MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Miguel Sanó homered and Minnesota pitchers shut down Detroit until the ninth inning, as the Twins beat the Tigers 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Caleb Thielbar (7-0) was one of four relievers with scoreless innings in relief of starter Charlie Barnes. Alexander Colomé allowed two runs in the ninth, yet earned his 17th save.
“I have no idea how I got the win tonight,” said Thielbar when asked about his perfect record. “That makes no sense at all, but it’s cool. … obviously been a tough year for us, so, I mean, just to have that record, I think that’s pretty cool.”
Sanó connected for his 30th home run of the season, a solo shot off reliever José Ureña to the second deck in left field leading off the seventh. He became the seventh player in Twins history with multiple 30-homer seasons, joining Harmon Killebrew, Justin Morneau, Brian Dozier, Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky and Bob Allison.
“We talk about the interesting way that he kind of gets to all of this production but ultimately, that’s the production you’re looking for,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Yes, the beginning of the year this year, there was more swing and miss than maybe you’re looking for and all that. That’s not what we need to really focus on here, because in the last few months, he’s been very steady, actually.”
Tyler Alexander (2-4) surrendered just one run in six innings for Detroit, which has lost four of five as it starts a season-ending road trip. Akil Baddoo and Jonathan Schoop had RBI singles in the ninth off Colomé.
Alexander allowed four hits and struck out six. The lone run he allowed was created by Byron Buxton’s speed.
The left-hander walked Buxton to start the third. Buxton stole second and then advanced to third on a flyout to medium center field by Jorge Polanco. Buxton scored on a sacrifice fly by Mitch Garver.
“We walked him. That’s probably the worst part of that,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s hard to control on the bases. He’s one of the most dynamic players in the league when he’s healthy and in the lineup. That particular one, he didn’t have to hit his way on. We gave him a free pass and that’s pretty dangerous.”
Alexander retired the final 12 batters he faced after Buxton’s walk.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Twins: Barnes received the start after being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul before the game. RHP Bailey Ober was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hip strain. Ober’s rookie season ends with a 3-3 record, 4.19 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 92 1/3 innings over 20 starts this season.
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