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 A three-run sixth inning fueled Minnesota in an 8-4 win over the
first-place Detroit Tigers on Wednesday at Target Field.
The loss, combined with a 6-2 victory by the Kansas City, pulled the
Royals to within a half game of the Tigers for first place in the
A.L. Central.
Trailing by a run in the sixth, Minnesota smashed four extra-base
hits in the inning, knocking Cy Young contender David Price from the
game with a thud.
"It doesn't matter who's out there right now, our guys are putting
nice swings on the ball," Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire said. "We're
competing very well. And you won't find a better starting staff than
they have right there."
Twins right fielder Aaron Hicks started the rally with a double. Two
batters later, center fielder Danny Santana had a double of his own,
the first of three-straight extra-base hits. Santana's scored Hicks
ended Price's night with the game tied at 4-4.
The next man up, second baseman Brian Dozier hit a deep fly ball to
left field that appeared to be gone, but the ball bounced off the
very top of the wall and back into play. Dozier legged out his first
triple of the season, and scored when first baseman Joe Mauer
doubled down the left-field line.
"I thought it was out," Mauer said of Dozier's blast. "He hit the
ball good. But it was good that he kept running."
The three-run sixth made a winner out of right-hander Kyle Gibson,
who was nearly pulled in the second inning after allowing four
Tigers runs in only 1 2/3 innings of work. Gibson got out of the
second, retired seven in a row and got a crucial 6-4-3 double play
off the bat of Tigers left fielder J.D. Martinez to escape a jam in
the fifth inning. Gibson won his 12th game of the year, allowing
four earned runs on seven hits and three walks while fanning three.
"I was proud of Gibby in the way he hung in there," Gardenhire said.
"The catcher came in after two innings and told me, 'I don't know
what we've got here.' He bowed his neck a little bit, he hung in
there and got us six innings. That was impressive."
Price took the loss, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and
three walks in 5 2/3 innings of work, dropping to 14-12 this season.
The three walks tied a season high. He was a far cry from the
pitcher who shutout the Twins over eight innings here on July 19 as
a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
"I felt good, just didn't make enough pitches," Price said. "That's
a tough one to swallow, especially getting two runs before I take
the mound, then two more in the second inning. Giving up two leads
is never the way you want to go out there and pitch."
Detroit had a chance to get even in the seventh inning against Twins
right-hander Ryan Pressly, getting a single from Torii Hunter and a
double from Miguel Cabrera with one out ahead of Victor Martinez.
The designated hitter smashed a hard grounder right to Mauer, who
stepped on first for one and fired to second to pick Cabrera off for
a double play.
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"The first baseman started in, then moved back and I don't think
Torii saw that he moved back," Ausmus said. "He was going on contact
to any of the other three positions in the infield. After Mauer
moved back, I think it just caused confusion there.
"We swung the bats well, just didn't get the big hit. They got big
hits all over the place."
Both teams did damage in the early going, including a combined
five-run first inning.
Four straight Tigers reached with two outs in the first, including
back-to-back RBI singles by J.D. Martinez and third baseman Nick
Castellanos, giving Detroit a 2-0 lead.
But Minnesota fought back against Price, getting a leadoff triple
from Santana followed by an RBI single by Dozier. Third baseman
Trevor Plouffe followed with an RBI single three batters later and
catcher Kurt Suzuki followed with a run-scoring double, giving the
Twins a 3-2 lead.
"It always hurts when you score runs then give runs back in the half
inning following that," Ausmus said. "Always seems to be a momentum
shifter."
The top of the Tigers' order got to Gibson in the top of the second
inning. Hunter knocked in a run with a single and Cabrera followed
with an RBI double to deep center, giving Detroit the lead once
again.
NOTES: Tigers C Alex Avila remained out of the lineup. He left
Sunday's game because of a headache and lightheadedness, and he did
not play Monday and Tuesday. ... The Tigers announced their rotation
for their upcoming series against the Kansas City Royals. RHP Justin
Verlander will start Friday, followed by RHP Max Scherzer on
Saturday and RHP Rick Porcello on Sunday. ... Twins INF Eduardo
Escobar is day to day with a "jammed" right shoulder. An MRI exam
Wednesday revealed no structural damage. ... Twins LHP Glen Perkins
will have an MRI exam Thursday on his left throwing arm. Perkins
reported some soreness in throwing elbow and biceps to team
officials Wednesday afternoon.
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