Taj Bradley searching for answers as Twins fall to season-worst eight games below .500

DETROIT — The look of exasperation on Taj Bradley’s face late Tuesday night said everything he couldn’t.

A little more than a month ago, the young Minnesota Twins pitcher was excelling, pitching deep into games and routinely delivering big performances for his squad. Similarly, the Twins found a way to stay afloat despite key injuries, bolstered by stout pitching from a talented starting rotation.

But after a dismal outing Tuesday in which he had minimal command and surrendered multiple leads, Bradley was stumped. Caught in a tailspin that’s lasted more than two weeks, the Twins find themselves in a similarly disoriented state.

With Bradley struggling and a host of letdowns elsewhere, the Twins were thumped 10-4 by the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The loss dropped them to a season-worst eight games below .500, and marked the eighth time in 12 games they’ve been bested by an American League Central foe since May 25.

“It’s a bit confusing,” Bradley said. “I don’t know what questions to ask myself, or don’t know what physical or mental cues I need to work on to have long starts like I did before and go deeper into games. Tonight, (I’ll) just take a step back, take a breath, exhale. I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of inhaling and forgetting to exhale.”

Recently, it feels as if the Twins are constantly hyperventilating and in search of a paper bag.

Only 16 days ago, the Twins’ season held a glimmer of promise. Fresh off a series sweep at Fenway Park, the Twins climbed within a game of .500 headed into a key four-game series against the Chicago White Sox. But as quickly as their good vibes materialized, they vanished.

Not only did the Twins lose three of four on the South Side then get swept in manager Derek Shelton’s return to Pittsburgh, pitchers Kendry Rojas and Bailey Ober were placed on the injured list.

Though they briefly slowed their spell with a series win over Chicago at home last week, everything is suddenly collapsing once again. Tuesday’s was Minnesota’s fifth loss in six games.

“It’s been challenging,” Shelton said. “We’ve not been able to get on a roll. … We have not played consistent baseball.”

Staked a 1-0 lead when Byron Buxton belted a leadoff home run, his sixth to start a game this season, Bradley immediately struggled. The right-hander’s first pitch sailed to the backstop, a sign of things to come.

Throughout the game, Bradley wildly missed his spots up and down in the zone.

Not only was Bradley mired in myriad deep counts, he issued three walks and his poor command resulted in several pitches being left up in the zone. While Bradley missed, Detroit’s hitters did not.

Dillon Dingler, Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter each hit pitches left in the upper half for home runs, all three shots either tying the game or putting the Tigers in the lead.

Asked if he had difficulty gripping his pitches on a humid night, Bradley wouldn’t make an excuse. But Shelton thought grip issues were behind Bradley only throwing 52 strikes among his 89 pitches over 4 1/3 innings.

“He had some misses,” Shelton said. “The split, it looked like he could not get a grip on. I don’t know how many he threw in the zone, but it was really inconsistent. It looked like he was having some issues with the grip.”

As his struggles mount, Bradley isn’t sure why. Prior to being placed on the 15-day injured list with a right pectoral muscle strain, he was 4-1 with a 2.87 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 47 innings.

Since returning, Bradley’s misfired in three of four outings, posting a 7.00 ERA in 18 innings. Similarly, the Twins pitching staff is struggling with a 6.49 ERA over their past 15 games, a stretch in which they’re 4-11.

“I really don’t have an answer to that right now,” Bradley said. “I feel like I need to take a step back, come back (Wednesday) and just reassess everything. … I’ve got to go back and watch the game and come back with a different mindset, ready to work on some things when I figure it out.”

Bradley isn’t the only one seeking solutions. A bullpen that couldn’t hold a one-run lead late in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Kansas City struck again. Eric Orze exited with two aboard in the sixth inning and Dingler got enough of an 0-2 sweeper from Taylor Rogers to belt his second homer of the game, a three-run shot that gave Detroit an 8-4 cushion.

An inning later, Tristan Gray booted a bases-loaded grounder with two outs, resulting in a two-run single. The misplay followed a homestand in which Twins shortstops committed five errors, including four by Gray.

Per Sports Information Solutions, the Twins defense from May 25 through Sunday produced minus-eight Defensive Runs Saved, leaving them as the worst defense in baseball.

And even though Buxton homered to start the game, he and Gray each stranded five runners on base. Aside from four solo homers, the Twins missed on multiple chances, finishing 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and stranding 11 men on base.

“It’s been a rough stretch,” said designated hitter Josh Bell, who belted the 200th homer of his career in third inning. “A couple guys go down with injuries, just trying to get healthy, trying to get some starters back. But for the most part I think we haven’t been playing a bad brand of baseball. … We’re putting ourselves in position to win. Hopefully we can turn this thing around.”

Rojas, Abel to throw Wednesday

Mick Abel (right elbow inflammation) is scheduled to throw 50 pitches over three innings in a rehab start for Triple-A St. Paul at Toledo on Wednesday night, the Twins said. The team also said that Rojas (left elbow inflammation) would participate in a 25-pitch bullpen session in Minneapolis on Wednesday. … After making one appearance for St. Paul, the Twins are pausing the rehab program for Cole Sands (right forearm strain) because he’s struggling to recover in between outings. … The team announced Mike Paredes would start Wednesday in what’s expected to be a bullpen game.