Buxton Homers, Twins Top Tigers 4-1 for Third Straight Win

Friday, June 27th, 2025

DETROIT -- The Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-1 on Friday night, securing their third consecutive victory. Byron Buxton was a key contributor, hitting a home run and scoring twice.

David Festa earned the win for the Twins, pitching 5 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out six and not walking a batter. Jhoan Durán closed it out in the ninth for his 12th save. Sawyer Gipson-Long took the loss for the Tigers, giving up three runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Brooks Lee also contributed offensively for the Twins, driving in two runs.

Minnesota opened the scoring in the fourth inning, taking a 1-0 lead on back-to-back doubles by Matt Wallner and Brooks Lee. The lead was extended to 2-0 an inning later when Byron Buxton launched a solo home run to left field.

The Twins added their third run in the sixth. With a runner on first and one out, Brant Hurter replaced Sawyer Gipson-Long. After a wild pitch, Hurter walked Ty France, and Brooks Lee followed with an RBI single. Hurter then hit Kody Clemens to load the bases, but Carlos Hernández entered and escaped the jam by getting Harrison Bader to strike out and Christian Vazquez to ground out.

Minnesota tacked on an insurance run in the seventh. Byron Buxton led off with a walk, stole second, advanced to third on Trevor Larnach's groundout, and scored on a squeeze bunt by Willi Castro.

The Tigers threatened in the seventh with two runners on, but the inning ended with a force out at third and a pop out. Detroit managed to get on the board in the eighth when Colt Keith tripled and scored on a single by Gleyber Torres. Zach McKinstry singled to put runners on the corners, but Griffin Jax ended the threat by striking out Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson.

Key Moment

A potential Tigers rally in the sixth was thwarted. After Gleyber Torres' hit with two outs, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli brought in reliever Danny Coulombe to face pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones, a move by Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. Baldelli's move paid off as Jones grounded out to Brooks Lee at third, resulting in a force out at second. Earlier in the inning, Lee had also made a difficult defensive play on a grounder by Javier Báez to help limit the threat.

Key Stat

The loss broke a strong trend for the Tigers, who entered the game with a 21-5 record in series openers this season, including an impressive 12-1 mark at home.

Up Next

The series continues Saturday with Detroit's Casey Mize (7-2, 2.88 ERA) scheduled to pitch against Minnesota's Bailey Ober (4-5, 4.90 ERA).

In summary

The Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-1 on June 27, 2025, for their third straight win. Key contributions came from Byron Buxton (homer, 2 runs), David Festa (5 2/3 scoreless innings for the win), Jhoan Durán (save), and Brooks Lee (2 RBIs). The Twins built an early lead with timely hitting, while the Tigers' offense was largely contained. The loss ended Detroit's strong record in series-opening games at home. The teams are scheduled to play again on Saturday.

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