The Minnesota Twins absolutely throttled the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, smashing them 15-2 and somehow making their Monday beatdown look mild. It was an ugly, brutal showing, especially for Troy Melton on the mound, but once Kyle Finnegan stepped in, the game officially turned into an outright farce. The Tigers couldn’t catch a break, and by the time Finnegan was done, this one was already in the books.
Melton’s Nightmare Start and the Near Catastrophe
Detroit actually started reasonably well, which feels like a lifetime ago now. Kevin McGonigle and Gleyber Torres singled off Twins opener Andrew Morris to kick things off. McGonigle made it to third after Dillon Dingler flew out to Walker Jenkins in center. Then, in his return to the lineup, Riley Greene grounded out for an RBI, giving the Tigers an early 1-0 lead. But that was all they’d get in the top of the first, as Hao-Yu Lee lined out.
Troy Melton took the bump in the bottom half, looking to hold that slim lead. He got the first two outs, but then the wheels started to wobble. He threw three fastballs away from Kody Clemens, falling behind in the count. Clemens didn’t hesitate, absolutely crushing a fastball that was up and in the zone for a solo shot to right field, his 24th homer of the year. The Twins weren’t done either, with Ryan Jeffers tripling right past Javier Báez in right. Melton finally wrapped up a long first inning by striking out Josh Bell, but the damage was done.
Lefty Conner Prielipp took over for Morris, and the Tigers looked like they might get back in it when Spencer Torkelson started the second with a ground rule double to left. Max Clark squared up to bunt, but Prielipp’s heater was wild, heading right for his head. Fortunately, Clark ducked just in time, and the fastball only clipped the top of his helmet. Two on, nobody out, and Detroit was in business. But Báez, in a moment that just encapsulated the day, quickly closed up shop with a routine grounder to short that turned into a soul-crushing 6-4-3 double play. John Peck, in his first major league at-bat, grounded out to shortstop too. Talk about a brutal welcome.
Defensive Woes and the Finnegan Farce
Melton actually put together a quicker second frame, getting Trevor Larnach to fly out and Royce Lewis to pop out. Kaelen Culpepper, the Twins’ young shortstop, grounded out to Peck, who was playing shortstop with McGonigle at DH, and the third inning started with the game still tied 1-1.
McGonigle tapped one back to Prielipp to start the third. Torres then bit on a slider and struck out, but Dingler lined a single to left to keep things moving. Greene dug in, but Prielipp stayed with his 90 mph slider down and away, punching out Greene to end the threat. Jenkins bounced a tricky one off the mound to start the bottom of the third, but Peck made the play and threw him out. Keaschall flew out routinely to Báez. Melton, getting ahead of Brooks Lee with a changeup and a split, finally whiffed him with a good curveball to end the inning, bringing his pitch count to 49. Prielipp punched out Lee with a changeup away to open the fourth. Torkelson actually saw the changeup better, but what followed was a nightmare. The defense was just atrocious, and once Kyle Finnegan took the mound, it all became a complete joke, turning into a full-blown farce that saw the Twins pile on.
The 15-2 final score tells you everything you need to know about this one. It was ugly from top to bottom, especially after that initial spark. You gotta wonder how a team bounces back after a walloping like this, especially when the defense is leaving pitchers out to dry. They’ve got to find a way to tighten things up, or these kinds of beatings are gonna keep coming.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bless You Boys.
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