MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:

THE TWINS: After finishing their 10-game homestand with a record of 5-5 (2-0 vs. Milwaukee, 1-3 vs. Detroit and 2-2 vs. Boston), the Twins began their nine-game, 10-day road-trip with a victory in Detroit last night…tonight, Minnesota will continue the trip with the second of three at Comerica Park…after tomorrow afternoon’s series finale, the Twins will travel to Atlanta to play three against the Braves from Monday-Wednesday…they will enjoy an off-day in Baltimore on Thursday then play three games against the Orioles next weekend…the Twins have gone 23-19 at home and 16-19 on the road.

The Twins are on game eight of a 16 games in 16 days stretch, their next off-day being in Baltimore on June 29…the Twins have 14 games in 16 days leading up to the All-Star Break (July 10-13).

RETURN OF THE KING: The Twins beat the Tigers last night at Comerica Park by a score of 4-1, winning their third-straight game and moving one game over .500…Kenta Maeda (1-4) made his return from the IL, pitching 5.0 scoreless innings, with three hits allowed, two walks and eight strikeouts…it marked Maeda’s first win since August 14, 2021 vs. Tampa Bay…Jovani Moran (1 K), Brock Stewart (3 K), Griffin Jax (1 K) and Jhoan Duran (3 K) all pitched in relief as the staff finished with 16 strikeouts, tied for their second most this season (17 on 4/8 vs. HOU)…the offense scored three runs in the second inning, highlighted by a Royce Lewis solo home run and a Max Kepler two-run homer…Kepler finished with two of the Twins’ six hits.

DETROITERS: The Twins and Tigers are playing the sixth of 13 meetings in 2023…the Twins have gone 2-3 vs. Detroit this season, going 1-3 at Target Field from June 15-18, followed by a win last night at Comerica.

Michael A. Taylor is hitting .346 (18-for-52) with an .863 OPS in 15 career games at Comerica Park.

Christian Vázquez is hitting .326 (29-for-89) with nine doubles, three home runs, 16 RBI and an .892 OPS in 26 career games vs. the Tigers.

Byron Buxton is hitting .297 (19-for-64) with five doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI and an .849 OPS in his last 19 games at Comerica Park.

GASSING UP THE FERRARI IN MOTOR CITY: Carlos Correa is hitting .304 (21-for-69) with five doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and an .832 OPS in his last 17 games vs. the Tigers…he has reached safely in 13-straight games at Comerica Park, hitting .345 (19-for-55) with two doubles, one triple, four home runs, 13 RBI, seven runs scored, a .383 on-base percentage and a 1.020 OPS in that span…he has hit safely in six straight, with multiple hits in three of those.

STARTING POINTS: Below is a look at the Twins starting staff through games of June 23 this season, compared to 2022:
W L QS IP H ER HR BB K ERA BAA OPS
2022 21 19 16 338.0 319 143 43 90 286 3.81 .246 .707
2023 24 22 36 433.0 379 176 51 113 458 3.66 .232 .667

MAXING OUT: Max Kepler has hit safely in each of his last four games, hitting .400 (6-for-15) with three home runs, five RBI, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a 1.438 OPS in that span… last night’s home run was his 10th of the season, marking his sixth season with double-digit home runs (17 in 2016, 19 in ’16, 20 in ’18, 36 in ’19 & 19 in ’21)…he now has 139 career homers, two short of tying Michael Cuddyer for 13th on the Twins all-time list (since 1961):

SERIES CONVERSATIONS: The Twins are seeking their 11th series victory this season…they are 10-11-3 in series play this 2023, going 7-4-2 at home and 3-7-1 on the road…they are 2-1-1 in series play since June 9.

The Twins are seeking their first series victory over the Tigers since taking two of three at Target Field from August 1-3, 2022…their last series win at Comerica Park was a two-game sweep from July 23-24, 2022.

Twins have won two of their last three road series, taking two of three at Houston from May 29-31, followed by getting swept in Tampa Bay from June 6-8, then winning a three-game series at Toronto from June 9-11.

ROYCE ROLLS: Royce Lewis has reached base safely in a career-best eight-straight games, hitting .333 (9-for-27) with one double, two home runs, four RBI, two walks, a .379 on-base percentage, a .593 slugging percentage and a .972 OPS in that span…in seven road games for the Twins this season, he is hitting .414 (12-for-29) with a 1.069 OPS.

LAND OF 10,000 RAKES: The Twins have homered 100 times this season, fifth most in the AL and eighth most in baseball…the Twins have 19 different players with a home run this season, the most in baseball…next are the Yankees and Brewers, both with 18.

Tonight’s starter, Pablo López, is the man behind the “Land of 10,000 Rakes” home run celebration fishing vest and pole…López went to a sporting goods store after a day game on April 29, buying the vest along with a Paw Patrol kids fishing pole…the next day the Twins won over the Royals 8-4 as Byron Buxton hit a 453-foot homer, becoming the first to wear the new celebration attire…Twins have hit 63 home runs since the vest’s debut.

DONNIE FREE BAGS: Donovan Solano has drawn four walks in his last two games and 11 walks in his last 11, since June 11…in that span, his 11 walks rank tied for most in the AL and tied for second most in baseball…additionally, in his last 13 games, Solano has posted a .479 on-base percentage with a 1.007 OPS.

STARTING PITCHER – PABLO LóPEZ #49
2023: 3-4, 4.40 ERA CAREER: 31-35, 4.01 ERA

Making his 16th start and appearance and eighth road start of 2023…also his 110th career appearance (all starts) in his sixth major league season (Miami – 2018-22).

Facing the Tigers for the first time in his career; Detroit will become the 28th team he has faced in the majors…is 9-8, 3.42 ERA (157.2 IP, 60 ER) in 27 career starts vs. new opponents.

Acquired by the Twins from Miami on January 20, 2023, along with infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio, in exchange for infielder/outfielder Luis Arraez

600 CLUB: López became the 24th Venezuelan-born pitcher in American League/National League history to reach 600.0 career innings pitched with his 5.2-inning outing in his last start on June 19 vs. Boston…is one strikeout shy of 600 career strikeouts; would become the 19th Venezuelan-born pitcher in AL/NL history to record 600 career strikeouts and the fifth active Venezuelan to reach 600… here is the list of active Venezuelan-born pitchers with at least 500 career strikeouts:

LAST TIME OUT: Took the loss in his first career start against the Boston Red Sox on June 19 at Target Field in a 9-3 Twins’ defeat…pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five runs (4 earned) on six hits, with three walks, one hit batter and nine strikeouts…walked centerfielder Adam Duvall with the bases loaded in the top of the third inning; marked the fourth time in his career in which he issued a bases-loaded walk, last doing so with Miami on September 4, 2020 at Tampa Bay (Kevin Kiermaier)…allowed a two-run double to leftfielder Jarren Duran in the top of the fourth…was relieved by Jovani Moran in the top of the sixth after yielding two hits and recording two strikeouts; Moran allowed both inherited runners to score on rightfielder Alex Verdugo’s bases-loaded triple…Twins were held scoreless in the final four innings, falling in the series opener.

Posted a scoreless first inning; has held his opponent scoreless in the first inning in four-straight starts and seven of his last nine starts after doing so only twice in his first six starts of 2023.

Struck out nine-or-more batters in consecutive starts for the first time in his career; his 18 strikeouts in his last two starts are tied for the most in a two-start span in his career (8 at Miami on April 5, 10 vs. Chicago-AL on April 11).

Through 15 starts this season, López is among the American League leaders in several statistical categories, including strikeouts (110 – 3rd), FIP (3.48 – 9th), innings pitched (90.0 – 11th) and pitches-per-inning (15.7 – 12th).

TWO STARTS AGO: Took his third-consecutive no-decision in the Twins’ 7-5, walk-off victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Target Field on June 13; recorded his eighth quality start, pitching 6.0 innings with three runs and four hits allowed, one walk and nine strikeouts…retired the first six batters he faced, including four strikeouts…allowed all three runs in the third inning on two hits and one walk; leftfielder Christian Yelich doubled home two runs and first baseman Rowdy Tellez had an RBI single… held the Brewers hitless for the remainder of his outing, retiring 10 of the final 12 batters he faced; was relieved by José De León to start the seventh inning with Minnesota trailing 3-2…Twins scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth, capped by a two-run, walk-off homer by shortstop Carlos Correa, coming from behind to take the series opener.

DETROIT DEBUT: Facing Detroit for the first time in his career…the Tigers will become the 28th team he has faced in the majors; has yet to face Detroit, Seattle and Minnesota in his career…in 27 previous starts when facing a new opponent, he is 9-8 with a 3.42 ERA (157.2 IP, 60 ER), 34 walks and 160 strikeouts…has faced five current Tigers hitters previously; those batters are a combined 2-for-17 (.118) with seven strikeouts against him…tonight marks his sixth start this season against an American League Central division opponent; in five previous starts this year vs. the AL Central (KC – 2, CWS – 2, CLE – 1), he is 2-0, 4.55 ERA (31.2 IP, 16 ER) with seven walks and 38 strikeouts…is also 3-1, 3.65 ERA (44.1 IP, 18 ER) with nine walks and 50 strikeouts in seven career starts against the division.

PABLO ON THE ROAD: Making his eighth road start of 2023 tonight; is 1-2, 2.72 ERA (43.0 IP, 13 ER) with 10 walks and 50 strikeouts in seven previous road starts…has received an average of only 1.67 runs of support on the road this year, the lowest road run support average among all qualified pitchers in baseball…Twins have lost his last three road starts and are 2-5 when he starts on the road this season…looking for his first road win since defeating Kansas City on March 30 at Kauffman Stadium on Opening Day (5.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K)…is 2-2, 5.94 ERA (47.0 IP, 31 ER) with 16 walks and 60 strikeouts in eight home starts this year; Twins have gone 6-2 in those starts.

In 51 career road starts, he is 15-18, 4.25 ERA (269.0 IP, 127 ER) with 73 walks and 271 strikeouts…is 16-17, 3.81 ERA (331.1 IP, 140 ER) with 95 walks and 328 strikeouts in 58 career home starts.

Comerica Park will become the 26th ballpark he has pitched at in his career…in 25 career starts when pitching at a new ballpark, he is 10-6, 3.47 ERA (142.2 IP, 55 ER) with 37 walks and 151 strikeouts.

RIGHT ON: López has limited right-handed hitters to a .198 (37-for-187) batting average this season… his 69 strikeouts against righties are the sixth most in the American League this year, trailing only HOU’s Framber Valdez (86), TB’s Shane McClanahan (83), TOR’s Kevin Gausman (79), OAK’s JP Sears (70) and LAA’s Reid Detmers (70)…his .198 opponent batting average vs. righties this season ranks seventh in the AL (min. 10 GS)…left-handed hitters are batting at a .267 (40-for-150) clip against him in 2023…over his career, he has better numbers against right-handed hitters (.655 OPS) than left-handed hitters (.746 OPS).

PITCH BREAKDOWN: Used a five-pitch mix in his first 15 starts this season, according to Baseball Savant…has primarily used his sweeper and sinker against right-handed hitters, favoring his changeup and curveball against left-handed hitters…threw only 10 sweepers in his last start on June 19 vs. Boston, the fewest sweepers he has thrown in a start this season; also threw 44 four-seam fastballs in his last outing, his most in a start this season…here is a look at his 2023 arsenal:

PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (94.9)……………..34.6% (488 pitches, 238/250)… .277 (28-for-101), 7 2B, 6 HR, 33 K
Sweeper (84.3)…………………………21.7% (306 pitches, 262/44) .172 (11-for-64), 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 27 K
Changeup (88.5)……………………..21.3% (300 pitches, 115/185) … .161 (14-for-87), 2 2B, 1 HR, 29 K
Sinker (94.5) …………………………….11.3% (159 pitches, 154/5) … .268 (11-for-41), 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 K
Curveball (82.2)………………………..11.1% (157 pitches, 34/123).. .295 (13-for-43), 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 18 K

Lopez’s changeup has accumulated a run value of -6 this year, tied for the eighth-best run value on a changeup in baseball, according to Baseball Savant.

In his first 15 starts this year, López has an average fastball velocity of 94.8 mph, a 2.1 mph increase from last season and the largest year-to-year jump of his career

DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS DROP SERIES OPENER TO TWINS: The Tigers suffered a 4-1 loss to the Twins in the series opener last night. Andy Ibáñez came off the bench and went 2×2 with a double, while Matt Vierling was 1×3 with a RBI and a walk. Joey Wentz started for the Tigers, allowing four runs, three earned, on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts in 5.0 innings. Detroit’s bullpen combined for 4.0 shutout innings.

IBÁÑEZ STAYS HOT: Andy Ibáñez had a pair of hits, including a double, in last night’s game, extending his hitting streak to five games. Ibáñez has hit safely in nine of his last 11 games, over which he is batting .444/.487/.778 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs and three RBI.

COMING THROUGH IN A PINCH: The Tigers had a pair of hits in pinch-hitting situations last night. Detroit has already had 95 plate appearances by pinch hitters this season, the most in the Majors (Oakland, 82). It’s also the most plate appearances by pinch hitters for a Tigers team since having 103 in 2017.

PILING UP THE PUNCHOUTS: The Tigers pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts last night, marking their eighth straight game with 10-ormore punchouts, the longest streak in franchise history. It’s the longest streak by a Major League team since the Mets had nine consecutive games with 10-or-more strikeouts from September 7-15, 2022.

TIGERS AND TWINS: The Tigers and Twins continue their season series tonight. The two teams met last weekend in Minneapolis with Detroit winning three-of-four games. The Tigers went 8-11 against the Twins last season, including a 6-4 record at Comerica Park.

AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: The Tigers continue divisional play tonight against the Twins. Detroit is 14-10 against American League Central teams so far this season, winning six of the seven series they have played against divisional foes.

AT COMERICA PARK: The Tigers are 2-2 on their current six-game homestand, which includes three games vs. Kansas City (2-1) and three games vs. Minnesota (0-1). Detroit is 17-20 at Comerica Park this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .244/.318/.388 at home, while the pitching staff has a 4.62 ERA (339.0IP/174ER).

INJURY REHAB UPDATES: Beau Brieske and Trey Wingenter each made an injury rehab appearance with Triple A Toledo last night. Brieske allowed two runs on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 1.0 inning, while Wingenter pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.

TIGERS ON THE IL:

• OF Akil Baddoo (right quad strain, 10-day IL on June 10)
• RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 60-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
• RHP Alex Faedo (right middle finger discomfort, 15-day IL on June 3, retroactive to May 31)
• OF Riley Greene (left fibula stress reaction, 10-day IL on May 31)
• RHP Matt Manning (right foot fracture, 60-day IL on April 12)
• OF Austin Meadows (anxiety, 60-day IL on April 8, retroactive to April 7)
• RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
• RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on March 27)
• LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (left index finger pulley rupture, 15-day IL on May 30, retroactive to May 29)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain, 60-day IL on March 14)
• RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort, 60-day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)
• RHP Trey Wingenter (right biceps tendinitis, 60-day IL on April 22, retroactive to April 19)

TONIGHT’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

45 Reese Olson • 0-2, 5.59 ERA (19.1IP/12ER

• Olson will make the fifth appearance and fourth start of his Major League career tonight vs. Minnesota.
• Did not factor into the decision in his last start on Monday vs. Kansas City, allowing four runs, three earned, on six hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
• Will be making his first career appearance against the Twins tonight… in two career starts at Comerica Park, he has a 0-1 record with an 8.68 ERA (9.1IP/9ER) and 10 strikeouts.
• Made his Major League debut on June 2 at Chicago (AL), allowing two runs on two hits with one walk and six strikeouts in 5.0 innings… carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning until allowing a single to Romy Gonzalez…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first Tigers pitcher to throw at least 5.0 no-hit innings in his debut since Bill Slayback pitched 7.0 hitless innings on June 26, 1972 vs. New York (AL).
• Has started 10 games for the Mud Hens this season, posting a 2-3 record with a 6.38 ERA (36.2IP/26ER) and 47 strikeouts.