The American League-leading Detroit Tigers haven’t played division rival Minnesota since mid-April.
That will change this weekend when the Twins head to Detroit for a three-game series that begins on Friday night.
The Tigers took two of three games in Minneapolis during that early-season series. They did the same this week against the visiting Athletics, boosting their record to 51-31.
Kerry Carpenter and Spencer Torkelson, two of Detroit’s top sluggers, broke out of slumps with a homer during the series. Torkelson’s long ball came in the Tigers’ 8-0 win on Thursday.
Torkelson had not gone deep since June 10 until he snapped a 4-for-37 slide during his first at-bat with his 17th homer of the season. He added another hit and a run later in the contest.
“It felt good,” Torkelson said. “It’s baseball. Just the battle of the season. Just riding the wave.”
Minnesota has endured a free fall this month, going 3-15 before winning in its last two games. The Twins pummeled Seattle 10-1 on Thursday.
Right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long (0-0, 4.58 ERA) is expected to pitch bulk innings for the Tigers in the series opener Friday. He has made four appearances this month since returning from elbow and hip injuries that sidelined him all of last season.
His last outing was his longest, as he lasted 6 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay on Saturday. He gave up four runs, including three solo home runs. Detroit used an opener in that contest and lost 8-3.
“Big for him, first off. We want to get him going,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “The word is out that we pound the zone early. He threw a ton of first-pitch strikes, and they were first-pitch swinging from 12:10 p.m. (game time) on. It was good that he could get us into seven innings and be able to hold his stuff.”
Despite the long balls, Gipson-Long said he felt good about his outing.
“I thought I pitched my game pretty well,” he said. “Solo homers, they’re not something you want, but they’re not going to beat you in the long run. If I keep throwing strikes, everything evens out. I feel like staying in the zone, not walking people, throwing to contact, that’s a good approach against any team.”
He’ll face the Twins for the first time. He could take the mound in the first inning.
“I would say I’m leaning slightly toward a traditional start,” Hinch said. “But never doubt that we could make an adjustment.”
The Twins haven’t announced a starter for Friday’s game. Their trip to Detroit was delayed by a lengthy rain delay before their lopsided win against the Mariners.
Their strong pitching the past two days — they posted a 2-0 shutout on Wednesday — came after the staff surrendered 52 runs during a five-game losing streak.
“When your starting pitcher cools the other team down, it just gives you every opportunity to win the game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “The way that I like to think about the game, when you can take the lead in the middle of the game, it tilts everything your way.”
–Field Level Media
