Six Minnesota Twins pitchers combined to blank the Detroit Tigers on three hits in a 2-0 win in the third game of a four-game series on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Alex Kirilloff and Ryan Jeffers drove in runs for the Twins, who dropped the first two games of the series.
Detroit starter Joey Wentz (1-7) allowed two runs and two hits in six innings. He struck out a career-high nine batters and walked one while also throwing a career-high 107 pitches.
Both teams combined for just six hits in the game and neither had a base runner until Tigers third baseman Zack Short walked with two outs in the fifth.
Miguel Cabrera hit the next pitch into the left-field corner. Short tried to score from first but was thrown out at home on the relay. The Tigers challenged, but the call was upheld.
Wentz retired the first 13 batters before Royce Lewis walked with one out in the fifth. Willi Castro followed with the first base hit for Minnesota, a ground ball through the left side.
After a mound visit, Kirilloff grounded the next pitch into right field to score Lewis from second for a 1-0 lead.
With runners on the corners, Short made a diving backhand stop on a hard grounder by Jeffers and got the force out at second, but Castro scored from third on the play for a 2-0 lead.
In the Twins’ first bullpen game of the year, Jose De Leon made his first start of the season and retired all six batters he faced.
Emilio Pagan followed with 1 2/3 hitless innings before giving way to left-hander Brent Headrick, who was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Saturday and was making his first appearance since April 26.
Headrick allowed one hit in 2 1/3 scoreless innings before Brock Stewart took over in the seventh and retired the side on five pitches.
Griffin Jax gave up a looping single into shallow left by Nick Maton to start the eighth, but the Twins followed with a 5-4-3 double play.
Zach McKinstry led off the ninth with a single off Jhoan Duran, but he also benefited from a 5-4-3 double play before securing his ninth save.
–Field Level Media