Bradley takes another step toward ace status by outdueling Skubal

MINNEAPOLIS – The man who has been the best pitcher in the American League Central in 2026 pitched at Target Field on Tuesday night. And so did Tarik Skubal.

Taj Bradley continued his brilliant start to the 2026 campaign with 6 1/3 outstanding innings, stifling a good Detroit lineup despite not having the best command of his high-octane fastball. He mixed splitters, cutters and curves to keep the Tigers off balance en route to a 4-2 Twins win over the division-rival Tigers.

Bradley struck out 10, reaching that mark for the seventh time in his career, and saw his season ERA actually inch upward to a still minuscule 1.08. A pitcher who always had top-of-the-rotation stuff is starting to look like he can live up to that promise.

“Confidence continues to grow,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Not only for us, but for him. To be able to go through that lineup, in our division, go toe-to-toe with Skubal, did not show any signs that he tried to do more than he should have. And he executed pitches.”

Meanwhile, the Minnesota offense strung together hits against the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner on a cold night where hitting was neither easy nor fun. Skubal had not lost to Minnesota since 2022.

For Bradley it was just his latest superb showing with the Twins, and maybe his best to date. Against a dangerous lineup, he kept the Tigers off the board through six innings before allowing a run in the seventh.

Bradley got only one swinging strike with his fastball, but it scarcely mattered because his other pitches were all but unhittable. In particular, his splitter was dominant, with nine whiffs on 15 swings by Tigers hitters. In total, Tigers hitters made contact on fewer than half their swings against Bradley’s curve, cutter, and splitter (13 out of 27).

“I just think I want to be able to throw strikes with all my pitches,” Bradley said. “Get in and out of the zone with both of them, get to two strikes early and stuff like that. Today it showed I can use the splitter 3-2 counts, 0-0, 0-1, 0-2. It’s a big difference maker, especially with the fastball coming off the same sightline and tunneling it well. The curveball is a good pitch. I feel like I want to strike it more but it got me the swings and misses I needed.”

Acquired from Tampa Bay for Griffin Jax at the Trade Deadline last year, Bradley is a former Top-20 prospect who showed promise but not consistency with the Rays. He enjoyed moments with the Twins last year after the trade, but an offseason of refining his splitter and a growing maturity have combined to put him in position for a significant leap.

“By him buying into the stuff that goes on before his start, the game planning and the off-the-mound stuff… it gives him more of a comfortable feeling to trust me and then to go out there and just be the best version of Taj,” said catcher Ryan Jeffers. “Go out there and throw 100, throw the splitter and throw curveballs. It gives him more confidence to just go out there and pitch.”

On the year, Bradley has allowed two runs in 16 2/3 innings. He’s struck out 22 against four walks and has turned in easily the Twins’ two best starts of the year. He allowed a pair of singles to open the seventh and was pulled with one out, leaving to an enthusiastic ovation – one he made a point to acknowledge as he walked off the field.

“It meant a lot,” he said. “The people that came really care about the team. They support us. It just felt good. It felt louder than the amount of people that were there and I think that just shows the excitement they have for the team.”