Twins Take Game 2 in Extra Innings
The Detroit Tigers drop both games of their doubleheader against the Twins on Friday. Minnesota tied Game 2 in the seventh and dealt the fatal blow in the eighth with a 3-2 victory.
The Twins (24-16) play three more games against the Tigers (17-19) this weekend.
Game Recap:
Neither team managed to put a run on the board in the first two frames; however, that changed in the third inning.
In the top of the third, Brent Rooker sent Tyler Alexander’s 90 mph sinker into left field to score Jorge Polanco, giving Minnesota the 1-0 lead.
The Detroit Tigers, who were hitless heading into the bottom of the third, answered back with runs of their own against Twins' Matt Wisler with two outs.
The Tigers demonstrated their offensive strength in the eight games prior, boasting a .316 BA and 18 runs with two outs.
Trailing the Twins, Victor Reyes started the rally by singling to center to get on base. On the very next pitch, Jonathan Schoop hit his first triple of the season to score Reyes and tie the game 1-1.
Reports: We have acquired the lead#DetroitRoots pic.twitter.com/AP5DWYwsiO
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 4, 2020
Miguel Cabrera, hot on an 11-game hitting streak, followed Schoop with an RBI single up the middle to give the Tigers the 2-1 lead over Minnesota.
Later on, Cabrera brought in another run in the bottom of the fifth, securing the 2,848th hit of his MLB career. Cabrera is now tied for 48th in Major League history for most hits with Orioles’ Brooks Robinson.
In his last 18 games, Miggy showcases a .323 BA, .792 OBS, and 13 RBI. This is quite the turn around from his first 18 games when he only had a .169 BA, .626 OPS, and 8 RBI.
Alexander finished the day in four innings, allowing one run and 7 hits. He did so after successfully taking notes from Boyd’s six-inning start in Game 1, making sure to stay low in the zone against Minnesota’s lineup and incorporating his back-foot slider.
Seventh Inning Blues
The privilege of closing out a one-run game in the seventh was placed in the hands of Tigers reliever Gregory Soto. However, the job became a lot harder when he issued walks to both Ehire Adrianzana and Josh Donaldson.
The free passes set the stage for Jorge Polanco’s game-tying RBI single to make it 2-2.
Gregory Soto's first blown save of the season came off back-to-back walks and a Jorge Polanco RBI single. Jose Cisnero will face middle of Twins lineup with nobody out and runners at corners, including go-ahead run at third.
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) September 4, 2020
Isaac Paredes, Reyes and Schoop made fruitless contact from the plate at the bottom of the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.
Due to a shortened season, the MLB ruled doubleheaders would go up to 7 innings, and international tiebreakers would start with a runner on second.
Twins’ Willians Astudillo sat on second.
Joe Jimenez, who came in for the Tigers, threw a four-seam fastball to Marwin Gonzalez, who ripped a single to center. Derek Hill, who made his MLB debut in the fifth inning at center field for the Tigers, bobbled the do or die, allowing Astudillo to score.
It was a 1-2-3 inning for Trevor May, who was the fourth pitcher to come in for Minnesota. May struck out Cabrera, Jeimer Candelario and Willi Castro to end the game.
The Tigers are now 3.5 games back of the final AL playoff spot.
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