DETROIT -- It was understandable that Charlie Barnes may have had some early jitters on the hill on Saturday. Game 1 of Minnesota's doubleheader at Comerica Park marked the lefty’s Major League debut, and Barnes also wanted to leave the Twins with a good impression.

Mission accomplished.

• Box score

Barnes held the Tigers to one run on four hits across 4 2/3 innings, collected his first big league punchout and didn’t walk a batter during the Twins’ 1-0 loss. The 25-year-old -- promoted earlier in the day to serve as Minnesota’s 27th man for the split twin bill -- gave the Twins what they were hoping for, providing an extra arm during a stretch in which they’ll play two doubleheaders in three days.

• Twins fall in Game 2

“I was fairly calm [before the game],” said Barnes, whose debut came in front of a crowd of family and friends, including his parents, two brothers, wife, daughter and in-laws. “I think it helped that it was an early game, I didn’t have all day to sit around and think about it.”

Of course, no debut story would be worth rehashing if not for a little drama. The first batter Barnes faced, Robbie Grossman, parked a hung slider over the left-center-field fence. When the next batter cracked a 103 mph single to left field, it appeared Barnes might be in for a very long -- or a very short -- day. He had noticeably settled in by the time the third hitter rolled around, though, and sat down the side in order without further damage.

“I got the first hitter out of the way -- couldn’t get much worse than that -- and then we went from there,” Barnes said.

Barnes faced the minimum through the next two frames, ringing up Zack Short on a foul tip for the second out of the second to earn his first career strikeout and needing just 22 pitches to navigate the stretch.

“I think once you get that first out … you realize very quickly that the guys on the other side of the field are human,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You get your first strikeout, things start falling into place and you just keep going.”

Josh Donaldson’s fielding error to open the fourth put a man on but didn’t rattle Barnes, who allowed an Isaac Parades single but escaped the frame unscathed. When Jake Rogers doubled to open the fifth, it was clear Barnes’ time on the hill was coming to a close. He walked the next batter, which prompted a mound visit, but he was still allowed to face the next, Grossman.

This time, it was Barnes who came out on top, coaxing Grossman into a double play before turning the ball over to reliever Beau Burrows.

“He went out there and competed very, very well,” Baldelli said. “Charlie did his job very nicely today, we just couldn’t get anything going, couldn’t muster anything offensively.”

Barnes -- and the bullpen behind him -- certainly did their part in limiting Detroit in the opener, but Minnesota’s offense was nearly silent behind them. The Twins collected just two hits in Game 1, singles from Jorge Polanco and Luis Arraez.

The loss brought Minnesota’s four-game win streak to an end, but the club still has won 13 of its past 17 games against the Tigers, 18 of the past 25 and 21 of 29.