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 Detroit Tigers right fielder Torii Hunter and first baseman
Miguel Cabrera hit back-to-back home runs to open the ninth inning,
leading the Tigers to an 8-6 win over the Twins on Monday night at
Target Field.
"Man, those guys never quit," Hunter said. "We got six runs and
tried to score some more. Joe Mauer tried to beat us all by himself,
but we came through in the end."
The Tigers built a 6-0 lead against the Twins over the first 4 1/2
innings before watching the Twins strike back against right-hander
Max Scherzer.
Right fielder Oswaldo Arcia blasted his 18th homer of the season in
the fifth inning to get the Twins going, and a two-run single by
Mauer in the sixth inning got Minnesota back in the game.
"You always feel good with a 6-0 lead and Max Scherzer on the
mound," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "But I've found over the
course of this year that no lead is comfortable. Just for some
reason, you're never comfortable until the final out is made."
Third baseman Trevor Plouffe scored Mauer later in the sixth with a
sacrifice fly before Mauer tied the game with another two-run single
in the eighth.
"Those guys have good stuff," Mauer said. "Scherzer and (Phil) Coke
coming out of the 'pen, he's tough on lefties. I was just trying to
stay short and have a good at-bat."
With all the momentum going against the Tigers, it was former the
Minnesota star Hunter, who remains extremely popular with Twins
fans, who lifted Casey Fien's first pitch of the ninth into the
bullpen for his 16th homer of the season.
"It's frustrating. I wanted the ball, too," Fien said. "The outcome
wasn't what I wanted. I knew they were going to be aggressive. They
know I'm going to come in and attack. It backfired on me."
Two pitches later, Cabrera crushed a fastball to almost the exact
same spot in left-center field for his 23rd homer.
"Before I could even get my elbow guard and my cleat guard off, he
hit one," Hunter said.
Detroit lefty Kyle Ryan (2-0) threw only two pitches but got the
win, inducing pinch hitter Eduardo Nunez to bounce into a 6-4-3
double play to end the eighth inning. Joakim Soria worked around a
leadoff double in the ninth for his 18th save.
"I could do without the (drama)," Ausmus said. "I'd rather get a
lead and hold it, but that wasn't in the cards tonight."
Fien (5-6) allowed two runs in one-third of an inning.
"We know it's a good team over there, but they have to get all 27
outs before it's over with," Mauer said. "I'm proud of the guys for
fighting back. We've had to do that quite a bit, but that's
baseball."
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Detroit jumped out to an early lead against Twins right-hander
Anthony Swarzak, who was making a spot start in place of lefty Tommy
Milone. Cabrera and designated hitter Victor Martinez hit
back-to-back doubles to produce one run, and left fielder J.D.
Martinez knocked in another run with an RBI single in Detroit's
two-run first inning.
The Tigers took a 5-0 lead before the Twins had a hit. The Tigers
started the fourth inning with four consecutive hits, including an
RBI double by catcher Bryan Holaday and a two-run single by
shortstop Andrew Romine.
"We missed some plays, too," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We
had some balls out there we could have caught and didn't cover the
ground like we normally do."
In the fifth, Swarzak gave up a one-out single to Cabrera and a
ground-rule double to Victor Martinez. Swarzak was lifted after 70
pitches, having thrown an intentional walk to J.D. Martinez that
loaded the bases with one out. His replacement, right-hander A.J.
Achter, walked third baseman Nick Castellanos to force in a run but
escaped further damage thanks to an inning-ending double play.
Swarzak lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on 11 hits and a
walk.
NOTES: Tigers RHP Anibal Sanchez, out since Aug. 9 due to a strained
pectoral muscle, threw a bullpen session before the game. Manager
Brad Ausmus indicated that Sanchez could return in time to be a
reliever in the playoffs. ... Detroit C Alex Avila did not play
Monday after leaving Sunday's game due to a headache and
lightheadedness. The move was believed to be precautionary, and
Avila could return to the lineup as soon as Tuesday. ... Twins LHP
Tommy Milone remains sidelined with stiffness and inflammation in
his neck following an MRI exam Monday. His status for the rest of
the season is uncertain.
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