Detroit Tigers' Kenta Maeda racks up seven strikeouts in 1-0 win against Minnesota Twins

LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins, 1-0, on Tuesday at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.

The Tigers are 11-7-1 in Grapefruit League play.

What happened

It was a one-run game for almost the entire game.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Kerry Carpenter tripled — with a 106.9 mph exit velocity — off right-hander Joe Ryan and scored on Javier Báez's sacrifice fly. The three-bagger from Carpenter marked his second hit and first extra-base hit of spring training, spanning five games.

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Right-hander Kenta Maeda, who pitched for the Twins from 2020-23, faced his old team for the first time since signing a two-year, $24 million contract with the Tigers in free agency this offseason.

His fastball averaged 89.2 mph in his third start of spring training, down from 89.3 mph in his first start and 89.5 mph in his second start. He averaged 91 mph with his fastball last season.

"Velocity-wise, I'm pretty satisfied with where I am," Maeda said in Japanese, through interpreter Dai Sekizaki. "Ideally, if I could pick it up a little more, that would be better, but then again, there was a little fatigue left in me, but as we go further into the spring and open the season, the velocity should go up."

Manager A.J. Hinch isn't worried.

"Velocity really doesn't matter with him ever," Hinch said. "He's going to be just maybe a tick higher during the season than he is now. As long as his secondary stuff has finish, and you see late darting action, or if he can throw the two different sliders, it's the art of pitching. We knew coming in that the velo wasn't going to be a big part of it, so it doesn't concern me at all."

But Maeda showcased elite secondary pitches.

The 35-year-old, who tossed four scoreless innings, struck out seven batters and walked two. He recorded 13 swings and misses: three sliders, one fastball, eight splitters and one curveball. The Twins whiffed eight times on 12 swings against Maeda's splitter.

Starting off

All seven of Maeda's strikeouts were swinging: Emmanuel Rodriguez (81 mph splitter), Jair Camargo (82.7 mph slider), Austin Martin (82.5 mph splitter), Niko Goodrum (81.6 mph splitter), Anthony Prato (80.1 mph slider), Rodriguez (82.7 mph splitter) and Matt Wallner (90 mph fastball).

"I don't think I've played with everyone in the lineup," Maeda said, "but nonetheless, it was fun to face the Twins. I got to say hello and see the familiar faces."

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A strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play — from catcher Carson Kelly to Báez covering second base — eliminated a leadoff single from Alex Kirilloff, one of the only big-league regulars in Minnesota's lineup, in the first inning. In the second inning, Maeda picked off Yunior Severino on a throw to Mark Canha, an outfielder playing first base.

Maeda threw 24 sliders, 20 four-seam fastballs, 19 splitters and two curveballs. The velocity on all four pitches was down from last year's averages.

He threw 36 of 65 pitches for strikes.

At the plate

The Tigers have one of the best pitchers in the American League Central in Tarik Skubal, but don't forget about Ryan as one of the division's elite. He has dominated the Tigers across six starts in his three-year career: 3.57 ERA, five walks and 45 strikeouts.

Ryan, 27, was at his best in the spring training showdown, completing four innings of one-run ball on three hits. He finished with zero walks and six strikeouts.

"I'm really good friends with Joe," Maeda said. "We always keep in touch."

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The Twins' pitcher struck out five of six batters in the third and fourth innings, in order: Akil Baddoo, Zach McKinstry, Mark Canha, Carpenter and Báez.

Ryan posted a 4.51 ERA in 29 starts last season.

On the mound

Right-hander Jackson Jobe, the Tigers' top pitching prospect and the third-best on MLB Pipeline's top-100 list, entered for his first-ever appearance in big-league spring training, protecting a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning.

The Tigers, under former general manager Al Avila, selected Jobe out of high school in Oklahoma with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 draft.

"I've been begging (to pitch in a game), but at the same time, I'm trying to respect them," Jobe said. "I finally got my opportunity. I was definitely nervous. I feel good about it, and I'm really glad that they gave me the opportunity to go out there."

The 21-year-old stole the show with three pitches above 100 mph, maxing out at 101.8 mph. He struck out two batters — Dylan Neuse (called strike, 100.6 mph fastball) and Willie Joe Garry (swinging strike, 86 mph changeup) — for the second and third outs to complete a scoreless ninth inning.

Jobe earned the save with three up, three down.

"Very impressive," Hinch said. "Some of the best stuff you'll see. I'm glad that he settled down after a couple of misfires early. He earned that inning by making sure that he did his work and paid attention to detail during the first part of spring."

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Between Maeda and Jobe, right-handers Alex Faedo and Beau Brieske each pitched two innings. Faedo retired all six batters through the fifth and sixth innings, with two strikeouts. Brieske had a walk and a strikeout across the seventh and eighth innings.

Faedo needed 21 pitches (13 strikes); Brieske needed 35 pitches (22 strikes).

"The secondary pitches are going to be big for Beau, his ability to land them," Hinch said. "Faedo continues to pound the strike zone. Both of them have had good springs. It's going to be a fun next two weeks."

Three stars

1. Maeda, 2. Faedo, 3. Jobe.

Next up

Wednesday (1:05 p.m.) vs. Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Kenta Maeda strikes out 7 as Detroit Tigers top Twins, 1-0, in spring