By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
Tigers 8, Twins 5 – The Tigers held on to complete a three-game series sweep against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday afternoon.
Detroit jumped out to an 8-0 lead, scoring three runs in both the second and third innings and two in the sixth.
Minnesota responded with a run in the sixth and seventh inning before closing the scoring with three runs in the eighth to fall short of a comeback.
The Tigers were led by James McCann with four hits, which included a double, home run and three RBIs while Victor Martinez doubled twice and knocked in two runs. Ian Kinsler chipped in with a double and two RBIs.
Detroit’s starting pitcher Daniel Norris picked up his second win of the season. He allowed two runs on six hits while striking out five batters in 6 1/3 innings.
Minnesota was led in a losing effort by Robbie Grossman and Max Kepler with two RBIs apiece while Eduardo Escobar knocked in a run.
The Tigers are now 68-59 on the season, good for second place in the American League Central Division behind the Cleveland Indians. They are two and a half games back of the Baltimore Orioles for the final playoff spot.
Detroit will head back home to face the Los Angeles Angels starting on Friday night.
Record: 68-59
2nd Place in AL Central Division (5 games behind first-place Cleveland)
2.5 games behind Baltimore for the last playoff spot
Magic # to clinch a playoff spot: 39
Magic # to clinch an AL Central Division title: 42
Next Game: 08/26/2016 vs Los Angeles Angels 7:10 p.m. @ Comerica Field
Hitting stats: James McCann 2B (24) HR (11) 3 RBI (42), Ian Kinsler 2B (24) 2 RBI (65), Victor Martinez 2 2B (19) 2 RBI (75), Andrew Romine 2B (2) RBI (10).
Pitching stats: Daniel Norris W (2-2) 6.1 IP 6 H 2 R 2 ER 0 BB 5 K, Francisco Rodriguez SV (35) 1 IP 0 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 K.
