LDN - Sports

Tigers sweep Twins, move into playoff position

[September 23, 2016] MINNEAPOLIS -- The Detroit Tigers can be thankful the Minnesota Twins are one of their American League Central rivals.

Thanks in part Detroit's dominant performance against Minnesota, the Tigers are in prime position to make the playoffs while the Twins are closing in on 100 losses.

Justin Verlander struck out 11 in six inning as Detroit earned a 4-2 win over Minnesota on Thursday night, completing a doubleheader sweep and a three-game series sweep. The Tigers finished the year 15-4 overall against Minnesota, including a perfect 9-0 at Target Field.

With Thursday's pair of victories over the struggling Twins, the Tigers now hold the second AL wild-card spot.

Thanks to Baltimore getting swept by the Boston Red Sox, the Tigers (82-70) are a half-game up on the Orioles (82-71). The Toronto Blue Jays (83-69) hold the first wild-card position and are 1 1/2 games in front of Detroit.

"You've got the end goal, and we're all working towards that," Verlander said. "I don't think anybody's going to let ups and downs, ebbs and flows, get to you. ... Hopefully we get to celebrate and pop some bottles. But until that time comes, it's on to the next one every day."

Verlander limited the Twins to two runs on four hits and two walks Thursday night. Detroit won the first game Thursday by a 9-2 final, with the offense aided by home runs from Justin Upton and Victor Martinez.

"There's still a little bit of the stretch run to go," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "But we're clearly in the mix, and we've just got to keep playing good baseball."

Verlander (15-8) was spotted a 2-0 lead in the second inning when his counterpart, Twins right-hander Ervin Santana, struggled with his command.

Francisco Rodriguez threw a perfect ninth inning for his 44th save.

Santana (7-11) went six innings and surrendered four runs (two earned). However, he walked four batters and threw a pair of wild pitches among his 101 deliveries.

"He gave us a chance, like he has been doing pretty much every time out there," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He just lost his command there a little bit in the second inning after an overpowering first inning."

With the game tied 2-2, Detroit took the lead for good on an Erick Aybar sixth-inning single off Santana that scored Upton. Aybar later advanced to third base on a wild pitch and scored on a passed ball to make it a 4-2 advantage.

"After that second inning, everything was settled down," Santana said. "The hitters were off balance most of the time."

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Tigers second baseman Andrew Romine (17) fields a ground ball in the ninth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Tigers won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota's offense couldn't do much against Verlander or Detroit's bullpen. The Twins' lineup struck out 17 times in the series finale while managing a total of just four hits.

No player for either team had more than one hit. Byron Buxton collected his eighth homer of the year -- and seventh this month -- with a solo shot off Verlander in the bottom of the fifth. That tied it 2-2, but the Twins never scratched across another run.

After striking out the side in the first inning, Santana ran into trouble in the second. Minnesota's top pitcher gave up a leadoff single to Victor Martinez before walking the next three batters. Aybar got the run-scoring walk.

One batter later, Jarrod Saltalamacchia's sacrifice fly scored J.D. Martinez for a 2-0 lead.

The Twins got on the board in the third when catcher Juan Centeno tagged a solo home run to right-center field off Verlander. It was the third home run of the season for Centeno in his 51st game.

NOTES: Twins 3B Miguel Sano returned to the lineup for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader, and went 1-for-4. Sano was sidelined since Sept. 12 because of a back injury. He didn't play the second game Thursday. ... Detroit 2B Ian Kinsler (concussion-like symptoms) did not play in either game, though he worked out on the field before the doubleheader. The Tigers hope Kinsler might return to action Friday against Kansas City. ... Twins 2B Brian Dozier's first-inning homer in the opener was his 42nd of the season and 40th as a second baseman. That set a single-season record for homers by an American League second baseman. ... The Twins play host to the Seattle Mariners beginning Friday, while the Tigers will return home to face the Kansas City Royals.

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