After dismantling, new-look Twins take series from first-place Tigers

The Twins look quite a bit different than they did last week, but maybe that's not such a bad thing. Despite being dismantled before the trade deadline, much of the team's core remains in place. And to supplement the holdovers, a wave of newcomers has joined the roster with a hunger to prove that they belong.

This new-look Twins team cruised past the Tigers 9-4 on Wednesday afternoon to take the series from the AL Central leaders at Comerica Park. The Twins got contributions from up and down their lineup and an impressive pitching performance from a recent waiver claim making his Minnesota debut.

Luke Keaschall was a big part of the story in his second game off of the IL. After homering and driving in three in his first game back with the Twins on Tuesday, the organization's No. 3 prospect picked up right where he left off. Keaschall opened the scoring with a two-out, two-run double in the first inning, giving himself an eight-game hitting streak to begin his career. He later drove in a third run with another double.

A trio of Tigers homers off of Twins starter Pierson Ohl gave Detroit a 4-3 lead in the third inning and knocked Ohl out of the game. But Minnesota's offense had plenty of punching left to do. Brooks Lee, after singling and scoring in the second inning, launched a 430-foot bomb to the deepest park of the park in the fourth, tying the game at 4-4.

430 ft!!!!! 🚀 pic.twitter.com/svZZAgtHIO
— Twins.TV (@twinstv) August 6, 2025

Ryan Jeffers smoked a go-ahead RBI double in the fifth before Keaschall drove him in. The Twins chased Tigers starter Jack Flaherty after 4.2 innings, having racked up eight hits and six earned runs against him. And in the sixth, Austin Martin and Alan Roden hit their second major-league home runs — Martin's first of the season and Roden's first since being acquired by the Twins — to add to the lead. The Twins would tack on a ninth run in the seventh.

Roden, Jeffers, Lee, and Keaschall all recorded multi-hit games.

Another big story from this one was the performance of Thomas Hatch, who the Twins claimed off waivers from the Royals this week. The veteran took over for Ohl in the third inning and pitched all the way into the eighth without allowing a run. He finished with 4.1 scoreless innings of work in his Twins debut, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out three. It was a strong first impression.

Kody Funderburk and another newcomer, Brooks Kriske, finished off the win for the Twins, who are 54-60. They're 3-3 since completing the trade deadline fire sale that made headlines around the league, and they might be getting Byron Buxton back for this weekend's series at Target Field against the Royals. The Tigers fell to 66-50 but remain comfortably atop the division.

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