The Minnesota Twins fell to the Detroit Tigers 11-6 after a 12-inning showdown on Wednesday night.
The Minnesota Twins had the AL Central rival Detroit Tigers on the ropes during their Wednesday night bout at Target Field, taking the game into extra innings after Royce Lewis tied it at 5-5 with a clutch two-run single in the eighth.
Nonetheless, Minnesota's bullpen struggled to hold the fort as the Tigers erupted for six runs to secure an 11-6 win after 12 innings.
Following the game, manager Derek Shelton acknowledged the many opportunities Minnesota had to close out their opponent but failed to capitalize on due to a combination of defensive miscues and hitters like rookie Walker Jenkins not executing when it mattered most.
"We gave ourselves a bunch of opportunities and unfortunately we weren’t able to capitalize on those opportunities because we had a chance to win the game at multiple spots," Shelton said in a postgame interview. "We gave up the homer which is fine but then we give up a ball that hits off Royce’s glove. Royce makes a heck of an effort but the worst thing is it hits off his glove because it then tips away instead of falling right there."
Jenkins had one of his worst nights during his first five days of big-league action, going 0-for-4 at the plate and striking out three times.
Detroit struck early in the second when John Peck drove in Max Clark and Eduardo Valencia with a two-run double off Twins right-hander Dean Kremer who surrendered six hits and four earned runs through four innings pitched.
Kremer held on for the next couple innings, allowing Minnesota to bring the game within one when an RBI double by Ryan Jeffers scored Kody Clemens in the fourth.
Still, the Tigers chased Kremer out of the game during the fifth as Hao-Yu Lee brought home Kevin McGonigle while scoring himself off a one-run double by Riley Greene.
Peck extended the lead to 5-1 in the sixth when he scored Clark with an RBI single for another run. That same inning, the Twins began showing life when Trevor Larnach drove in Jeffers with an RBI double.
Prior to Lewis' big hit, Victor Caratini carried over that momentum in the eighth as he drew a bases-loaded walk that allowed Brooks Lee to come in and bring the matchup within two.
Even when Detroit reclaimed the lead in the 11th, the Twins rallied back to even the game at 6-6 but it was not enough when Jenkins had grounded out earlier. Clemens and Jeffers struggled as well, retiring to strand runners at the corners.
As Minnesota couldn't find an answer, Spencer Torkelson ignited the Tigers' late barrage with a two-run homer to left field while Javier Báez plated three more runs, sealing the Twins' fate after a hit by pitch on Peck by reliever Tommy Nance loaded the bases.
With the loss, the Twins fell to 67-73 overall while they hold a 2.5-game divisional lead over Detroit.
Minnesota will now have their sights set on earning a bounce-back win on Friday over the first-place Chicago White Sox when Zebby Matthews toes the rubber against right-hander Erick Fedde.
