The Minnesota Twins jumped into first place in the American League Central standings on Tuesday night as they picked up a 7-6 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Target Field.
The Twins looked sharp throughout the night as they sent Kenta Maeda to the mound to go for a two-game sweep over the Tigers. The Twins’ ace throwing six strong innings allowing three runs and striking out nine to set the tone.
Minnesota responded at the plate as they scored a pair of runs off Tigers starter Casey Mize in the bottom of the third inning. After the Twins took a 2-0 lead off RBIs from Byron Buxton and Marwin Gonzalez, Jake Cave delivered a blast in the fourth inning to double the Twins’ lead.
.@JakeCave8 just hit that ball into outer space ✨🛰️🪐#MNTwins lead 4-0 pic.twitter.com/uOpG3ym6Av
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) September 24, 2020
With the lead at 4-0, Eddie Rosario stepped to the plate and smacked his 13th home run of the season to break the game open in the fifth inning.
🌹 Whole lotta Rosie 🌹#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/eSmW4pVDoT
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) September 24, 2020
Although Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer off Maeda in the top of the sixth, Cave added a second home run in the bottom half of the inning. Cabrera struck again in the bottom of the ninth with another three-run bomb off Sergio Romo, but the Twins held on for the victory.
The win was a big one for the Twins as the White Sox fell in Cleveland on a walk-off home run by Jordan Luplow. The Indians’ victory put the Twins in first place in the American League Central and into the second seed in the AL playoff race.
The situation will make for an entertaining final weekend of the regular season as the White Sox wrap up their series in Cleveland on Thursday night. With the Twins also holding a 2 1/2 game over the New York Yankees, it’s likely they’ll play the opening best-of-three series at Target Field next week.
The Twins will wrap up the regular season with a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds. Friday’s opening game will see Jose Berrios on the mound for the Twins against Tyler Mahle.
