Another late rally comes up short for Twins in loss to Tigers

On the bright side, David Festa pitched a strong game in his season debut Friday night.

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher David Festa delivers a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on April 11, 2025. | Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

It was another game where the Minnesota Twins came up just short.

Ty France hit a two-out RBI single as the Twins tried to mount a ninth-inning rally, but they came up just a little short in a 7-6 loss to the Detroit Tigers Friday night at Target Field in Minneapolis. It's Minnesota's second straight one-run defeat.

France also put the Twins (4-10) on the scoreboard first with an RBI single in the second inning. He finished 3 for 4 with the two RBIs. The Tigers (8-5) didn't knot the game until the fifth inning when Gleyber Torres hit an RBI single to make it 1-1.

Minnesota plated three runs in the fifth inning and appeared to take control of the game. Carlos Correa got the run started with an RBI single, Byron Buxton drove in a run with a fielder's choice and Edouard Julien hit an RBI double to make it 4-1.

That lead, however, didn't last long as Jorge Alcala ran into trouble in the sixth inning. He issued back-to-back walks to Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson to lead off the inning before giving up an infield single to Colt Keith that loaded the bases. Zach McKinstry hit a two-run single the next at-bat. Alcala was then pulled for Justin Topa, who gave up an RBI single to Dillon Dingler before Trey Sweeney plated another run on a fielder's choice to make it a 5-4 Tigers advantage.

Detroit took a 6-4 lead when Keith hit an RBI single off Topa in the seventh inning.

Buxton got one back with a 394-foot solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, but Javier Baez's RBI double in the eighth inning put the Tigers back up 7-5. The Twins found one run in the ninth, but couldn't fully close the gap.

David Festa, who was recalled on Friday when Pablo Lopez was placed on the injured list, made his season debut for the Twins and pitched a strong game, allowing just one unearned run off three hits while fanning four across 4 2/3 innings.

The Twins and Tigers meet for the second of their three-game series at 1:10 p.m. CT Saturday at Target Field.