Tarik Skubal outdueled by Taj Bradley as Tigers lose 4-2 vs Twins
· Yahoo Sports
MINNEAPOLIS – Tarik Skubal vs. Taj Bradley.
A pitching duel between Skubal and Bradley defined the second of four games in the series between the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins on Tuesday, April 7, at Target Field – at least until the fifth inning.
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That's when the Twins scored four runs to chase Skubal from his third start of the 2026 season with two outs in the fifth inning, marking his shortest non-injury start since Aug. 8, 2025.
The Tigers lost, 4-2.
Another loss gives the Tigers (4-7) all seven of their losses in the past nine games. There's a chance for redemption against the Twins (5-6) on Wednesday (7:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet), with left-hander Framber Valdez slated for his third start.
The result of Tuesday's pitching duel?
Skubal, 29, allowed four runs on eight hits and two walks with seven strikeouts across 4⅔ innings, throwing 95 pitches; Bradley, 25, surrendered one run on six hits and zero walks (two hit-by-pitches) with 10 strikeouts across 6⅓ innings, throwing 104 pitches.
The Twins acquired Bradley – the No. 150 overall pick in the 2018 draft – from the Tampa Bay Rays at the 2025 trade deadline, giving up right-handed reliever Griffin Jax.
In three starts, Bradley owns a 0.54 ERA with four walks and 22 strikeouts across 16⅔ innings.
During the scoreless innings, the Tigers were limited in their scoring opportunities against Bradley.
A big opportunity occurred in the second inning with Zach McKinstry's one-out double, Spencer Torkelson's one-out single and Javier Báez's two-out hit-by-pitch, only for Parker Meadows to strike out swinging with runners on the corners and Colt Keith to ground out with the bases loaded.
The Tigers finished 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Meanwhile, Skubal escaped trouble in the second, third and fourth innings as the Twins continued to apply pressure.
The Twins finally got to him in the fifth inning, beginning with back-to-back walks to Byron Buxton and Austin Martin – the first two walks Skubal issued this season. After those walks, Luke Keaschall ripped a changeup into center field for an RBI single.
That put the Twins ahead, 1-0.
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And just like that, Luke gets us on the board!! pic.twitter.com/fdSW1L2wjO
— Twins.TV (@twinstv) April 8, 2026
Moments later, the Twins increased their lead to 4-0 with Ryan Jeffers' two-RBI double and Josh Bell's RBI double. Both walks came on two-strike counts, as did the pair of extra-base hits.
Skubal failed to put hitters away.
And he paid the price.
His pitch mix wasn't impacted by the 44-degree weather at first pitch, as his fastball averaged 96.7 mph, his changeup generated five whiffs on 12 swings and his slider registered six whiffs on 11 swings. The Twins appeared to be on his fastball early and his changeup late.
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And our lead extends to 4️⃣ !!! pic.twitter.com/wsZET2sxkK
— Twins.TV (@twinstv) April 8, 2026
The Tigers attempted to mount a comeback in the seventh inning with back-to-back singles from Torkelson and Meadows. Bradley then struck out Báez for the first out before exiting to a standing ovation.
The Twins turned to left-handed reliever Taylor Rogers for a favorable matchup with Keith, and the Tigers countered by pinch-hitting Jahmai Jones to steal the matchup advantage.
It didn't work out.
Jones flew out for the second out.
Kevin McGonigle, though, put the Tigers on the scoreboard with an RBI single, shooting Rogers' first-pitch elevated sinker into left field to cut the Tigers' deficit to 4-1.
The ABS challenge system changed the game: Jeffers – the Twins' catcher – stranded runners with successful challenges to overturn calls from home-plate umpire Quinn Wolcott.
In the sixth, Jeffers overturned a ball for an inning-ending strikeout of McKinstry, stranding a runner on first base. In the seventh, he overturned a ball for another inning-ending strikeout of Gleyber Torres, stranding runners on first and second base.
As for the Tigers, catcher Dillon Dingler lost his first challenge after winning seven in a row to start the season. He challenged the call from Wolcott in a questionable situation: a first-pitch ball to Jeffers with no outs and no runners on base in the second inning.
Skubal ended up striking out Jeffers on four pitches.
The Tigers missed out again in the eighth inning.
Pinch-hitter Kerry Carpenter matched up against right-handed reliever Eric Orze with runners on first and second base with two outs. He entered Tuesday's game hitting .376 with eight home runs and a 1.076 OPS across 130 plate appearances in 33 career games against the Twins.
This time, Carpenter struck out swinging on a splitter at the bottom of the strike zone.
In the ninth inning, the Tigers trimmed their deficit to 4-2 with doubles from Báez and McGonigle against Orze, then right-handed reliever Justin Topa walked Riley Greene to put runners on the corners with two outs.
Dingler grounded out to end the game.
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers, Tarik Skubal lose 4-2 to Taj Bradley, Minnesota Twins