The Minnesota Twins need to do something about their Bailey Ober problem. After another disastrous start, it’s becoming almost impossible to justify continuing to send him to the mound every fifth game.

Ober was tagged for seven earned runs on four home runs and 11 total hits in Saturday afternoon’s 10-5 loss to the Tigers in Detroit. It was the third time in his last four starts that he’s given up seven earned runs.

In five June games, Ober allowed 30 earned runs and 14 homers in 30 innings pitched. You don’t need to be an expert to know that’s a 9.00 ERA. He also gave up 38 hits and eight walks during that span.

It was a historically bad month for a pitcher who was so sharp for the Twins in April and May this year and for much of the last four seasons since his MLB debut in 2021.

Ober is just the fifth Twins pitcher to ever allow 30 earned runs in a five-start span, and the first since Livan Hernandez in 2008.

The others are Carlos Silva (2006), Sean Bergman (2000), and Brad Radke (1998). The 14 homers allowed by Ober in June tie him with Bert Blyleven (May 1986) for the team record, per Aaron Gleeman.

Unsurprisingly, Ober was charged with a loss in all five of his June starts. From April 15 to May 19, the Twins won seven straight games where Ober was the starting pitcher. Since then, they’ve lost each of his last seven starts.

Maybe Ober, who admitted earlier this month to battling through physical ailments, isn’t healthy. Maybe he feels fine and is getting shelled anyways.

Whatever the case may be, he isn’t fooling hitters, as they’ve demolished his offerings all month. Ober’s season ERA is up to 5.28 despite having two legitimately very good months following his ugly season debut in late March.

So the Twins need to do something. Ober’s next scheduled start is a July 4 matinee game against the Rays at Target Field. Minnesota should be very strongly considering different starting pitching options for that holiday game.

For a team that is 40-43 and has plenty of work to do in the AL wild card race, continuing to start Ober could have severe consequences.

The issue is that there is no obvious replacement option. Pablo Lopez and Zebby Matthews are hurt. So is Andrew Morris, one of Minnesota’s top pitching prospects at Triple-A. David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson are already in the rotation.

But that doesn’t mean there are no options. One guy they could go with is Travis Adams, who has a 3.54 ERA for St. Paul. He was briefly called up to the Twins earlier this month but did not appear in a game before being sent back down.

Adams hasn’t pitched more than 4.1 innings in a game this season, but he threw a full 127 innings last year. He could stretch out and hopefully give the Twins five innings as a short-term option.

Even if there’s no guarantee Adams would have success in the big leagues, at least it would mean trying something different.

It would mean giving Ober a break, whether via a trip to the IL or a stint with St. Paul. Yes, he has a strong track record, but this is now a full month of awful pitching, with no real signs that he’s going to turn it around.

Another option would be to swing a trade for a veteran pitcher on a losing team.

Will either of those things happen? Probably not. Manager Rocco Baldelli gave no indications after Saturday’s game that Ober was in danger of losing his rotation spot, noting that he thinks Ober will be looking forward to making an adjustment the next time he takes the mound.

Buxton stays red hot

Byron Buxton deserves better.

He singled in the first inning on Saturday and stole second base, remaining a perfect 15 for 15 on stolen base attempts this season.

Then he came up in the third inning and blasted a two-run homer to left, his 19th of the year. He added a third hit in the eighth, raising his batting average to .286 and his OPS to .927.

Buxton also homered and stole a base in the Twins’ 4-1 win over the Tigers on Friday night. He has five games this season with both a homer and a steal, three of which have come in the last week alone.

He’s tied with Christian Yelich for the MLB lead in terms of games with at least 1 HR and 1 SB in 2025. Buxton is also one away from tying Gary Gaetti (6 in 1986) for the Twins record of such games in one season. The calendar hasn’t even flipped to July yet.

Buxton continues to have an unbelievable season. It would be a shame if the Twins’ pitching staff wastes it.

At least the Twins won the opener

It’s a good thing the Twins won Friday night’s series opener against the AL-leading Tigers.

David Festa went five scoreless innings in that one, following Woods Richardson and Joe Ryan’s scoreless starts to close out the Seattle series. Buxton homered and scored twice and Brooks Lee came up with two run-scoring hits in the victory.

Why is it a good thing the Twins won that game? Because after losing Saturday, they’re going to have a very tough time winning the series.

Sunday’s finale pits Chris Paddack (4.64 ERA) against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal (2.29), the reigning AL Cy Young winner who has a chance to repeat in 2025. Had the Twins lost on Friday, they’d be staring down the possibility of a sweep against their division foes.