MINNEAPOLIS -- Spencer Torkelson had finally had enough.
The Twins and Tigers had traded blows for 11 innings and remained tied 6-6. Then Torkelson led off the 12th with a no-doubt, two-run homer to left and the Tigers escaped Target Field with an 11-6 victory on Wednesday.
After Kyle Finnegan allowed the tying run to score in the 11th, he stranded the winning run on third by striking out Kody Clemens and getting Ryan Jeffers on a grounder to end the inning.
Torkelson then hit the second pitch from Tommy Nance into the left-field bleachers for his 21st homer of the year.
“In that at-bat, just trying to do a job,” Torkelson said. “[Riley Greene was] behind me. I know if I move the runner, he’s gonna get the guy in. I end up just putting a good swing on a good pitch to hit. And it felt pretty freaking good.”
The Tigers then loaded the bases with two outs and Javier Báez blooped a double down the right-field line to unload them.
After losing the first two games of the series by a combined score of 26-3, the Tigers needed something to build on as they head into Cleveland for a four-game weekend set with the Guardians.
They got more than enough to build some momentum. Starter Drew Anderson allowed one earned run over 5 2/3 innings. John Peck, Detroit’s No. 20 prospect, collected his first two Major League hits and drove in three runs. And Max Clark doubled three times and scored three runs.
“I'm proud of our group. This was a difficult win to get to the finish line,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I thought we played with energy, we got ahead, we had baserunners. Drew was throwing the ball well. We ran into an issue and fought back, and had our backs against the wall and found a way.”
The Tigers appeared to be on their way to a comfortable win until their bullpen coughed up a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning. But the Twins couldn’t muster one more big hit with runners on base.
“The way the last couple weeks have gone, we very easily could have just said, ‘All right, we're done. It's just not our night,’” Torkelson said. “I'm really proud. One of my favorite wins in a long time.”
Peck picked a great time to shine at the plate. Eduardo Valencia led off the second with a single, and Clark doubled one out later. Peck then crushed a Dean Kremer cutter to the base of the wall in left-center for a two-run double.
The Tigers tacked on two more runs in the fifth before Peck added further insurance with a single that drove in Clark, who had doubled to lead off the sixth.
Then the Tigers’ bullpen gave away the lead in the eighth, as five of the first six batters reached against Drew Sommers and Kenley Jansen. Royce Lewis’ two-run single tied the game, but Jansen and Tyler Holton each struck out a batter to strand two runners in scoring position, setting up the dramatic extra-innings finish.
“Over time, this team has shown a lot of resiliency,” Hinch said. “Obviously this has been a really hard stretch and very much a roller-coaster season. So you’ve got to enjoy the wins and the fight.
“I know, in the big scheme of things, there's a lot of frustration around this team. But we're not gonna quit.”