Twins 8, Tigers 1: Matt Boyd bludgeoned by Minnesota offense in loss

DETROIT — What should have been an easy task for Matt Boyd turned into his worst start since mid-June. With the offense asleep at the helm and only Buck Farmer’s solid relief outing to cushion the blow, the Tigers lost 8-1 to the Twins.

Boyd has been dependable in his last 11 starts, so at some point he was due for a stinker. But one would not have expected him to collapse against the Twins, the worst team in baseball this year. Yet, flounder he did, and in just 3 ²⁄₃ innings of work, Boyd left having sunk Detroit into a 7-1 hole.

It didn’t help that the offense was found searching at the plate once again. After scoring 35 runs between Aug. 29 and Sept. 5 (four of which scored more than four runs), Detroit has gone six games without scoring more than four runs in a game. They’ve scored just 16 runs since Sept. 6, not including Tuesday night.

The one bright spot in the night was Farmer, who put up a splendid outing in long relief to save the bullpen. While the offense was busy stranding runners left and right, he was dispatching Twins hitters with ease. Both the changeup and four-seam fastball had plenty of life to them and his delivery appeared effortless throughout.

ROARS:

Buck Farmer: Where Boyd struggled, Farmer flourished. He struck out the first four batters faced and gave Detroit 4 ¹⁄₃ innings of scoreless baseball. There was trouble in the eighth when he walked two and gave up a single to load the bases, but a weak grounder to first ended it.

HISSES:

Matt Boyd: Facing a dejected Twins lineup, Boyd didn’t have ... well, anything going for him. He finished having allowed seven runs on eight hits, a walk, two strikeouts, and a home run. Not great, Bob.

Tigers offense: That first-inning run notwithstanding, the offense loaded the bases and had a two-on chance in the game. They left six men on-base.

STATS AND INFO:

• Matt Boyd's seven runs are the most he's allowed since before his return to the Tigers' rotation on July 9. In 11 games played entering Tuesday night, he had given up no more than three runs, and seven of those he limited to two runs or less for a 2.56 ERA.
• This is just the fourth time in 15 starts (17 games) this season that Boyd has allowed more than three runs in a start. The last time he gave up seven in a start was on June 18 in a 16-5 loss to the Royals — he lasted 3 ²⁄₃ innings on eight hits then, too. Tuesday’s start tied with that game for his worst start of the year.
• Buck Farmer's 4 ¹⁄₃ clean innings are the longest he's appeared in a game for the Tigers since Aug. 24, 2015 when he started against the Reds. He went 5 ¹⁄₃ innings and gave up three runs in a 12-5 loss that day.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH: