DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS SHUT OUT IN SATURDAY MATINEE: The Tigers were shut out by the Twins, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon. Joey Wentz started for Detroit and threw 6.0 strong innings, allowing two runs on two hits with a walk and a career-high nine strikeouts. Tyler Alexander pitched 2.0 scoreless innings in relief. Offensively, Miguel Cabrera went 1×3 with a double, while Nick Maton and Zach McKinstry each had one hit.

MOVIN’ ON UP: Miguel Cabrera went 1×3 with a double in yesterday’s game against the Twins. Cabrera’s two-bagger was the 3,116th hit of his Major League career, breaking a tie with Alex Rodriguez for 21st in MLB history. Next up on the list is Tony Gwynn, who finished his Hall of Fame career with 3,141 hits. Cabrera has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games, over which he is slashing .394/.432/.667 with six doubles, a home run and four RBI.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOEY: Joey Wentz turned in his best start of the season yesterday against Minnesota, throwing 6.0 innings and allowing two runs on two hits with a walk and a career-high nine strikeouts. Over his last two outings, Wentz has given up four runs in 10.1 innings with three hits allowed, three walks and 13 strikeouts.

TIGERS AND TWINS: The Tigers and Twins conclude their first series of the season this afternoon. The two teams will meet next weekend in Detroit for a three-game series. With a victory today, the Tigers will clinch a series victory at Target Field for just the second time since the start of the 2018 season (other, July 26- 28, 2021.)

AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: The Tigers continue divisional play today against the Twins. Detroit is 11-8 against American League Central teams so far this season, going 3-4 vs. Chicago (AL), 4-2 vs. Cleveland, 2-1 vs. Kansas City and 2-1 vs. Minnesota.

ON THE ROAD: The Tigers are 2-1 on their current four-game road trip. Detroit is 14-22 on the road this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .212/.284/.329 away from Comerica Park, while the pitching staff has a 4.13 ERA (311.2IP/143ER).

ON DECK: After today’s game, the Tigers return home to begin a six-game homestand, which starts with three games against the Royals. The two teams played earlier this season in Kansas City with Detroit winning two-of-three games. The Tigers went 10-9 against the Royals last season, including a 5-4 record at Comerica Park.

INJURY REHAB UPDATES: Trey Wingenter had his injury rehab assignment transferred to Triple A Toledo last night, throwing a scoreless inning with one strikeout…Beau Brieske made an injury rehab appearance with Toledo last night, allowing a hit in a scoreless inning.

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)

TODAY’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

19 Will Vest • 2-0, 3.08 ERA (26.1IP/9ER)

• Vest will make his 24th appearance and his third start of the season today in the series finale at Minnesota…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, with his start today, Vest will become the first Tigers pitcher to make multiple starts in a series since Mickey Lolich on June 21 and
  24, 1973 at New York (AL).
• Started Friday’s game against the Twins, striking out two in a scoreless inning.
• Has faced the Twins 11 times in his career and has a 2.45 ERA (11.0IP/3ER) and seven strikeouts…has not allowed a run in five career outings at Target Field, throwing 6.0 hitless innings with two walks and four strikeouts.
• Has started four games in his Major League career, including two this season…in his previous four starts, has allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
• Did not allow a run in his first eight outings with the Tigers this season, throwing 10.1 scoreless innings.

MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:

THE TWINS: Have gone 3-2 through five games on their 10-game homestand, sweeping the Brewers in two games on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by going 2-1 vs. the Tigers over the last three days…today, they will continue the homestand with the four-game series finale against the Tigers…after this series, the Twins will welcome the Red Sox to Target Field for four games from Monday-Thursday…the Twins have gone 21-16 at home and 15-19 on the road.

The Twins are on game six of a 16 games in 16 days stretch, their next off-day being in Baltimore on June 29…the Twins have 20 games in 22 days leading up to the All-Star Break (July 10-13).

EXCELLENT ‘PENMANSHIP: The Twins beat the Tigers yesterday afternoon at Target Field by a score of 2-0, recording their fifth shutout of the season…José De León led the bullpen day with 2.0 perfect innings to start and was followed by Emilio Pagán (1.2 IP), Brent Headrick (2.1 IP), Brock Stewart (1.0 IP), Griffin Jax (1.0 IP) and Jhoan Duran (1.0 IP) all in relief…the offense recorded just three hits and walked three times…Alex Kirilloff drove in the Twins’ first run with a single in the fifth inning, followed by Ryan Jeffers, who recorded the other RBI of the day with a fielder’s choice immediately following Kirilloff…the win snapped a four-game losing streak against the Tigers as the Twins beat Detroit for the first time since September 30, 2022.

Headrick earned the win in relief after tossing 2.1 scoreless innings and allowing one hit, with two strikeouts…made his fourth major league appearance of the season and first since April 26…became the third pitcher in Twins history (1961-present) with at least one win and at least one save within his first four career games, joining Bill Pleis (2 W, 1 SV in 1961) and Tom Johnson (2 W, 1 SV in 1974).

TWINS AND TIGERS: The Twins and Tigers are playing the fourth of 13 meetings in 2023.

Four of the Twins’ next eight games will be against Detroit as they will travel to Michigan for a three-game series next weekend to kick-off a nine-game roadtrip.

Carlos Correa is hitting .295 (18-for-61) with five doubles, two home runs, nine RBI and an .834 OPS in his last 15 games vs. the Tigers.

Michael A. Taylor is hitting .320 (16-for-50) with an .870 OPS in his last 15 games vs. Detroit.

Christian Vázquez is hitting .329 (27-for-82) with seven doubles, three home runs, 15 RBI and an .894 OPS in 24 career games vs. the Tigers.

The Twins have hit 104 home runs vs. the Tigers since 2019, the most in baseball.

STAFF REFLECTIONS: Twins starters have averaged 5.6 innings-per-outing, up from 4.8 in 2022…they have pitched 6.0-plus innings 40 times this season, which matches their total from last season…by June 18, 2022, they had reached 6.0-plus just 17 times…additionally, below are the starting staff’s rankings in a few categories among other all MLB teams:

INNINGS ERA BAA BB/9.0 FIP WHIP K’s OPS
HOU – 403.2 TB – 3.07 TB – .220 SEA – 2.10 TB – 3.44 MIN – 1.13 MIN – 419 TB – .637
TEX – 400.1 HOU – 3.30 MIN – .230 MIN – 2.35 MIN – 3.47 TB – 1.13 CWS – 411 MIN – .658
MIN – 398.0 TEX – 3.35 TEX – .236 SF – 2.51 SEA – 3.63 SEA – 1.14 TOR – 399 SEA – .679
TOR – 397.2 MIN – 3.62 LAD – .237 LAD – 2.58 PHI – 3.80 TEX – 1.17 HOU – 387 TEX – .684
CWS – 389.1 ATL – 3.87 SEA – .239 PHI – 2.58 HOU – 3.88 LAD – 1.19 MIA – 387 CHC – .692

DONNIE, YOU’RE OUT OF IN YOUR ELEMENT!: Donovan Solano has reached safely in each of his last eight games, hitting .385 (10-for-26) with two doubles, two home runs, six RBI, seven
walks, a .515 on-base percentage, a .692 slugging percentage and a 1.207 OPS in that span.

Solano is hitting .322 (28-for-87) with 10 RBI, 12 walks and an .824 OPS in 31 games at Target Field this season…his home batting average ranks 10th best in the American League (minimum of 75 at-bats).

RUN THE JULS: Since being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday, Edouard Julien is hitting .421 (8-for-19) with four doubles, four walks, a .522 on-base percentage and a 1.153 OPS in six games…in his last 13 major league games (dating back to May 24), he is hitting .333 (15-for-45) with six doubles, two home runs, four RBI, nine walks, a .436 on-base percentage, a .600 slugging percentage and a 1.036 OPS.

Julien has posted an OPS of .904 vs. right-handed pitching, compared to .444 vs. lefties.

JOEY LONGBALLS: Joey Gallo has an average exit velocity of 93.4 mph, ranking seventh best in the AL and 11th best in baseball…additionally, he ranks fourth in baseball in hard hit percentage at 57.6%…Gallo leads the Twins in both home runs (11) and slugging percentage (.480)…lastly, Gallo has an average home run distance of 406 feet, the longest on the club.

Gallo has posted an OPS of .833 vs. right-handed pitching, compared to .685 vs. lefties.

I’LL TAKE OBP FOR 400, ALEX: Alex Kirilloff has posted a .408 on-base percentage in his last 19 games, since May 27, reaching base 31 times in 76 plate appearances (17 hits, 12 walks, 2 hit-by-pitch)…in 37 games for the Twins, he has posted a .393 on-base percentage, which is sixth among AL players with a minimum of 130 plate appearances.

Kirilloff has posted a .900 OPS vs. right-handed pitching, compared to .513 vs. lefties.

TWINS ML WEEKLYS: Triple-A St. Paul catcher/first baseman Chris Williams and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Marco Raya have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Williams, 26, hit .467 (7-for-15) with six home runs, 14 RBI, five walks, a .600 on-base percentage, a 1.667 slugging percentage and a 2.267 OPS for the Saints…the Garden Grove, CA native was selected by the Twins in the eighth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Clemson University.

Raya, 20, made one start for the Kernels on Friday vs. South Bend, allowing one run on two hits in 3.0 innings pitched, with no walks and six strikeouts…Raya also had a 46% whiff rate…the Laredo, TX native was selected by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of United south High School in Laredo, TX.

THIS AND THAT:
Outfielder Gilberto Celestino has been reinstated from the 10-day Injured List and optioned to Triple-A St. Paul…Cele has missed the entire season with left thumb surgery.

Right-handed pitcher Jorge Alcala has been transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL…Alcala has been on the IL since May 16 a right forearm extensor strain.

Royce Lewis has reached base safely in six of his last seven games, hitting .409 (9-for-22) with an .867 OPS in that span.

STARTING PITCHER – LOUIE VARLAND #37
2023: 3-2, 4.70 ERA CAREER: 4-4, 4.40 ERA

Making his 10th start of the season and fourth home start of 2023…also his 15th career start and appearance.

Facing Detroit for the first time in his career; is 1-1, 4.58 ERA (19.2 IP, 10 ER) with six walks and 17 strikeouts in four career starts against American League Central opponents.

Recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on May 3, taking the place of right-hander Tyler Mahle (Tommy John surgery) in the Twins rotation.

Selected by the Twins in the 15th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Division II Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

LAST TIME OUT: Took a no-decision on June 11 against Toronto at Rogers Centre in the Twins’ 7-6 series-finale loss to the Blue Jays; pitched a season and career-low-tying 4.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits (1 HR), with two walks and six strikeouts…received four runs of support before taking the mound; allowed one run in the bottom of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Matt Chapman…held Toronto scoreless in the second, third and fourth innings, allowing only two singles… allowed three runs in the fifth inning on two hits and one walk, including a two-run home run from Chapman…was relieved by Jovani Moran with two outs in the fifth and the Twins leading 6-4; Emilio Pagán surrendered a three-run home run to first baseman Cavan Biggio in the eighth as Minnesota lost and failed to record a three-game sweep.

Tied his start on May 3 at Chicago-AL (also 4.2 IP, 4 ER) for the shortest outing of his career.

TWO STARTS AGO: Took the loss in his first career start vs. Tampa Bay on June 6 at Tropicana Field as the Twins fell 7-0…opposed Zach Eflin, who earned the win…went 6.0 innings, allowing a career-high seven earned runs on six hits while issuing a career-high four walks and striking out five…fired 3.0 scoreless innings to start his outing…allowed three runs in the fourth inning on three hits, one walk and an RBI sacrifice bunt by second baseman Vidal Bruján…yielded a two-run home run to rightfielder Luke Raley in the fifth and a solo homer to centerfelder Jose Siri in the seventh…was relieved by Emilio Pagán in the seventh inning, who allowed one inherited runner to score…Twins
offense recorded only four hits in their fifth shutout loss of 2023.

Allowed multiple home runs for the fourth time this season, also doing so on April 14 at New York-AL (3), May 14 vs. Chicago-NL (2) and May 26 vs. Toronto (2).

DEBUT VS. DETROIT: Facing the Tigers for the first time in his career; Detroit will become the 10th team he has faced in the majors…in nine career starts when facing an opponent for the first time, Varland is 2-4, 4.30 ERA (52.1 IP, 25 ER) with 14 walks and 42 strikeouts…has never faced any current Tigers batters in his career…making his second start of the year and fifth of his career against an American League Central division opponent; in four career starts vs. the AL Central (CWS – 3, CLE – 1), he is 1-1, 4.58 ERA (19.2 IP, 10 ER) with six walks and 17 strikeouts; Twins have gone 1-3 in those four starts.

BACK HOME AGAIN: After three-straight road starts, Varland is set to pitch at Target Field for the first time since taking the loss against Toronto on May 26 (6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R/ER, 2 HR, 0 BB, 3 K)…in three starts at home this year, he is 1-1, 3.44 ERA (18.1 IP, 7 ER) with three walks and 16 strikeouts; Twins have gone 1-2 in those three starts…enters today’s outing as the only pitcher in baseball to make at least nine starts overall this season with three-or-fewer home starts…Minnesota is 3-3 in his six road starts in 2023, with Varland going 2-1, 5.40 ERA (33.1 IP, 20 ER) with 11 walks and 34 strikeouts.

In five career starts at Target Field, Varland is 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA (29.0 IP, 12 ER), six walks, 22 strikeouts and a .236 (26-for-110) opponent batting average…he is 3-2 with a 4.81 ERA (48.2 IP, 26 ER), 14 walks, 49 strikeouts and a .268 (51-for-190) opponent batting average in nine career road starts.

LEFTIES VS. RIGHTIES: Through his first nine starts this season, left-handed hitters are batting .231 (15-for-65) with 18 strikeouts against Varland…righties are hitting .265 (36-for-136) with 32 strikeouts…struck out three left-handed hitters and three right-handed hitters in his last outing on June 11 at Toronto…in his career, left-handed hitters are slashing .243/.289/.430 with four home runs and 27 strikeouts against Varland, while righties are slashing .264/.316/.492 with 12 home runs and 44 strikeouts.