Minnesota Twins probable pitchers & starting lineups vs. Detroit Tigers, April 12

Can the Twins quiet the roaring Tigers and start to get back on track in the AL Central?

Minnesota Twins v Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins v Detroit Tigers / Brace Hemmelgarn/GettyImages

We didn’t get any baseball on Thursday, as bad weather shifted things to Friday instead.

That’s when the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers will meet for the first time this season, and it’s already a pretty critical matchup for both sides. Detroit got off to a hot start but slowed down recently and sit in third place in the AL Central. It’s one spot ahead of the Twins, who are trying to bounce back from a four game losing streak that finally ended on Wednesday with a 3-2 win over the Dodgers.

Everyone is chasing Cleveland, as the Guardians are 9-3 and the second-best team in the AL behind the Yankees. The chase to catching them starts with beating each other, and the Twins badly need to find a way to win on Friday.

Twins vs. Tigers probable starting pitchers

  • The Twins are sending Pablo Lopez to the mound for his third start of the season, and his second on the road. Last time he started against an AL Central rival on the road he shut down the Kansas City Royals in an Opening Day win. He’ll look to keep that streak alive, while also continuing to shave off his 2.84 ERA which won’t be an easy task against the Tigers lineup.
  • Speaking of tough assignments, the Twins will be trying to keep the winning streak alive against one of the best pitchers in the American League. Detroit is putting Tarik Skubal on the mound, and he’ll be looking to add to his 15 strikeouts so far this season and brings with him a 2.92 ERA. Skubal going up against Lopez is going to hopefully give us a pitchers dual that the Twins find a way to win.

Minnesota Twins starting lineup, April 12

With the Twins facing a lefty on Friday, the lineup is probably going to feature more platooning of the team’s left-handed hitters. It also works in their favor, as Minnesota is slashing .239/.325/.437 against lefties this year.

They’ve only faced two left-handed starters this season and each time we saw someone other that Edouard Julien lead off.

Byron Buxton leadoff on Opening Day against Cole Ragans while Manuel Margot led off against John Paxton on Monday. Julien wasn’t in the lineup either time, which is a strategy that Rocco Baldelli will seemingly stick with against Skubal.

Batting Order

Player

Position

1

Manuel Margot

RF

2

Carlos Correa

SS

3

Byron Buxton

CF

4

Ryan Jeffers

C

5

Jose Miranda

DH

6

Kyle Farmer

3B

7

Austin Martin

LF

8

Carlos Santana

1B

9

Edouard Julien

2B

Detroit Tigers starting lineup, April 12

Batting Order

Player

Position

1

Riley Greene

LF

2

Mark Canha

RF

3

Spencer Torkelson

1B

4

Kerry Carpenter

DH

5

Colt Keith

2B

6

Gio Urshela

3B

7

Parker Meadows

CF

8

Javier Baez

SS

9

Jake Rogers

C

What channel is the Minnesota Twins game on tonight?

  • Date: Friday, April 12th
  • Start Time: 5:40pm CT
  • TV Channel: Bally Sports North
  • Radio: WCCO 830AM | TIBN

How do I stream the Minnesota Twins game tonight?

More Minnesota Twins news and rumors

manual