MINNEAPOLIS – It’s been a year of highs and lows for the Twins, with different parts of the roster carrying the load at different times. But one thing has been true all year: the best version of this team rakes.
They are raking again.
For the second straight night Tuesday, Minnesota blew out the visiting Tigers, this time by a 15-2 count thanks in large part to a 10-run sixth inning. It was their second straight double-digit output, after going five weeks without one.
Kody Clemens got it going with a solo homer in the first, and some defensive shenanigans helped the Twins put three on the board in the fifth against another hard-throwing young Tigers starter in Troy Melton.
It turns out that would have been enough for Connor Prielipp and the Twins' bullpen, but the home team was nowhere near done. Royce Lewis hammered a three-run homer to straightaway center in the sixth, chasing Melton, and Minnesota was only getting started.
A Luke Keaschall RBI single and Brooks Lee’s sac fly stretched the lead to 9-1, and Ryan Jeffers hit his third homer in three days to make it 12-1. Kaelen Culpepper’s two-run single was the final blow in the 15-batter, 10-run, eight-hit outburst.
The Twins remained 3 1/2 games behind Cleveland for the third AL Wild Card spot.