Detroit Tigers annihilated by Minnesota Twins 3-9 in series opener – MLB Update
Detroit Tigers were annihilated by the Minnesota Twins 3-9 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Monday, August 13 in the opening game of their three match series.
Minnesota used the home conditions effortlessly to dominate their opponents in almost all departments of the game. The offence that struggled to score enough runs in the last few games made the most of available opportunities on Monday afternoon as the Twins
secured a much needed victory.
Twins’ starting pitcher Samuel Deduno had another memorable outing as he pitched seven effective innings to lay the foundation of an impressive victory. Striking-out six batters and allowing just five hits, he improved his record to 4-0. His counterpart
from Detroit, Anibal Sanchez took his second straight loss after giving up a season high 12 hits and five runs in just over five innings.
"I certainly know that he's a better pitcher than he's shown so far," Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland said.
Justin Morneau continued his brilliant hitting form as he earned an RBI single to left in the third inning to break the deadlock, putting his side on the board. Darin Mastroianni also had an excellent time on the plate as he drove in crucial runs in the
fifth and the sixth to extend Twins’ lead to 5-1.
"It's hard when you're not playing every day. You're not used to doing that, then you have to go face big league pitching after not playing for four days," Mastroianni said. "But at the same time, it gives me a chance to learn a lot and regroup."
"Mastroianni, what can you say about him?" Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He made a great play and offensively he was all over the place, running around."
Ryan Doumit sent the Tigers into a hole with a home-run to left-centre in the seventh as Josh Willingham hit a sacrifice fly to help Twins end the game on an aggressive note. For the Tigers, Miguel Cabrera and Delmon Young drove in two runs in closing stages
of the game but their effort was never going to be enough.
The Twins looked very impressive as they managed to dominate the Tigers from the start. It will be interesting to see how far Minnesota can carry their winning momentum forward.
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