistent, with a 4.40 ERA. Still, the Twins have arguably the best rotation in the Central — a low bar to clear, we know — thanks to 27-year-olds Joe Ryan (2.90 ERA) and Bailey Ober (2.65 after Wednesday's victory) and 33-year-old Sonny Gray (2.25), who’ll start the series tonight.
The 2011 first-rounder has dominated the Tigers over his career, with a 2.47 ERA, 45 strikeouts and a .203 batting average against over 43⅔ innings. Against current Tigers, he’s a little less successful, with Miguel Cabrera posting a .950 OPS in 20 plate appearances off him and Jonathan Schoop owning an .348/.348/.478 slash line off him in 23 plate appearances. Beware, Javier Báez, beware: The shortstop is just 1-for-21 with 12 strikeouts against Gray.
Matthew Boyd, meanwhile, could be in for a long night — or a short one, depending on how you look at it. The lefty has allowed 15 homers in 55⅓ innings at Target Field — that’s the most homers of any visitor in the history of the park, which opened in 2010.
After tonight’s opener, the two squads have three more games: a night affair on Friday and a pair of 2:10 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday. After that, the Tigers jet back home to open a three-game set against the Kansas City Royals on Monday, while the Twins stay home for a four-game visit from the Boston Red Sox.
TIGERS NEWSLETTER: Who is to blame for this June swoon?
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Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers beat Minnesota Twins, 8-4: Game thread recap
