The Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 4-3 Tuesday night in a wild finish at Target Field.
With Chris Herrmann standing on third base and two outs, Aaron Hicks beat out an infield grounder to lift the Twins to the victory.
The Twins bounced back from a catastrophic top of the ninth inning. After eight scoreless innings from Twins starter Ricky Nolasco, closer Glen Perkins gave up a three-run home run to J.D. Martinez, giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead.
But Detroit closer Joe Nathan walked Trevor Plouffe with one out in the ninth. The Twins replaced Plouffe with Doug Bernier as a pinch runner, and he came around to score on a sinking line drive that turned into a double from Kurt Suzuki.
Herrmann then pinch ran for Suzuki. He moved to third on a ground ball by Eduardo Nunez and scored when Hicks beat out the chopper up the middle.
It was Nathan’s seventh blown save of the season for the Tigers. It was also Perkins’ seventh blown save, but he also picked up the win.
Nolasco still wasn’t able to get a win, despite another outstanding start. He cruised through eight shutout innings and gave up just five hits to the Tigers.
Ricky Nolasco – 8 IP, 5 H, 0 R – NO DECISION
Glen Perkins – 1 IP, 3 H, 3 R – WIN
Your Minnesota Twins. #MNTwins
— Keith Leventhal (@KeithLeventhal) September 17, 2014
Kennys Vargas led the Twins offensively. He was 3-for-4 with a home run and a triple. Suzuki was 2-for-4 with two RBIs as well.
The Twins and Tigers close their three-game series on Wednesday night. David Price (3-3) is on the mound for Detroit, while Kyle Gibson (11-11) counters for the Twins. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
- Twins shortstop Eduardo Escobar left the game in the fourth inning with what the team is calling a jammed shoulder. The injury occurred as Escobar attempted to make a diving play against Detroit’s Torii Hunter.
That was fun. pic.twitter.com/915Zm3UCfN
— Amy Kay Nelson 🌎 (@AmyKayNelson) September 17, 2014
