DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:

TIGERS LOSE SERIES OPENER TO TWINS: The Tigers jumped out to an early lead, but lost to the Twins, 5-3, on Tuesday night. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run homer, while Spencer Torkelson added a solo shot, his team-high 19th on the season. Matt Vierling also had two hits, including a double. Alex Faedo started for Detroit, throwing 5.0 shutout innings with one hit allowed, one walk and six strikeouts. José Cisnero took the loss, giving up three runs on two hits and a walk.

MIGGY MASH: Miguel Cabrera blasted a tworun homer in last night’s game, his second of the season and the 509th of his career, tying him with Gary Sheffield for 26th in MLB history. Cabrera’s homer traveled 438 feet, tied for his fifth longest round-tripper since 2017. With two RBI last night, Cabrera now has 1,867 RBI in his career, one shy of tying Mel Ott for 11th in big league history.

A CARPENTER AND HIS TOOLS: Kerry Carpenter singled in the ninth inning of last night’s game, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 11 games, which ranks as the second-longest active hitting streak in the American League, trailing only Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia (17 games). During his current streak, Carpenter is slashing .450/.500/.825 with three doubles, four home runs and six RBI.

TORK TIME: Spencer Torkelson hit a solo homer in the ninth inning last night, his team-leading 19th of the season. With his next home run, Torkelson will become the seventh Tigers player to hit 20-or-more homers in his age-23 season, joining Travis Fryman, Hank Greenberg, Willie Horton, Matt Nokes, Jason Thompson and Rudy
York. Since June 27, he ranks tied for fifth in the American League with 30 RBI and tied for sixth with 11 home runs.

POWER SURGE: The Tigers hit a pair of home runs in last night’s game, marking their 10th straight game with at least one homer. It’s Detroit’s longest single-season streak since a 13-game stretch from April 4-18, 2017.

ON THE ROAD: The Tigers are 1-3 on their current nine-game road trip, which includes three games at Boston (1-2), two games at Minnesota (0-1) and four games at Cleveland (August 17-20). Detroit is 27-33 on the road this season. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .223/.290/.369 away from Comerica Park, while the pitching staff has a 4.24 ERA (517.2IP/244ER).

TIGERS AND TWINS: The Tigers and Twins conclude their season series this afternoon. Detroit has gone 7-5 against Minnesota this season, including a 3-2 record at Target Field. The Tigers have clinched the season series against the Twins for the first time since 2016.

AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: The Tigers continue divisional play today against the Twins. Detroit is 21-14 against American League Central teams so far this season. The Tigers are looking to post their first winning record against the AL Central since 2016 (38-37).

ON DECK: The Tigers continue their road trip tomorrow as they open a four-game series against the Guardians. Detroit and Cleveland have played two series so far this season with the Tigers winning two-of-three in each.

INJURY REHAB UPDATE: RHP Spencer Turnbull made an injury rehab start with Triple A Toledo last night, throwing 5.0 innings and allowing six runs on nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Turnbull has been on the injured list since May 12 with neck discomfort.

TIGERS ON THE IL:

• LHP Tyler Alexander (left lat/shoulder strain, 60-day IL on July 4, retroactive to July 3)
• LHP Matthew Boyd (left elbow sprain, 60-day IL on June 27)
• RHP Mason Englert (left hip tightness, 15-day IL on July 24, retroactive to July 23)
• 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)
• RHP Spencer Turnbull (neck discomfort, 60-day IL on May 12, retroactive to May 7)

TODAY’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER

45 Reese Olson • 2-5, 4.45 ERA (60.2IP/30ER)

• Olson will make the 14th appearance and 11th start of his Major League career today in the series finale vs. Minnesota.
• Earned his second win of the season in his last start on Thursday against the Twins, tossing 6.0 shutout innings with two hits allowed, three walks and eight strikeouts.
• Has faced Minnesota twice this season and earned the win in both starts, giving up one run on six hits with four walks and 17 strikeouts in 11.1 innings…will be making his first career start at Target Field today.
• Earned his first big league win on June 24 vs. Minnesota, allowing one run on four hits with a walk and nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings… became the 11th Tigers pitcher since 1901 to strike out nine-or-more batters in one of his first five Major League games (last, Tyler Alexander, July 27, 2019 at Seattle).
• 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).

MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:

THE TWINS: After completing their seven-game roadtrip with a record of 3-4 (1-3 at Detroit and 2-1 at Philadelphia), the Twins began their five-game, six-day homestand with a win last night against the Tigers, this afternoon, they will play the season finale with Detroit… they will enjoy an off-day tomorrow, then play the Pirates for three games over the weekend… the Twins have gone 34-24 at home and 29-34 on the road…11 of the final 13 August games will be at Target Field.

The Twins are 8-2 in their last 10 home games and 13-5 in their last 18 here. AA win today would make the Twins six games over .500, which would match their 2023 high-water mark, previously done on August 9.

FOREST LAKE, STAND UP!: The Twins beat the Tigers last night at Target Field by a score of 5-3…Bailey Ober was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing two runs on four hits in 5.0 innings pitched, with three walks and six strikeouts…Jhoan Duran earned his 22nd save of the season and his 10th in his last 11 opportunities…all five of the Twins runs were scored in the sixth inning, highlighted by a Matt Wallner grand slam…for Wallner, it was the first grand slam of his career and his ninth home run of the season…it marked the second grand slam of the season for Minnesota, the other coming from Carlos Correa on June 10 at Toronto…the 450-foot homer from Wallner was the fourth-longest for a Twin this season, trailing Byron Buxton’s shots of 466, 465 and 453.

TWINS AND TIGERS: The Twins and Tigers are playing their 2023 season series finale this afternoon…the Twins have gone 5-7 vs. Detroit this season, going 2-3 at Target Field and 3-4 at Comerica Park.

The Twins have gone 35-15 at home against the Tigers since the start of the 2018 season… in fact, in that time frame, the Twins only lost two home series’ to the Tigers, holding a 12-2-1 series record in that span.

Carlos Correa is hitting .313 (30-for-96) with six doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI and a .903 OPS in his last 24 games vs. the Tigers…he has hit safely in five-straight vs. Detroit… he has homered in three of his last seven games.

Jorge Polanco has reached safely in 12-straight games against the Tigers (.358 OBP).

Christian Vázquez is hitting .317 (32-for-101) with nine doubles, three home runs, 17 RBI and an .846 OPS in 29 career games vs. the Tigers.

STARTER STRENGTH: Twins starters have struck out an MLB-best 745 batters and are on pace to strike out 997 hitters this season, which would shatter the club record of 870, done in 1967…in fact, 997 would land them eighth on baseball’s all-time list, behind the 2018 Astros (1,101), 2017 Guardians (1,066), 2018 Guardians (1,066), 2019 Astros (1,063), 2017 Nationals (1,012), 2019 Nationals (1,010) and 2017 Red Sox (1,001).

Their 745 strikeouts rank sixth most in club history…next is the 2018 staff that had 760 (chart lower right).

STEADY EDDIE: On the season, Edouard Julien ranks in the top five among AL rookies in several offensive categories (minimum of 225 plate appearances):
AVG OBP SLG OPS OPS+ wOBA Yoshida – .300 Julien – .378 Y. Díaz – .512 Julien – .857 Julien – 137.3 Julien – .373 M. Garcia – .290 Noda – .375 Jung – .489 Casas – .838 Noda – 125.5 Yoshida – .372 Julien – .281 Yoshida – .357 Casas – .482 Yoshida – .824 Casas – 124.0 Casas – .362 Jung – .274 Casas – .355 Julien – .479 Jung – .813 Yoshida – 121.0 Noda – .355 Y. Díaz – .273 Caballero – .350 Yoshida – .468 Y. Diaz – .811 Jung – 120.1 Jung – .352

LAND OF 10,000 RAKES:The Twins have hit 50 home runs since the All-Star break, the most in the AL and second most in baseball, trailing Atlanta (62)…on the season, they have homered 165 times, fourth most in the AL and seventh most in baseball.

WALLY WORLD: Matt Wallner has posted an .831 OPS with eight home runs since the All-Star break, the most homers on the team since the break…in his last 63 games between Minnesota and Triple-A St. Paul, he has hit 14 doubles and 15 home runs, with 49 RBI, while posting a .923 OPS since May 30.

C4 IGNITING: Carlos Correa has hit safely in a season-high nine-straight games, his longest since September 20, 2019-July 31, 2020 (also 9)…it is the fourth-longest active streak in baseball…his career high is 16, done in 2019 with Houston…a hit today would make him the third Twins with a double-digit streak this season (Jeffers — 14 and Solano — 11).

During the current streak, he is hitting .367 (11-for-30) with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBI and a 1.190 OPS.

From August 16, 2022 to the end of the 2022 season, Correa hit .326 (59-for-181) with nine doubles, eight home runs, 25 RBI and a .907 OPS in his final 46 games.

SERIES FINALE: The Twins are seeking their seventh sweep of the season today…their previous six sweeps were March 30-April 2 at Kansas City (3 games), June 13-14 vs. Milwaukee (2 games), July 3-5 vs. Kansas City (3 games), July 14-16 at Oakland (3 games), July 21-23 vs. Chicago-AL (3 games) and August 4-6 vs. Arizona (3 games)…last season, they swept opponents eight times, all in three games.

The Twins’ last sweep of the Tigers came in two games from July 23-24, 2022 at Comerica Park…their last sweep of the Tigers at home came in three games from April 26-28, 2022.

The Twins are 6-4 when entering the series finale with the opportunity to sweep.

GRACIAS MIGGY: Miguel Cabrera is playing the final game of his career against the Twins to- day…in 241 career games, Cabrera hit .304 (271-for-891) with 51 doubles, 47 home runs, 169 RBI, 95 walks, 133 runs scored, a .373 on-base percentage, a .522 slugging percentage and an .895 OPS…below are the Target Field all-time opponents list in a few offensive categories: HITS 2B HR RBI BB RUNS Cabrera – 114 Cabrera – 25 S. Pérez – 21 Cabrera – 64 C. Santana – 54 C. Santana – 60 S. Pérez – 105 J. Ramírez – 24 Encarnacion – 17 J. Abreu – 60 Gordon – 39 Cabrera – 50 C. Santana – 96 J. Abreu – 19 C. Santana – 17 S. Pérez – 60 Cabrera – 35 S. Pérez – 46 J. Abreu – 89 V. Martinez – 19 Cabrera – 16 C. Santana – 58 Encarnacion – 34 J. Ramírez – 46 J. Ramírez – 87 3 Tied – 18 2 Tied – 14 V. Martinez – 50 J. Ramírez – 26 Gordon – 44

ADDITIONALLY: Cabrera started at first base for the American League in the All-Star Game in 2014 at Target Field, going 1-for-3 with two RBI.

FINALLY: The pitcher that Cabrera took deep the most in his career was Phil Hughes, seven times…but, just two were when Hughes was a Twin and the other five were when he was a Yankee.

STARTING PITCHER – KENTA MAEDA 18 Making his 14th start and appearance of 2023, and his sixth home start…also his 183rd career appearance and 149th start.

Facing Detroit for the second-straight start and third time this season…is 1-1, 0.82 ERA (11.0 IP, 1 ER) with three walks and 12 strikeouts in two previous starts vs. the Tigers this year.

Is in his fourth season with the Twins after being acquired in 2020, along with Jair Camargo, from Los Angeles-NL in exchange for Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley.

LEAGUE LEADER LATELY: Since being returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the 15-day Injured List (right triceps strain) on June 23, Maeda is 3-3 with a 2.36 ERA (49.2 IP, 13 ER), 14 walks, 62 strikeouts and a .190 (33-for-174) opponent batting average in nine starts…here’s how his numbers rank among American League pitchers since June 23 (min. 9 GS):

STATISTIC LAST 9 STARTS AL RANK
Opponent Batting Average…………………………… .190 ………………………………………………………………1st
ERA ………………………………………………………….. 2.36 ……………………………………………………………..2nd
WHIP…………………………………………………………. 0.95 ……………………………………………………………..2nd
Strikeouts……………………………………………………. 62 …………………………………………………………….T-2nd

LAST TIME OUT: Took the loss despite allowing just one run on three hits (1 HR) in 6.0 innings pitched on August 10 at Detroit, a 3-0 Twins’ defeat…issued one walk and struck out four batters, his lowest single-game total since June 28 at Atlanta (also 4 K)…retired 16 of the first 19 batters he faced… allowed his only run on a solo home run by Riley Greene in the bottom of the sixth…was relieved by Dylan Floro to begin the top of the seventh…Twins were shut out for the ninth time this season and lost the series finale.

Has allowed three-or-fewer runs in each of his last nine starts, the second-longest active streak among American League starters (CLE’s Tanner Bibee – 10)…Maeda’s current streak is his second longest as a Twin (14-start streak allowing 3-or-fewer runs from July 26, 2020 to April 14, 2021).

Recorded his fifth quality start in his last seven outings after failing to record a quality start in his first six starts of 2023.

TWO STARTS AGO: Recorded his 50th career quality start and earned the win on August 5 vs. Arizona in the Twins’ 12-1 victory at Target Field…allowed one run on two hits (1 HR) in 6.0 innings pitched, with no walks and seven strikeouts…struck out Geraldo Perdomo to lead off the game, recording his 900th career strikeout…stranded Corbin Carroll on second base in the top of the first inning by striking out Christian Walker to end the inning…allowed a solo home run to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and a bunt single to Jace Peterson in the top of the second, then retired the final 14 batters he faced…was relieved by Jordan Balazovic to start the top of the seventh with Minnesota leading 10-1; Balazovic (2.0 IP) and Jovani Moran (1.0 IP) held the Diamondbacks scoreless as the Twins offense produced 12 runs on 17 hits to win the game and claim the series victory.

Allowed only two hits, his fewest in a start of 6.0-or-more innings since July 4, 2021 at Kansas City (also 6.0 IP, 2 H).

TOUGH LUCK: Maeda has a .300 winning percentage (3-7) despite owning a 3.97 ERA…is one of four pitchers in baseball with an ERA of 4.00-or-less and a winning percentage of .300 or less (min. 10 GS), joining CLE’s Gavin Williams (1-3, 2.80 ERA), PHI’s Ranger Suárez (2-6, 3.88 ERA) and PHI’s Cristopher Sánchez (1-3, 3.39 ERA)…his expected ERA is 3.34, a difference of 0.64 from his actual ERA, the second-largest difference in the Twins’ rotation this year (1.16, Joe Ryan – 4.43 ERA, 3.27 xERA).

EYE OF THE TIGER: Facing Detroit for the second-consecutive start and third time this year…lost to the Tigers in his last start on August 10 at Comerica Park, a 3-0 Twins’ defeat (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R/ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 4 K)…earned the win on June 23 at Detroit, a 4-1 Twins’ victory, in his only other start vs. the Tigers this year; fired 5.0 scoreless innings and allowed just three hits, issuing two walks and striking out eight batters in his return from the 15-day Injured List.

Is 3-3, 3.14 ERA (57.1 IP, 20 ER) with six quality starts, 10 walks, 70 strikeouts, a .191 (39-for204) opponent batting average and a 0.85 WHIP in 10 career starts vs. the Tigers…his 0.85 WHIP against Detroit is his second lowest against any opponent in his career (min. 5 GS), trailing only his 0.83 WHIP vs. Miami (6 G/5 GS).

CENTRAL COMMAND: Maeda is 2-3, 2.48 ERA (29.0 IP, 8 ER) with six walks and 31 strikeouts in five starts against American League Central opponents this year…lost to Chicago-AL on April 10, earned wins on June 23 at Detroit and on July 4 vs. Kansas City, and lost on July 30 at Kansas City and August 10 at Detroit…in 26 career starts against the AL Central, Maeda is 12-7, 3.24 ERA (144.2 IP, 52 ER) with 32 walks and 161 strikeouts…his 3.24 ERA vs. the AL Central is his second lowest against any division in his career (3.07 ERA vs. National League East).

FINDING HIS TARGET: Making his sixth home start of the season today…is 2-2, 5.40 ERA (28.1 IP, 17 ER) with five walks and 29 strikeouts in five starts at Target Field this year…Twins have won each of his last three home starts, with Maeda going 2-0, 1.40 ERA (19.1 IP, 3 ER) with three walks and 24 strikeouts…won his last home start on August 5 vs. Arizona, a 12-1 Twins’ victory (6.0 IP, 2 H, 1R/ER, 1 HR, 0 BB, 7 K)…is 1-5, 2.89 ERA (37.1 IP, 12 ER) with 12 walks and 47 strikeouts in eight road starts in 2023.

In four career home starts against Detroit, Maeda is 1-0, 2.70 ERA (23.1 IP, 7 ER) with five walks, 29 strikeouts and a .150 (12-for-80) opponent batting average; Twins are 3-1 in those starts.

In 84 career home appearances (66 starts), he is 35-21, 3.17 ERA (402.2 IP, 142 ER) with 101 walks and 444 strikeouts…is 27-27, 4.55 ERA (425.0 IP, 215 ER) with 136 walks and 466 strikeouts in 98 career road appearances (82 starts).

THE ARSENAL: Has used a five-pitch mix this year, throwing his slider and split finger the most; he utilizes the pair a combined 65.1 percent of the time…favors his split finger (187/318 – 58.8%) against lefties and mostly uses his slider (238/361 – 65.9%) and sinker (63/63 – 100%) against righties…opposing hitters went 0-for-7 with two strikeouts against his fastball in his last start on August 10 at Detroit…here’s a breakdown of his repertoire:

PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (#, vs. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
Slider (81.6)……………………. 34.6% (361 pitches, 238/123)…………. .229 (22-for-96), 8 2B, 6 HR, 30 K
Split Finger (84.0)……………. 30.5% (318 pitches, 131/187)…………. .185 (15-for-81), 1 2B, 2 HR, 28 K
4-Seam Fastball (90.8)…….. 25.1% (262 pitches, 146/116)…. .298 (14-for-47), 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 18 K
Sinker (90.1) ……………………….. 6.0% (63 pitches, 63/0) ………………………………………… .250 (4-for-16)
Curveball (75.8)…………………… 3.6% (38 pitches, 8/30) ………………………………………….. .250 (1-for-4)

Averaged 91.9 mph on his four-seam fastball in his last start on August 10 at Detroit, his second-highest average four-seamer velocity in a game this season (92.3 on July 30 at Kansas City).

LEFT/RIGHT: Right-handed hitters are slashing .229/.270/.450 with 43 strikeouts and a .720 OPS against Maeda this year…left-handed hitters are slashing .231/.293/.327 with 33 strikeouts and a .620 OPS…in his last start on August 10 at Detroit, righties went 2-for13 four strikeouts off him and lefties went 1-for-7 with one home run (R. Greene), just his second homer allowed to a left-handed hitter this season (A. Verdugo, April 20 at Boston).

Righties are batting just .206 (329-for-1599) with a .613 OPS and 542 strikeouts vs. Maeda in his career…owns the third-lowest opponent batting average and fourth-lowest OPS vs. righties since 2016 (min 750.0 IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (.181 BAA, .532 OPS), Jacob deGrom (.203 BAA, .568 OPS) and Clayton Kershaw (.610 OPS).

Lefties are hitting .249 (373-for-1500) with a .736 OPS and 368 strikeouts off Maeda.

LIMITING DAMAGE: Has allowed one-or-fewer home runs in each of his 13 starts this season… last allowed multiple homers on August 3, 2021 at Cincinnati (3 HR)…his 16-start streak since August 8, 2021 without allowing multiple homers is the second longest of his career (17; September 21, 2017-July 11, 2018 with LAD)…his current streak is the second-longest active streak among Twins starters, trailing only Sonny Gray’s 49-start streak since September 29, 2021, which is the second-longest active streak in baseball (52 – LAA’s Patrick Sandoval).

SUMMER BREEZE: In 12 starts in August with Minnesota (since 2020), Maeda is 6-3 with a 3.21 ERA (70.0 IP, 25 ER), 13 walks, 76 strikeouts and a .183 (46-for-252) opponent batting average…in 34 career appearances in August (30 starts), he is 14-8, 3.97 ERA (170.0 IP, 75 ER) with 43 walks, 191 strikeouts and a .206 (129-for-627) opponent batting average, the fourth-lowest opponent batting average in baseball since 2016 (min. 30 August starts).