Twins post 6-run 1st, then hold off late Tigers rally

Field Level Media|published: Wed 8th April, 22:57 2026

Apr 8, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins second baseman Luke Keaschall (15) scores during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-Imagn Images

Royce Lewis went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and the Minnesota Twins held on for an 8-6 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.

Byron Buxton went 3-for-4 with a double and scored three runs for Minnesota, which won its third game in a row. Matt Wallner doubled and drove in a run.

Gleyber Torres went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs to lead Detroit, which lost its fourth in a row

Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (1-0) allowed two runs on five hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1) surrendered eight runs on 10 hits in five-plus innings after permitting only two runs (one earned) in his first two starts combined.

Twins southpaw Kody Funderburk recorded the final two outs for his first save of the season.

Minnesota pounced on Valdez for six runs in the bottom of the first.

Buxton hit a leadoff single and came around to score the game's first run on a wild pitch. Ryan Jeffers followed with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0.

Josh Bell added an RBI single and Wallner ripped an RBI double to make it a four-run lead. Lewis capped the big inning with a two-run single to center that scored Bell and Wallner.

Valdez settled down until the fourth, when he gave up another run that put the Twins on top 7-0. Buxton got things going once again as he hit a one-out single, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a single to center by Luke Keaschall.

The Tigers pulled within 7-2 in the sixth. Kerry Carpenter hit a one-out single to score Colt Keith and Dillon Dingler added a two-out single to score Gleyber Torres.

Buxton scored another run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 8-2. Martin got caught in a rundown between first and second and Buxton scampered home before the Tigers could react.

Detroit erupted for four runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to 8-6.

Torres started the comeback attempt with a two-run double to right. Riley Greene pulled the Tigers within three runs on a two-out RBI infield single, and he advanced to third on a single by Dingler and scored on a wild pitch by reliever Cole Sands.

--Field Level Media

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