Dozier blasted a two-run homer on Tuesday.
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After Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager drove in Seattle’s first run of the game with a two-out RBI single off Robertson, Lind came on to pinch-hit and delivered his second walk-off homer of the season.
Losing two of three games to the last-place team in the American League Central doesn’t look good for a team trying to decide whether to buy or sell before the August 1 trade deadline.
Tigers: LHP Daniel Norris (right oblique strain) allowed a run and five hits in four innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Toledo. Looking pleased with himself, Boyd flipped the ball from his glove to his bare hand and then threw the ball into left field in a failed attempt to start the toss around the infield.
“I shouldn’t say we didn’t get any hits”, he said. We couldn’t put up any runs. “We barreled up a lot of balls again today, but they were either right at someone or they ran them down”. Nova allowed one run and four hits after struggling through the early portions of the game but gave the Yankees six innings for the first time in six starts.
Verlander’s counterpart, Ervin Santana, surrendered a run on six hits in seven-plus innings.
That gave Mauer four career homers off Verlander, his most off any pitcher. After the game, Ausmus confirmed that Sanchez’s good work from Tuesday would not go unrewarded. 338 (24-for-71) in his career against Verlander, but 0-for-6 against him since 2014.
Joe Mauer started the day in promising fashion with his eighth homer of the year in the first. That decision paid off as Verlander retired Mauer in a bounce out.
“It was a curveball first pitch, changeup second pitch”, he said. This was Minnesota’s first win over Detroit this season.
If there’s one thing to be said about the Detroit Tigers’ offense over the past three days, at least it was consistent. Martin hit an 0-2 pitch from Chicago reliever Dan Jennings (3-2) for a towering homer to right. McCann, hitless in his first two at-bats, flied out to center.
“It’s been about a year on the nose now, where he’s been really good”, Ausmus said. “You only have one catcher, and if something happens to him, you’re in trouble”.
The Tigers had two on with two out in the eighth inning, before Victor Martinez flied out to the warning track. It was snared in front of the fence, 400 feet away, and the Tigers were all but cooked. Detroit’s first two batters in the sixth reached base but the Twins snuffed out that threat with a double-play grounder and a foul pop. Santana wiggled out of another jam in the seventh.
In the bottom of the 9th, Detroit got one-out singles from Justin Upton and Mike Aviles but a strikeout of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a fly out off the bat of Romine sealed a victory and series win for the Twins. He has a 2.18 ERA in his last five starts.
“He lost command, it seemed like, with his fastball”, Kepler said. “We gotta go out there and keep playing hard, play better baseball”.
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Hours after the firing of Twins general manager Terry Ryan was announced, Justin Upton’s solo homer in the second was the difference as Twins right-hander Ricky Nolasco (4-8) took the undeserved loss.
