MINNEAPOLIS — The Tigers were walked-off by the Minnesota Twins in the most bizarre way you could imagine Tuesday night.
Closer Gregory Soto had been perfect, three for three in his save chances this season. He'd walked just two hitters in 5.2 innings.
But he walked the first two hitters he faced Tuesday night on eight pitches. Not the best way to protect a skinny one-run lead.
After he struck out Max Kepler on three pitches, Miguel Sano lined a ball to right field that sailed over Robbie Grossman's glove. Two runs scored, though only after catcher Eric Haase throw to third base went into left field.
Final score, Twins 5, Tigers 4.
The Tigers, trailing 3-1, were down to their final five outs when Javier Báez stepped to the plate with two on and one out in the eighth inning.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli had summoned right-hander Emilio Pagan to face the Tigers’ slugger. Báez didn’t wait for any drama to build. He lined the first pitch he saw, an 84-mph splitter, into the bullpen in left-center field.
His second home run of the season put the Tigers up 4-3 win over Central Division-rival Twins at Target Field where temperatures dipped under 40 degrees.
The ball left Báez's bat with an exit velocity of 108.6 mph and traveled 415 feet. It was just the 11th splitter Pagan had thrown this season.
Baez drove home the Tigers' first run of the game back in the sixth, knocking Twins starter Chris Paddack out of the game with a two-out RBI double, a laser off the wall in right field.
Not bad for his second game back after missing nine with a jammed right thumb.
Michael Fulmer pitched a scoreless eighth
The homer nearly rescued another quality start for Eduardo Rodriguez, who had issue with only one Twins hitter on this night – left-handed swinging Max Kepler.
Left-handed hitters have always hit for a higher average than right-handers against lefty Rodriguez. But until this year, Rodriguez has been able to contain the power against them.
Kepler, the only lefty in the Minnesota starting lineup Tuesday night, lashed an RBI double off Rodriguez in the second inning and lined a two-run home run in the fourth.
In the short sample, left-handed hitters this season against Rodriguez are 5 for 9 with all five hits going for extra bases (three doubles and two homers). And Kepler’s two knocks were missiles: exit velocity of 107.5 mph and 105 mph.
But that was all the damage Rodriguez allowed, throwing his second straight quality start. He allowed just two other hits and two walks and six strikeouts through six innings. He had the Tigers in position to win.
Paddack shut the Tigers out over the first five innings on just two hits before Báez got him in the sixth.
