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Detroit Tigers' Kenta Maeda racks up seven strikeouts in 1-0 win against Minnesota Twins

Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press
·4 min read
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LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, on Tuesday at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.

The Tigers are 11-7-1 in Grapefruit League play.

What happened

It was a one-run game for almost the entire game.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Kerry Carpenter hit a triple — with a 106.9 mph exit velocity — against right-hander Joe Ryan and scored on Javier Báez's sacrifice fly. The triple from Carpenter marked his first hit of spring training, spanning five games.

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Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda (18) pitches during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Thursday, March 7, 2024.
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda (18) pitches during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Thursday, March 7, 2024.

Right-hander Kenta Maeda, who pitched for the Twins from 2020-23, faced his old team for the first time since signing a two-year, $24 million contract in free agency.

His fastball averaged 89.2 mph in his third start of spring training, down from 89.3 mph in his first start and 89.5 mph in his second start. He averaged 91 mph with his fastball last season.

But Maeda showcased elite secondary pitches.

Maeda, who tossed four scoreless innings, struck out seven batters. He recorded 13 swings and misses: three sliders, one fastball, eight splitters and one curveball. The Twins whiffed eight times on 12 swings against Maeda's splitter.

Starting off

All seven of Maeda's strikeouts were swinging: Emmanuel Rodriguez (81 mph splitter), Jair Camargo (82.7 mph slider), Austin Martin (82.5 mph splitter), Nike Goodrum (81.6 mph splitter), Anthony Prato (80.1 mph slider), Rodriguez (82.7 mph splitter) and Matt Wallner (90 mph fastball).

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A strikeout double play — from catcher Carson Kelly to shortstop Báez — eliminated a leadoff single from Alex Kirilloff, one of the only big-league regulars in Minnesota's lineup, in the first inning. In the second inning, Maeda picked off Yunior Severino on a throw to Mark Canha, an outfielder who played first base.

Maeda threw 24 sliders, 20 four-seam fastballs, 19 splitters and two curveballs. The velocity on all four pitches was down from last year's averages.

He threw 36 of 65 pitches for strikes.

At the plate

The Tigers have one of the best pitchers in the American League Central, but don't forget about Twins right-hander Joe Ryan. He has dominated the Tigers across six starts in his three-year career: 3.57 ERA, five walks and 45 strikeouts.

Ryan, 27, was at his best in the spring training showdown, completing four innings of one-run ball on three hits. He finished with zero walks and six strikeouts.

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The Twins' pitcher struck out five of six batters in the third and fourth innings, in order: Akil Baddoo, Zach McKinstry, Mark Canha, Carpenter and Báez.

Ryan posted a 4.51 ERA in 29 starts last season.

On the mound

Right-hander Jackson Jobe, the top pitching prospect, entered for his first-ever appearance in big-league spring training, protecting a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning. The Tigers selected Jobe with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft.

The 21-year-old completed a scoreless ninth inning, notching a save.

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After Maeda, right-handers Alex Faedo and Beau Brieske each pitched two innings. Faedo retired all six batters through the fifth and sixth innings, with two strikeouts. Brieske had a walk and a strikeout across the seventh and eighth innings.

Faedo needed 21 pitches (13 strikes); Brieske needed 35 pitches (22 strikes).

Three stars

1. Maeda, 2. Faedo, 3. Jobe.

Next up

Wednesday (1:05 p.m.) vs. Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show "Days of Roar" every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kenta Maeda strikes out 7 as Detroit Tigers top Twins, 1-0, in spring