22 September, 2017
The Twins are still second in the AL Wild Card race, 1.5 games ahead of the Angles and 7 games behind the Yankees.
The Twins had lost five of six coming into the night, including a three-game sweep at the hands of the New York Yankees, but they routed a depleted Detroit team that is 4-17 in September after trading Justin Verlander and Justin Upton. Adalberto Mejia gave up just the one run on four hits while striking out five over 4.2 innings of work, not factoring in the decision. Dillon Gee (3-2) was credited with a victory in relief.
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, in Detroit. Joe Mauer added a two-run double, the 400th of his career, reached four straight times and pushed his batting average to.311. Eduardo Escobar added a double and an RBI while Robbie Grossman and Jorge Polanco also chipped in runs in the winning effort.
Eight different Twins drove in runs and their 10 walks were a season high for a nine-inning game.
"I thought he was starting to get exhausted a little bit".
Neither pitcher inspires much confidence today, but Mejia actually has some great road numbers.
That led to a three-run inning off Victor Alcantara to break open a 4-1 game.
If you don't believe that, you should have seen future hall of famer Miguel Cabrera wincing with every swing and miss. This was his second start back after missing over a month with a left arm strain.
"Absolutely, I understand why", Mejia said through a translator.
Minnesota will send right-hander Kyle Gibson (11-10, 5.07 ERA) to protect its position in the standings on Friday.
Sano hasn't played since August 18 after fouling a ball off his left shin, and Molitor said he is doubtful Sano would return by the end of the regular season. "He's got to keep working like he's got a chance". Daniel Norris will start game two and is 4-7 with a 5.38 ERA and 83 strikeouts this season.
