Bailey Ober gave up just one hit in eight scoreless innings, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 5-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. This win secured the weekend and season series for the Twins against the Tigers.
Ober (10-5) had a career-high 11 strikeouts, marking his third double-digit strikeout game this season. He wasn’t feeling well on Sunday morning and wasn’t sure if he could pitch.
“I didn’t feel great physically, but I kept getting good results, so we kept doing what we were doing,” Ober said.
Willi Castro and Manuel Margot each had three hits for the Twins, who struggled with runners in scoring position, going 2 for 15. Minnesota won two of three games in the series to finish 7-6 against Detroit for the season.
Ober (10-5) allowed only a single to Matt Vierling in the fourth inning and walked two batters.
“We were talking before the game about what he was going to be capable of doing today, but we got the green light he could start,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Then he throws eight scoreless innings with one hit. He was awesome.”
Ober struck out all three batters he faced in the eighth inning.
“I knew going out there I had eight (Ks) and it was getting pretty late in the game,” he said. “I tried to reach back for something extra, and after I got the first two, I knew I had to put (Javier Báez) away.”
He is 3-0 with a 0.69 ERA in four starts against the Tigers this season.
“His arsenal has gotten better and better every time we’ve seen him,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “I don’t know how tall he is — he looks seven feet tall — and it all starts with that elevated fastball, but he’s got four separate pitches he can use.”
Detroit, with only three healthy starting pitchers, used its bullpen for nine innings for the third time in six games. Opener Alex Faedo (5-2) gave up one run in one-plus innings.
The Twins took the lead with Brook Lee’s sacrifice fly in the second inning, and Carlos Santana added another run with a sac fly in the third.
