Detroit's Offense Remains Quiet In Third Straight Loss
For a season that's still in the early stages, I feel like I've already had to rinse and repeat so many of my postgame takes to begin 2026. Maybe part of that is the fact that what we're watching right now feels very reminiscent of how 2025 ended, which is only going to anger the fans who had to watch a team completely collapse down the stretch a year ago. Tarik Skubal is not off the hook tonight.
It was a rare outing where he was getting ahead in counts and having trouble putting guys away. He's always had his struggles at Target Field. I still don't think that this Twins team is going to be good, but they have quite a few guys who seem to know how to hit Detroit Tigers pitching.
I wish I could explain that. The conditions probably have something to do with it. There's a reason there were only about 15 people at Target Field tonight, but whether Tarik is pitching in front of a crowd of 15 or 15,000, you expect him to bring his A game, and he didn't do that tonight.
As ineffective as he was, and it was only the third time in which she's failed to complete five innings since the beginning of last season, Detroit's offense was once again stagnant. I wish that I could bring a certain sense of optimism and say that I'm seeing at bats that point to a corner, potentially being turned, and this is true for Kevin McGonigle and pretty much no one else. The team isn't hitting for power; only two players have home runs right now, and the issues we've seen over the last few seasons are back in full force in 2026.
Taj Bradley was fantastic tonight, and he deserves a lot of credit, but this is a game plan that people have had against Detroit over the last few seasons, and very rarely has Detroit's offense been able to adjust. Look, there's a chance that at some point in the coming days, Detroit has a huge inning that kicks off a big rally and we see the offense finally start to get going. I'm sure that will happen eventually, but until it does, I can't help but sympathize with the fans' frustrations.