Game Of The Week: Twins vs Tigers July 12

Matchup

The Detroit Tigers will travel to Minnesota to play the Twins for the final four games of the first half starting on Thursday July 9th. So far this season the Tigers hold a commanding 7-2 advantage over the Twins but as of July 6th, the Tigers are in third place and trail the second place Twins in the standings by 2.5 games.

Last Season

Tigers: 

During the 2014 season the Tigers were the team to beat leading the Kansas City Royals by 6.5 games at the break. Eventually they would finished the season winning 90 games, but won the division over the Royals by just a game. In the first round of the play-offs they were knocked out by the Baltimore Orioles in a three-game sweep.

Twins:

At the break in 2014, the Twins were in last place and already 10.5 games behind the league leading Tigers. When the season ended, the Twins remained in last and lost 92 games and were 20 games out of first.

Managers

Tigers:

Brad Ausmus took over as skipper of the Tigers for the 2014 season and earned a Division Crown and a 90 win season in his first year.  But a quick exit in the playoff’s might have had people wondering if Ausmus could actually win a championship as a skipper. He was a lone all-star with the Tigers, with whom he spent two seasons with from 1999-2000.  He made it to the World Series with the Houston Astros in 2005, but they lost to the Chicago White Sox 4-0.

Twins:

Paul Molitor took over as the skipper of the Twins from Ron Gardenhire, who spent 12 years as the Twins manager. In his first season at the helm, Molitor has the Twins in second place at 43-29 and four games out of first. As a player he was a seven-time all star and finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting four times, finishing second in 1993, the same season he became a World Champion with the Blue Jays.  Now Molitor looks to use his winning experience to lead the Twins to the play-offs.

Top Prospect

Tigers:

The Tigers #1 Prospect Steven Moya is currently playing with Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens and is on a power surge. In his last three games he has four home runs and has driven in eight runs. The Puerto Rican native has been with the Tigers organization since 2008, when he signed as a non-drafted free agent and in 2014 he enjoyed his best season in the system batting .276, with 33 doubles, 35 home runs and 105 RBI in Double-A. That season he made his major league debut with the big club and in 11 games he batted .375 (3 for 8). This season he started in Class-A Advanced and after nine games he was promoted to Triple-A and is currently batting .244 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI.

Twins:

Coming into the season, the Twins organization had high hopes for their #1 prospect Byron Buxton, especially if he could stay healthy and on the field.  And the young outfielder did not disappoint as he .283, 12 triples, six home runs, 37 RBI and 20 stolen bases with Triple-A Chattanooga Lookouts. His hard work and determination led the Twins to finally call him up to make his major league debut and on June 14th against the Texas Rangers, Buxton finally reached the majors. It took Buxton just one day to leg out a triple, which was very fitting for it to be his first major league hit. Currently he is on the 15-Day DL with a strained left thumb, but prior to the injury he was batting .189 (7 for 37), with a double and a triple.

David Conde

David is the Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Legends On Deck®, as well as a Co-Host on Legends On Deck Podcast. David was a Senior Editor for MetsMerizedOnline.com, MetsMinors.net and Contributor for Hardballchat.com that spanned from 2010 to 2014. David made his MLB Debut as a writer in June 2014, while covering the NY Mets at Citi Field, for MetsmerizedOnline.com. David also coaches baseball for ages 13-15, a Babe Ruth League team in his local community. David's passion is coaching the game he loves to the future Legends of Tomorrow as well as making available a website that people can have fun sharing and reading. David is also passionate about his career as a Mortgage Loan Officer which allows him to help many families reach their dreams of owning a home. Connect with David via his Social Media pages as he loves to chat all about baseball.