Bailey Ober delivered a masterful performance, striking out seven batters in a complete-game shutout to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 3-0 victory over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
Byron Buxton stole home and Ryan Jeffers crushed a two-run homer to fuel the Twins’ offense. Minnesota has now won three straight games after dropping 16 of their previous 21.
Kyle Stowers and Jakob Marsee each managed a single for Miami, which was blanked for the fourth time this season.
Ober (4-2) notched his first complete-game shutout in 124 major league starts. The right-hander allowed just two hits, walked nobody, and threw 64 of his 89 pitches for strikes.
Marlins starter Eury Perez (2-5) worked six innings, surrendering three runs on three hits while walking three and fanning eight.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when the Twins broke through with a two-out rally that produced three runs.
Buxton started it by drawing a two-out walk. Trevor Larnach followed with a single, putting runners at first and third for Jeffers. Moments later, Larnach attempted to steal second, and Marlins catcher Joe Mack fired the ball to second base. Larnach got caught in a rundown between first and second, and Buxton spotted an opportunity to sprint home. Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards pivoted and threw to the plate, but Buxton slid in safely to make it 1–0, credited with a steal of home.
Larnach also swiped second as Edwards threw toward the plate. Jeffers then drove him in with a towering two-run homer to left field, extending the lead to 3-0.
The Twins threatened again in the seventh, loading the bases with two outs, but Marlins reliever Josh Ekness got Josh Bell to ground out to end the inning.
