Tigers hit the road to face the Twins as AL Central neighbors fight for pride at Target Field
The Detroit Tigers opened a three-game road series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis on Monday, with both AL Central clubs holding nearly identical records and playing for pride now that the postseason is essentially out of reach.
Starting pitchers
Monday's opener (first pitch 7:40 p.m. ET) featured Tigers right-hander Jackson Jobe (1-1, 3.93 ERA), who is still regaining his form after Tommy John surgery and only returned to the mound this month — over his last two starts he has posted a 1.86 ERA across 9 2/3 innings. Opposing him was Twins right-hander Taj Bradley (9-6, 3.97 ERA, 169 strikeouts), who has endured a rough August, with a 5.40 ERA over his last five starts. Bradley has already faced Detroit twice this season with contrasting results: on April 7 in Minneapolis he threw 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts, while on June 9 in Detroit he took the loss after allowing five runs.
Season backdrop
Detroit (63-73) came into the series after losing to the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1 on Sunday, despite Framber Valdez holding the Dodgers to one run through five innings. Minnesota (65-72) enters on a one-game winning streak after beating the White Sox on Sunday. According to theScore, this is the eighth meeting between the two clubs this season, with the Twins leading the season series 5-2; Fubo, however, reports that Detroit holds a 3-2 edge over the last five head-to-head meetings. Oddsmakers favor the Twins (-136) over the Tigers (+114), with the over/under set at 8 1/2 runs.
Neither team is realistically in the wild-card picture — those three spots currently belong to the Yankees, Red Sox and Guardians — and the Twins sit 7.5 games behind division-leading Chicago, while the Tigers trail by 9 games.
Injury concerns
Both clubs are dealing with lengthy injury lists. The Twins are without outfielder Byron Buxton, placed on the injured list for the third time this season with a hip issue, according to Yahoo Sports, along with pitcher Joe Ryan (glute) and several other pitchers on longer-term IL stints. The Tigers are missing Riley Greene (hamstring), Kerry Carpenter (heel) and pitcher Jack Flaherty (flexor), while Justin Verlander also remains on a lengthy IL stint.
Statistical leaders
Minnesota's offense is led by Josh Bell (83 RBI, 123 hits), while Byron Buxton tops the club with 25 home runs. For Detroit, Dillon Dingler (26 home runs, 82 RBI) and Kevin McGonigle (140 hits, 84 runs) stand out. Tarik Skubal anchors Detroit's rotation with a 2.79 ERA, while A.J. Minter leads Minnesota's bullpen with a 0.77 ERA.
