June 28, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) celebrates with second baseman Willi Castro (50) after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports The Minnesota Twins are eager to return to more familiar surroundings as they return home to open a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
The Twins are feeling good after a nine-game road trip against the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners. They went 6-3 on that trip and won each series 2-1.
It’s the type of consistent success that Twins manager Rocco Baldelli relishes.
“I think we’re progressing as a group,” Baldelli said. “I think we’re continuing to improve this year. You can see it, I think, in the way the at-bats are going, the way they’re actually going.”
Meanwhile, Detroit is looking to win two straight for the first time since June 2-4.
The Tigers are coming off a 7-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Detroit, which had also lost 16 of its previous 22 games.
“You can’t complain about a win, especially the way things went,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “We’re going to leave here with a win, get on the plane, have a good flight, get a day off. We obviously needed the win, no matter what it came down to.”
The Tigers are counting on left-hander Tarik Skubal (9-3, 2.32 ERA) to try to continue their success. Skubal had an All-Star campaign with 112 strikeouts in 97 innings.
In his last outing, Skubal pitched seven scoreless innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, one of the best teams in the major leagues. He scattered three hits, allowed one walk and struck out seven batters.
“He’s a guy,” Hinch said after his performance. “He hit 100, but he also did a much better job of combining his other pitches. He did it all tonight.”
Skubal has faced Minnesota 10 times in his career. He is 3-3 with a 3.53 ERA, including one start this season in which he pitched five scoreless innings and earned the win on April 12.
The Twins will respond with right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (3-1, 3.41 ERA), who is expected to make his 14th start of the season and 15th of his career. Richardson is looking for his second straight victory after holding Arizona to three runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings in an 8-3 victory Wednesday.
Woods Richardson is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and eight strikeouts in 11 innings in two career starts against Detroit.
Carlos Correa is the Twins’ leading hitter with a .311 batting average and an .822 on-base and slugging percentage. He has nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 65 games.
Detroit’s most influential hitter is Riley Greene, who is hitting .253 with 15 homers and 41 RBIs in 83 games. He has an OPS of .831, which is significantly higher than anyone else on the team.
The Tigers are 4-3 against the Twins this season and have outscored them 32-29.
Minnesota is 23-16 at home this season. The Tigers are 19-24 on the road.
–Field level media
