Byron Buxton watching a 94 mph fastball down the middle of the zone for strike three to end the game and give the Tigers a 4-0 win at Target Field on Saturday was a fitting conclusion to another poor performance from the Twins’ offense.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told the media postgame that the whole team has struggled, not just one or two guys.
“We need to make some adjustments; we need to do some different things,” Baldelli said. “[We could] try some guys in different spots, and that could be one way of shaking things up.”
Twins continued to look lost at the plate
With the exception of a few individuals, the Minnesota Twins’ offense has been, to be blunt, terrible this season.
The Twins entered Saturday’s matchup with the Tigers among the bottom of the league in multiple statistical categories: 26th in wOBA (.278), 25th in wRC+ (80) and 27th in batting average (.209).
In Saturday's game against the Tigers, the Twins notched four hits while Detroit collected five. Spencer Torkelson started the scoring in the first inning on a sacrifice fly and hit a two-run home run in the sixth after Justyn-Henry Malloy drove him in on a sacrifice fly in the fourth.
Jackson Jobe earned the win for the Tigers, allowing just two hits and striking out two in six innings.
One reason to believe the Minnesota offense will get back on track is its relatively low Batting Average on Balls in Play (.257, 22nd in MLB), usually an indicator of unluckiness, as the league average tends to be around .300. However, with an average exit velocity of 88.3 mph (27th in MLB), the Twins are largely responsible for their hitting woes.
But when looking at the same stats for the Tigers, a glimpse of hope appears for Twins fans. Despite an average exit velocity of 87.7 mph (29th in MLB), Detroit’s BABIP is third-best across the majors at .328.
A future regression for the Tigers’ offense could be on the horizon, but it’s important to note they are first across MLB in solid contact percentage at 9.6%. In comparison, Minnesota is last at 4.6%, signifying the Twins' offensive struggles are largely their own fault and that the Tigers’ high BABIP might actually be sustainable.
Chris Paddack bounced back
One good sign from the Twins’ ugly game was the resurgence of Chris Paddack.
With his starting rotation spot potentially on the line, Paddack allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks while collecting five strikeouts in five innings of work before Kody Funderburk came in and gave up a pair of runs across two innings. Jhoan Duran hurled a scoreless inning of relief. Jorge Alcala, who had a rough outing the night before, did the same.
With David Festa’s impressive start on Friday and Zebby Mathews looking like a future MLB ace, Paddack will have to continue what he did against the Tigers in future starts to avoid a demotion to the bullpen.
The final game of the three-game set between the Twins and Tigers is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. on Sunday.