Jim Thome shines as Minnesota Twins defeat Detroit Tigers 9-6 – MLB Update
Jim Thome hit the 600th homer of his career on Monday, August 15 to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers by 9-6 at Comerica Park. The Minnesota Twins will not have wished for a greater win than this.
Deservingly, it was the 40-year-old Thome who made it possible. Both his 599th and 600th homer came in the game, resulting in the wild applause that he received by the Detroit Tigers’ fans.
But it was Delmon Young who was understandably disappointed as his three-run homer could not reap the team the much needed victory in the first of three-game series.
"It felt good to be on board, especially against the old team," Young said. "Especially in a pennant race, you just want to score as many runs as possible.”
Young started Monday’s game with a homer to left against Francisco Liriano as Rick Porcello threw a shut-out first inning. Having got a 1-0 lead, Porcello threw the second as scoreless to maintain the early lead for the Tigers.
However, the third inning brought about a quick change in the outlook of the game as the Minnesota offence charged. Ben Revere, Trevor Plouffe and Justin Morneau scored a single each to give the Twins 3-1 lead by the end of third.
Victor Martinez’s homer in the third levelled the score as Liriano seemed unable to contain the Tigers’ hitters. But as the game proceeded, both the starters threw fastballs that held back the hitters to open their bats.
It was in the 6th that Jim Thome homered and gave the team 5-3 lead followed by Ben Revere’s single, making it 6-3 for the Twins. But Alex Avila and Wilson Betemit hit a single each in the next inning to bring the lead down to 6-5.
After having hit the 599th homer, Jim Thome stirred tremendous applause in the ball park when he hit the 600th homer of his career in the seventh inning against Daniel Schlereth. That was a decisive homer that completely turned the
game in the Minnesota favour with a 9-5 lead.
"Hitting home runs can be very difficult," Thome said. "You sit in bed at night and you think about how's it going to be, how are you going to do this? It goes back to trying to slow yourself down and not being too antsy, too hyped up. It's just a great
night."
Apart from a homer that Ryan Raburn scored in the seventh, no other Detroit Tigers’ hitter could drive in any other run. Joe Nathan threw a scoreless ninth to conclude the game with 9-6 victory for the Minnesota Twins.
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