DETROIT — The Twins were 18-12 in May and vaulted into first place in the American League Central, where they are now five games ahead of the second-place Chicago White Sox.
June is now here, and the Twins have lost two of three in Detroit with two games remaining, including today's 6:10 matchup that has Twins righthander Bailey Ober (1-1, 3.25 ERA) facing Detroit lefthander Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.44).
The teams split a doubleheader on Tuesday.
The hottest Twin in May was infielder Luis Arraez, who hit .376 with a .480 on-base percentage in 23 games.
Arraez is hitting .351 for the season, third best in the American League behind Boston's J.D. Martinez (.363) and Chicago's Tim Anderson (.356). Arraez's on-base percentage of .442 is best in baseball, and he is hitting .400 in 19 games since coming off the COVID injury list.
Arraez will sit out tonight, however, against the lefthander. Also on the bench are center fielder Byron Buxton and right fielder Max Kepler. Kyle Garlick leads off.
Kody Clemens, the 26-year-old son of Roger, made his major league debut for the Tigers on Tuesday, and is playing left field today as he seeks his first major league hit.
Ober, who spent time on the IL because of a groin pull, is making his seventh start of the season. He has a 4.85 ERA in 13 innings in three career starts against the Tigers.
No new COVID cases for the Twins have been reported yet today.
TWINS LINEUP
Kyle Garlick, LF
Gary Sanchez, DH
Jorge Polanco, 2B
Gio Urshela, 3B
Trevor Larnach, RF
Jose Miranda, 1B
Ryan Jeffers, C
Jermaine Palacios, SS
Nick Gordon, CF
TIGERS LINEUP
Willi Castro, RF
Harold Castro, SS
Jonathan Schoop, 2B
Miguel Cabrera, DH
Spencer Torkelson, 1B
Kody Clemens, LF
Jeimer Candelario, 3B
Tucker Barnhart, C
Derek Hill, CF
