Here are two things that do not seem like they can both be true, but are both true:
- Matt Boyd is pretty good this year
- Matt Boyd is very, very bad third time through the order
I think the positive of knowing that these two things are both true is that A.J. Hinch does seem to have realized it as well, because he used Boyd just enough in this game to keep things from getting too ugly (benefited a great deal but a Tigers offense that was actually awake).
So let’s see how the game went.
Sonny Gray was on the mound for the Twins to start things off and went 1-2-3 against the top of the Tigers’ order. Boyd toed the rubber in the bottom of the inning and gave up a one-out double to Carlos Correa, but that was it for the Twins for baserunners.
The Tigers had two outs in the top of the second when Andy Ibanez drew a walk. Miguel Cabrera singled, and Matt Vierling singled to bring Ibanez home and put the Tigers on the board. Onto the bottom of the inning and it was a shaky one for Boyd. Royce Lewis got a one-out single, then Ryan Jeffers singled. A Willi Castro single scored Lewis, and then a Donovan Solano home run brought in three more runs. Twins were up 4-1 just like that.
Another 1-2-3 inning for the top of the third, and Boyd regained his control in the bottom of the third inning as he gave up only one single to Kyle Farmer.
The fourth inning saw the Tigers get a little pep in their step, a much needed sign from this team that’s been dragging a bit since they lost Riley Greene. Javier Baez singled to start things off and ended up on second thanks to a passed ball from Jeffers. Nick Maton and Andy Ibanez walked back-to-back to load things up, then Cabrera grounded into a double play to drive in Baez. Vierling walked, but no additional runs scored. Boyd then had a nice bottom of the inning with two quick outs followed by a double from Castro that became an out when he pushed his luck heading for third.
The Twins were done with Gray in the fifth, but the Tigers weren’t done with scoring. Spencer Torkelson reached on a one-out single. Then Kerry Carpenter singled to follow that. A Baez triple (!!) scored the two baserunners. Eric Haase replace Maton and immediately grounded out, but it was enough to score Baez. The Tigers were up 5-4 at the middle of the inning. Boyd gave up a leadoff walk to Solano, but Correa grounded into a double play to erase the threat, and the inning ended one batter later.
The sixth inning went 1-2-3 for both sides and that was going to be it for Boyd. His final line for the day was 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 HR on 84 pitches. Admittedly I am not a manager and I would not have brought him back out in the sixth, but facing the bottom of the lineup seemed to work out well, and Hinch wasn’t going to risk it for the seventh.
The seventh inning was likewise runner-less (good job Will Vest).
In the top of the eighth, Haase got a one-out single, but Ibanez grounded into a double play to end the top half of the inning. Jason Foley was out in the bottom half and went 1-2-3.
As the Tigers went to the ninth, they were hoping to expand the lead and come away with a win. Vierling got a one-out single, then Jake Rogers doubled to put two men in scoring position. Torkelson then doubled to bring them both home. Not to be outdone, Zack Short doubled to score Torkelson. They wanted more runs, they got them. Tigers were up 8-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Alex Lange was in for the bottom of the inning because Hinch was NOT taking chances apparently. Byron Buxton reached on a throwing error from Baez. The one mistake was easily overcome as the next three batters were outs. Tigers… win? They won?
Final: Tigers 8, Twins 4