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MINNEAPOLIS, MN -
SEPTEMBER 15: J.D. Martinez #28 of the Detroit Tigers
congratulates teammate Miguel Cabrera #24 on scoring a run
against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning of the
game on September 15, 2014 at Target Field in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) |
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Tigers
win 4th
in row
on Torii
Hunter,
Miguel
Cabrera
homers
MINNEAPOLIS
- That
large
early
lead was
long
gone for
the
Detroit
Tigers.
They saw
Kansas
City's
comeback
slowly
unfolding
on the
out-of-town
scoreboard.
No
sweat.
One big
swing by
Torii
Hunter
eased
the
pennant-race
tension.
Hunter
and
Miguel
Cabrera
hit
back-to-back
home
runs in
the
ninth
inning
to help
the
Tigers
tighten
their
grip on
the
American
League
Central
by
winning
their
fourth
straight
game,
8-6 over
the
Minnesota
Twins on
Monday
night.
"Miggy
didn't
want me
to have
fun and
celebrate
too
much.
Before I
could
even get
my elbow
guard
and my
toe
guard
off, he
hit
one,"
Hunter
said.
"But all
in all,
it was a
battle.
Great
win.
Great
game."
The
Tigers
began
the
second-to-last
week of
the
regular
season
with a
lead of
1½ games
over the
Royals,
who
rallied
from a
3-0
deficit
to beat
Chicago
4-3. The
Tigers
have 12
games
remaining,
and the
Royals
have 13
left.
They
play
this
weekend
in
Kansas
City.
The
Tigers,
who will
face the
last-place
Twins
six more
times,
lost a
6-0 lead
they
built by
the
fifth.
But
after
Joe
Mauer's
second
two-run
single
tied the
game for
the
Twins in
the
eighth
inning,
Hunter
hit the
first
pitch of
the
ninth
from
Casey
Fien
(5-6)
into the
bullpen
behind
left-center
field.
Cabrera
then
crushed
one to
the same
spot two
pitches
later.
"They
know I'm
going to
come in
and
attack,"
Fien
said,
"and it
backfired
on me."
Max
Scherzer's
17th
victory
vanished
when the
bullpen
stumbled,
but just
a few
minutes
later,
he was
shouting
in
celebration
in the
clubhouse.
"When T
blasts
one out
there to
left to
give us
the lead
back,
that
gives us
all the
momentum.
We're
going to
win this
game,"
Scherzer
said.
"And
obviously
Miggy,
well,
that's
Miggy."
Kyle
Ryan
(2-0)
earned
the
victory
by
getting
pinch
hitter
Eduardo
Nunez to
ground
into a
double
play to
end the
eighth,
and
Joakim
Soria
converted
his
first
save
opportunity
since
being
acquired
by the
Tigers
despite
allowing
a
leadoff
double.
Regular
closer
Joe
Nathan
had the
night
off to
rest.
"I'd
rather
get a
lead and
hold it,
but that
wasn't
in the
cards
tonight,"
manager
Brad
Ausmus
said.
"We saw
that
Kansas
City was
working
its way
back. We
certainly
would've
loved it
if
Chicago
could
hold on,
but
we've
got to
keep our
house in
order."
The
Tigers
had 16
hits,
with
three
each by
Cabrera,
Andrew
Romine
and J.D.
Martinez.
Romine's
two-run
single
in the
fourth
and
Martinez's
RBI
single
in the
first
were two
of 11
hits
against
Twins
starter
Anthony
Swarzak,
who
didn't
finish
the
fifth
inning.
Scherzer
breezed
through
13
batters,
surrendering
just one
single,
but
Oswaldo
Arcia
hit a
towering
home run
in the
fifth
inning
to get
the
Twins
going.
Mauer
smacked
a
two-run
single
up the
middle
that
zoomed
past
Scherzer
in the
sixth.
Trevor
Plouffe
added a
sacrifice
fly to
cut the
lead to
6-4.
Last
year's
AL Cy
Young
Award
winner
stopped
the
rally
there,
retiring
Arcia on
a called
third
strike.
Scherzer
struck
out five
in seven
innings.
Joba
Chamberlain
then
walked
two
batters
to start
the
eighth,
and
Danny
Santana
and
Brian
Dozier
executed
a double
steal
against
Phil
Coke.
Mauer,
after
fouling
off
three
full-count
pitches,
sliced a
single
into
left
field to
drive in
both
runners
and
reach 50
RBIs for
the
season.
The
announced
crowd of
19,700
was the
smallest
to see
the
Twins
since
Target
Field
opened
in 2010.
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