Top prospect Jackson Jobe earns 1st major league win as Tigers top Twins 4-0

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jackson Jobe pitched six shutout innings to earn his first major league win on Saturday as the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-0.

Spencer Torkelson homered and drove in three runs for the Tigers, who have won seven of their last eight.

Jobe (1-0), the third pick of the 2021 amateur draft and the overall No. 3 prospect per Baseball America, cruised through the Twins’ lineup after earning no-decisions in his previous two starts. The 22-year-old right-hander allowed just three baserunners — two singles and a walk — while striking out two batters.

Brenan Hanifee, Tyler Holton and John Brebbia each pitched a scoreless inning of relief for Detroit.

Chris Paddack (0-2) gave up two runs — one earned — on two hits with two walks and five strikeouts over five innings for Minnesota, which at 4-11 is off to the second-worst start in team history.

Top prospect Jackson Jobe earns 1st major league win as Tigers top Twins 4-0 | iNFOnews.ca — Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jackson Jobe (21) winds up to deliver during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first inning. Zack McKinstry led off with a walk, and Kerry Carpenter followed with a chopper to the right of second base. Carlos Correa fielded the ball cleanly but his throw on the run was wide of first base, allowing McKinstry to take third. He then scored on Torkelson’s sacrifice fly.

They doubled their lead in the fourth when Torkelson hit a leadoff single and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Justyn-Henry Mellow.

Key moment

Reliever Kody Funderburk — just recalled from Triple-A St. Paul — took over for Paddack in the sixth inning. Carpenter led off with a single and Torkelson followed with a blast off the facing of the scoreboard above the bullpen in left-center, giving the Tigers a 4-0 lead.

Key stat

Shaky fielding has hurt the Twins during their sluggish start. Correa’s error was the team’s 12th of the season — and eighth in the past five games, four of them losses.

Up next

RHP Casey Mize (2-0, 0.77) of the Tigers will face RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (0-1, 5.59) in Sunday’s series finale.