DETROIT – The Minnesota Twins’ quest for a wild card spot now moves to Cleveland.
Brian Dozier’s two-run double in the middle of a six-run second inning Sunday sparked Minnesota to a 7-1 victory over Detroit that kept the Twins in the thick of the fight for the second American League wild-card playoff spot.
The Twins are 1 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros in the wild-card standings.
“It’s good,” Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said after his team took two out of three from Detroit. “You keep trying to find ways to win.
“Now it’s on to Cleveland – and they’re right behind us. We’ve got to try to figure out a way to get it done there. And we’re going up against some awfully good pitching.”
“In my mind, I was thinking back to a year ago when we were coming up the stairs ready to dump champagne on each other,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “That’s a much better feeling.
“Baseball’s a difficult game, more than it looks on paper at times. As much as you like to prognosticate in February and March, that’s why you have to play ‘em.
“I do have confidence (about next year). We weren’t really a team for more than a couple days all year, in terms of having everyone (healthy).”
Veteran left-hander Randy Wolf was one of the stop-gap starters Detroit called on when the Tigers traded southpaw David Price and then saw starting right-hander Anibal Sanchez and newly acquired lefty Daniel Norris go down with injuries.
Right-hander Ervin Santana (7-4) shut out Detroit on four hits until doubles by left fielder Tyler Collins and shortstop Josh Wilson gave the Tigers a run in the seventh.
Santana finished the seventh and wound up walking two while striking out five. Right-hander Michael Tonkin worked the eighth and ninth for the Twins.
“Ervin seemed like he was in control,” Molitor said. “But he gave up a couple of hits in that first inning and first inning seems to be huge for him.
Buxton got his first major league home run, a liner to left off right-hander Jose Valdez in the eighth.
“I don’t know which was better,” Molitor said, “Buxton’s first home run or (designated hitter Miguel) Sano’s first triple.”
MIN ab r h bi DET ab r h bi
Dozier 2b 5 1 2 2 Davis cf 4 0 1 0
Hicks lf 4 1 2 1 Kinsler 2b 3 0 0 0
Mauer 1b 4 0 0 0 Machado ph 1 0 0 0
Sano dh 5 0 1 0 Cabrera dh 1 0 1 0
Hunter rf 4 0 1 1 Holaday ph 1 0 0 0
Kepler ph 1 0 0 0 Martinz 1b 3 0 0 0
Nunez 3b 3 1 2 0 Marte ph 1 0 0 0
Escobar ss 3 1 0 0 Martinz rf 3 0 0 0
Suzuki c 4 1 1 1 Moya rf 1 0 0 0
Buxton cf 4 2 2 2 Cstllns 3b 4 0 0 0
Collins lf 4 1 3 0
Avila c 3 0 1 0
Wilson ss 4 0 1 1
Totals 37 7 11 7 Totals 33 1 7 1
Minnesota 060 000 010 - 7
Detroit 000 000 100 - 1
E-Castellanos 1. LOB-Detroit 8, Minnesota 7. 2B-Avila (5), Buxton (7), Ty.Collins (11), Dozier (39), Jo.Wilson (2). 3B-Sano (1). HR-Buxton (1). SB-Nunez (7).
IP H R ER BB SO
Minnesota
E.Santana W, 7-4 7 6 1 1 2 5
Tonkin 2 1 0 0 1 1
Detroit
Wolf L, 0-5 1 2-3 7 6 4 1 3
K.Ryan 4 1-3 2 0 0 2 3
Ferrell 1 0 0 0 0 1
Valdez 1 1 1 1 0 0
Gorzelanny 1 1 0 0 0 1
Inherited runners-scored-K.Ryan 1-0. HBP-Nunez (by K.Ryan).
Umpires-Home, Clint Fagan; First, Mike Winters; Second, Mike Muchlinski; Third, Jim Reynolds.
T-2:57. A-33,517 (45,010)
