DETROIT – Luis Arraez had three hits to raise his major league-leading average to .342, Carlos Correa homered and the Minnesota Twins scored six late runs to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-4 on Saturday night for just their fourth win in 12 games.
“I really enjoyed my first All-Star Gme with my family, but I knew we had to come back and start winning games,” Arraez said. “I'm excited because we have a very good team when we play like we did tonight.”
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Detroit's Miguel Cabrera had a run-scoring single in a three-run eighth and with 1,839 RBIs passed Ted Williams on the career list and tied Al Simmons for 13th place.
Joe Ryan (7-3) gave up one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the AL Central leaders, striking out seven and walking one. He is 2-0 in six starts since a June 14 loss at Seattle.
Detroit has lost 10 of 12 and dropped a season-worst 19 games under .500 at 38-57.
“We really fell apart after we got within 2-1,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
Michael Pineda (2-7) lost his third straight start, allowing two runs and four hits in three innings. He threw 55 pitches and left with right triceps tightness.
“It had bothered me before my last couple starts, but it went away once I got warmed up,” he said. “I've had injuries before — I had Tommy John surgery — but this feels a little different. We'll get the tests run tomorrow and see where we are.”
Max Kepler's first-inning sacrifice fly and Correa's 12th homer this season built a 2-0 lead in the third.
Javier Báez's RBI single cut the deficit in the sixth, but the Twins opened a 5-1 lead in the seventh after loading the bases when Alex Kiriloff singled against the shift. José Miranda singled off third baseman Jeimar Candelario's glove and Candelario misplayed Kyle Garlick's grounder for an error.
Gio Urshela hit a sacrifice fly and Arraez added a two-run single off Joe Jiménez. Arraez fell behind 0-2 and fouled off three pitches before singling on a 1-2 slider.
“He's fantastic in that situation," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That was a super meaningful at-bat in the game, but he's a little unusual, because he has those at-bats constantly. He forces the pitcher to throw something he can work with because he has so many ways to defend all the other pitches.”
Correa was denied another homer by Akil Baddoo's leaping catch at the left-field wall.
Gilberto Celestino hit a slow roller with the bases loaded in the eighth, and catcher Tucker Barnhart dropped second baseman Jonathan Schoop's throw for a run-scoring error.
Urshela followed with an RBI single, and Gary Sánchez hit into a run-scoring forceout.
“I feel like we got back into the game and it got right back away from us,” Hinch said.
BIG CROWD
The game drew 34,205, the third-largest home crowd this season for the Tigers, behind their April 8 opener and April 23 — when Cabrera got his 3,000th hit.
ODD WEEKEND
The game was the opener of a rare two-game weekend series that resulted from the lockout-delayed start to the season. Friday’s scheduled game was moved to a May 31 doubleheader, allowing the Tigers to play a Thursday doubleheader against the Oakland Athletics to make up two April games.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Twins: LHP Caleb Thielbar, who leads Minnesota with 40 relief outings, was placed on the 15-day IL with a left hamstring strain, a move retroactive to Tuesday. RHP Yennier Canó was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul.
Tigers: RHP Will Vest was reinstated from the paternity list and optioned RHP Ángel De Jesus was optioned to Triple-A Toledo. After the game, the Tigers optioned INF Zack Short to Toledo and activated RHP Rony Garcia (shoulder) from the disabled list.
UP NEXT
RHP Sonny Gray (4-3, 3.71) starts for the Twins on Sunday against Garcia (3-2, 4.28).
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