Matt Wallner smacked a three-run homer as part of a seven-run top of the 12th for the Minnesota Twins, who defeated the host Detroit Tigers 11-5 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.
Austin Martin drew a bases-loaded walk off Alex Lange (0-1) to give the Twins a 5-4 lead. After Lange struck out the next two batters, Ryan Jeffers hit a grounder on the 12th pitch of his at-bat that third baseman Zach McKinstry booted, allowing three runs to score.
McKinstry was then brought in to pitch and surrendered a walk and the three-run homer to Wallner.
Jeffers hit a game-tying homer in the eighth and drove in two runs. Martin scored twice and drove in two runs. Jorge Alcala (1-0) pitched two innings and picked up the win.
Twins starter Joe Ryan piled up a career-best 12 strikeouts in six innings. Ryan allowed three runs but only one was earned, and he yielded six hits and one walk.
Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer and Colt Keith also drove in two runs for the Tigers.
Detroit starter Kenta Maeda, facing his former team, gave up two runs (one earned) and five hits in six innings, with five strikeouts and no walks.
The Tigers grabbed a two-run lead in the first inning when Carpenter drilled a 3-2 offering from Ryan over the right-center-field wall.
The Twins got one of those runs back in the third. Willi Castro led off with a double and scored on Martin’s double to left.
A Maeda error helped Minnesota tie it in the fifth. Martin had a one-out single before Edouard Julien hit a bouncer to Maeda, whose throw to second sailed into center field. Martin went to third and scored on Carlos Santana’s fielder’s choice.
Detroit regained the lead at 3-2 in the sixth. Spencer Torkelson led off with a double and scored on Keith’s single to right.
Jeffers tied the contest against Shelby Miller in the eighth, ripping a 2-0 fastball over the left-center-field wall.
Both teams scored a single run in the 11th. Jeffers smacked a single to left off Jason Foley to bring in automatic runner Santana. Keith knocked in Torkelson with a single to force another inning.
–Field Level Media
