MINNEAPOLIS — Harold Castro hit a pair of solo home runs Wednesday, the second a 423-foot blast into the upper tank in right-center field that tied the game at 2 in the top of the eighth inning.
And in the 10th inning, Jeimer Candelario launched a two-run home run onto the berm beyond the center-field wall to put the Tigers up by two with three outs to get.
It was like pulling teeth, but the Tigers got it done, squelching a bases-loaded threat in the bottom of the 10th and securing a 4-2 win in the finale of the three-game series against the Twins at Target Field.
A throwing error at shortstop by Willi Castro put reliever Michael Fulmer in the soup in the 10th. Willi Castro started the game in left field with Harold Castro starting at short. Javier Baez was the designated hitter.
After Luis Arraez singled, the Twins had bases loaded and no outs. Fulmer struck out Carlos Correa and lefty Andrew Chafin was summoned to face left-handed-hitting Max Kepler.
Chafin struck him out for the second out.
The Tigers bookended the 3-5 trip with victories and snapped a five-game losing streak against the Twins.
They'd missed a chance to go ahead in the top of the ninth. With the bases loaded and one out, manager AJ Hinch sent up Miguel Cabrera to pinch hit for red-hot but left-handed hitting Harold Castro against lefty Caleb Thielbar.
Cabrera worked the count full then took a borderline pitch at the bottom of the zone. Home plate umpire Charlie Ramos rang it up, called strike three. Cabrera was furious and replays showed the ball was below the strike zone.
Thielbar got Jonathan Schoop to pop out to right to end the inning.
For Harold Castro, who hit the game-winning home run in Tampa in the first game of this road trip, it was the first multi-homer game of his career. His solo home run leading off the sixth inning was the only mark the Tigers put on Twins starter Dylan Bundy in 5 2/3 innings.
It also snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak.
The Twins' runs came on one swing. After a one-out walk in the fourth inning, Trevor Larnach hit a 431-foot rocket into the seats in right field in the fourth inning off Tigers' "starter" Rony Garcia.
With five starting pitchers on the injured list, the Tigers made it a bullpen day and Garcia, the former Rule 5 draftee who missed most of last year with a knee injury, was stellar. He went four innings, throwing a season-high 78 pitches and allowed just three hits.
His only mistake was the location of that 0-1 four-seam fastball (92.5 mph) he threw to Larnach.
Trusty Wily Peralta, who had allowed just two earned runs in 17 1/3 innings this year, put up two more zeros, and Joe Jimenez struck out the side in the seventh, keeping the Tigers in striking distance.
Hinch went to closer Gregory Soto in the eighth inning, presumably matching up against the three left-handed hitters coming up for the Twins, including Kepler, who has hit four home runs off the Tigers in six games this season.
Soto worked a clean eighth, getting Kepler to fly out to center. Center fielder Derek Hill made a impressive running catch on a slicing liner in the right-center gap off Correa.
With one out in the ninth, Soto hit pinch-hitter Kyle Garlick. Lange was summoned at that point and gave up a two-out single to Nick Gordon. Lange, though, got the game to extra innings by getting Gilberto Celestino to ground out.
The game was delayed nearly an hour because of rain.
