DETROIT -- It’s often easy to forget in the midst of a record-breaking show of power that these Twins hitters aren’t simply the sluggers of old that racked up strikeouts in all-or-nothing plate appearances. As Rocco Baldelli is always quick to point out, they’ve also provided consistently good at-bats, and that goes all the way down to the younger players, too.

LaMonte Wade Jr. still doesn’t have a hit in the Major Leagues, but the rookie was sent to the plate as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and drew a leadoff walk to set the stage for several more strong at-bats, capped by a two-run go-ahead single by Max Kepler that carried the Twins to a 4-3 win and a series win Monday over the Tigers at Comerica Park.

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"Not every game is going to come with home runs and with margins of victory and things like that,” Baldelli said. “The fact that our guys just kept playing hard -- we're well into a road trip right now, and our guys found a way to get it done. We got it done."

The Twins are now 6-1 on this road trip and have won eight of their last nine contests to stretch their lead in the American League Central over Cleveland from 2 1/2 to 5 1/2 games.

The victory capped a series that was, really, a tale of two Twins teams.

There was the version of this lineup that bashed six homers in a game for the fifth time this season as the Twins broke the all-time MLB record for most homers in a season on Saturday night. But the Twins also flashed a very different line drive-oriented, opposite-field ability in the other three games -- featuring a combined 32 singles -- that fueled their wins on Friday, Sunday and Monday.

“We can do it all,” Kepler said. “We just muster together good at-bats and just try and put the ball in play, really. Like I said before, the size of the player in here speaks for itself. If you can make good contact, the ball is going to go. It starts with having a quality at-bat."

Wade Jr. had been sidelined since July 7 with a right thumb dislocation and feels that he’s still getting his confidence and timing back, but the 25-year-old rookie was sent to hit in place of free swinger Willians Astudillo in the eighth with the Twins trailing, 3-2. Wade Jr. took all five pitches that he saw from right-hander Buck Farmer to draw a leadoff walk.

“One thing you know with LaMonte is that you know that he's going to give you a good at-bat and he's going to force the pitcher into the zone and to throw strikes,” Baldelli said. “Sometimes, you've got to take a shot even though he hasn't been here and he's been on the IL and working his way back. You do know that he's going to give you that quality at-bat, and he did."

“[Baldelli’s confidence] definitely means a lot,” Wade Jr. said. “I'm just trying to go out there and help any way I can.”

Rookie second baseman Luis Arraez, already known for his strong approach at the plate, followed by patiently working an 0-2 count into a 3-2 count before he got a fastball over the plate and slashed it into center for a single. Ehire Adrianza, who had crushed a two-run homer in the second inning, followed with a two-out, infield single up the middle to load the bases for Kepler.

That set the stage for Kepler, who had struck out twice earlier in the game. He took a pair of balls and hacked at a fastball down the middle, but fouled it off. Despite leading the team in homers, Kepler didn’t try to do too much with the next pitch, a 2-1 fastball over the outer half, and shot a line-drive single to the opposite field to give the Twins the lead.

“You know that Kep's going to go up there and generally swing at good pitches,” Baldelli said. “He's going to give himself a chance. And that's really what I think is at least one aspect of when we talk about clutch situations and when there are men in scoring position. I think a big part of that is simply finding a good pitch to hit, forcing the pitcher to do what he needs to do, and not really giving them an easy way out.”

The knock was all the more significant given that the Tigers had put Matt Hall on the mound to set up a lefty-on-lefty matchup against Kepler, who entered Monday’s game with a .293/.346/.536 line against southpaws this season as part of his career-long improvement against left-handed pitching.

“It wouldn't have happened if any of the three guys before me hadn't put together good at-bats and got on,” Kepler said. “So it's collective. They supplied energy to me. … They motivated me once they got on and kind a sparked a good inning. Without them, it wouldn't have happened."

Garver removed after taking ball to mask
Twins catcher Mitch Garver was removed from the fourth inning of Monday’s game with a sore jaw after taking a ball off his catcher’s mask. A 93.6-mph fastball from Jake Odorizzi ran high and inside on Tigers center fielder Harold Castro and ricocheted off the knob of the bat before clipping Garver’s mitt and glancing off the chin area of his catcher’s mask.

The ball was initially ruled to have hit Castro, and while the play was reviewed, Garver’s jaw area was examined by Baldelli and athletic trainer Matt Biancuzzo before the catcher was removed from the game and replaced by Astudillo. Garver, who leads the Major Leagues with 26 homers as a catcher, was 0-for-1 with a walk before his exit.