Spencer Torkelson put the Tigers in front for good with one swing, Javier Báez added the knockout blow, and Detroit outlasted the Minnesota Twins 11-6 in 12 innings Wednesday night at Target Field.
Detroit used a five-run 12th to finish off a game that kept swinging back and forth. Torkelson got it started by lining the second pitch he saw from Twins reliever Tommy Nance (2-3) over the wall for a two-run homer, his 21st of the season and his first since July 29.
That made it 8-6. Six batters later, Báez followed with a bases-clearing double that glanced off Royce Lewis’ glove in short right field as the first baseman tried to make a play with his back to the field.
Kyle Finnegan (3-0) handled the final two innings for the win.
The Twins had already forced the game into extra innings after rallying in the late going. Luke Keaschall tied it at 6-6 in the 11th with a single in front of a diving Ben Malgeri that brought home Kaelen Culpepper.
“I felt we were going to win the game the whole time,” Keaschall told reporters.
Brooks Lee then singled Keaschall to third with one out, but Kody Clemens struck out and Ryan Jeffers grounded out to end the inning.
“We got behind and did a good job battling back,” Twins manager Derek Shelton told reporters. “We gave ourselves a bunch of opportunities, and unfortunately we weren’t able to capitalize on those opportunities. We had a chance to win the game at multiple spots, and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that.”
Keaschall added, “There wasn’t a minute I thought we were going to lose that game. and that’s a good thing,”
Minnesota had already strung together a strong stretch with an 11-1 win Monday and a 15-2 win Tuesday, but Wednesday’s loss snapped a four-game run. The Twins remain 3½ games behind Cleveland for the third American League wild-card spot, and the four teams ahead of them also lost Wednesday.
Lee finished with three hits and Josh Bell had two for Minnesota. The Twins went 4 for 21 with runners in scoring position, though they did score three times in the eighth, including two runs on a Royce Lewis single off Kenley Jansen to pull even at 5-5.
Detroit also got a big night from John Peck, who drove in three runs with the first two hits of his career. Max Clark added an RBI double in the 11th as the Tigers won for the second time in their last seven games.
Minnesota will send right-hander Zebby Matthews (9-8, 4.58) to start Friday’s opener of a three-game series in Chicago against the White Sox.
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