Detroit Tigers, Game 10: One thing I loved, one thing I didn't

April 7, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

The News' Tony Paul gives his quick takes on the Tigers' 7-3 loss to the Twins on Monday:

One thing I loved

On a whole, Casey Mize wasn't great. But he showed some mettle in the second inning when a bad defensive blunder by left fielder Matt Vierling put the Tigers in a big bind, with Twins on second and third with nobody out.

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Mize barely flinched when Vierling dropped the ball. He got right back into business mode and used his devastating slider to strike out Matt Waller and James Outman (that's eight K's and counting on the splitter this season), then Brooks Lee flew out to end the threat and keep the game scoreless (til the next inning, anyway).

One teammate picking up another. That's good baseball. A good lesson for kids out there: Don't get mad. Get tough.

Mize got tough, though things got a lot tougher in his second start of 2026 ...

Casey Mize will have more enjoyable outings
4.1 IP
7 H
5 ER
3 BB
4 K
90 pitches
58 strikes
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) April 7, 2026

The Tigers are 4-6, and have lost two straight in a young season that's been all streaks so far (win two, lost four, win two, lose two). But, hey, at least Tuesday is Skubal Day.

One thing I didn't

I never thought I'd miss the Metrodome. But, man, the players probably would've rather played at that roofed landfill (RIP) than the open-air and beautiful Target Field on Tuesday night.

First-pitch temperature was 37 degrees, among the lowest in Target Field history, and it dipped near 30 by game's end. Given how the players were bundled up in everything but snowsuits, it felt a whole lot colder than that.

It made for a tough night for pitchers, including starters Casey Mize and Joe Ryan, and apparently the fielders, too. It wasn't a clean game. The cold also made for embarrassingly small crowd. I haven't seen an announced attendance figure yet. Makes sense. I barely saw any fans.

Hey @twins this is AWESOME pic.twitter.com/F4vBvNHnl2
— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) April 6, 2026

Three stars

▶ Zach McKinstry

▶ Kevin McGonigle

▶ Drew Anderson

Player of the game

▶ Twins' two-out hitting — six RBIs

Luke's like we're back in the lead‼️ pic.twitter.com/7Y9vyfH3O7
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 7, 2026

Umpire of the game

▶ Rob Drake — Both teams ran out of challenges, and maybe as early as we've seen in 2026. Drake was 4-for-5 on challenges, a day after Mark Wegner got exposed by Tigers catcher/ABS wiz Dillon Dingler in Detroit.

Inanimate object of the game

▶ The Target Field backstop — The limestone really cost Detroit in the eighth, when a perfect bounce back to catcher Victor Caratini ran Spencer Torkelson and the Tigers out of a big inning.