Max Kepler and Brian Dozier homered, Byron Buxton had three hits and the playoff-chasing Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 7-3 on Friday night.
Kyle Gibson (12-10) allowed three runs and five hits in seven innings for the Twins. He struck out six and walked two.
The Twins continued to cement their hold on the second wild-card spot with a methodical, 7-3 win over the Tigers, who were playing after the announcement was made that manager Brad Ausmus would not be offered a contract for 2018.
Tigers dropped to 4-18 in September.
Bad Norris: It was another bad start for lefty Daniel Norris, who allowed five runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out two. This was his first start since July 5. He has allowed five runs in each of his past four starts. Norris’ previous four appearances this month came in relief. The Tigers have lost each of the past eight games that Norris has pitched in.
The Tigers bullpen, which was tagged for nine runs on Thursday, kept things relatively quiet. Drew VerHagen gave up a run in the sixth, RBI double by Robbie Grossman, and Shane Greene gave up a home run to Brian Dozier (32) in the ninth.
Daniel Stumpf, VerHagen (two strikeouts), Chad Bell (two), Alex Wilson (one) and Greene (two) combined to strike out seven and allow three hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Mahtook injured: Mikie Mahtook re-aggravated a left groin injury in the fourth inning trying to run down a two-run double by Byron Buxton in leftfield. Mahtook came out of the game and was replaced by Tyler Collins. The Twins added another run in the inning as Max Kepler, who hit a solo home run in the third, hit an RBI single to left to score Buxton and put the Twins ahead, 4-2. The Tigers later announced Mahtook would have an MRI to determine the severity of the injury.
Nick stays hot: It didn’t take long for Nick Castellanos to get over the end of his 17-game hitting streak. After going 0-for-4 in a 12-1 loss to the Twins on Thursday night, Castellanos hit a home run in his first at-bat on Friday. Castellanos gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning with his 25th home run of the season. He finished 1-for-4 for the game.
Castellanos has 34 doubles, 25 home runs and 10 triples this season. He’s one of 20 players in the majors with at least 30 doubles and 25 home runs. Castellanos and Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies are the only two players in the majors with at least 34 doubles, 10 triples and 25 homers. Blackmon has 34 doubles, 14 triples and 35 home runs.
Kinsler or Machado?: Ian Kinsler finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored for the Tigers. Kinsler had a RBI single in the third inning and hit his 21st home run of the season in the sixth. With the Tigers’ opting not to bring back Ausmus, the next big decision for the club will be whether to bring back Kinsler next season or not. He stands to make between $10-12 million in 2018, or can be bought out for $5 million. Dixon Machado could be the starting second baseman next season if the Tigers decided to part ways with Kinsler.
https://www.mlb.com/gameday/twins-v...396#game_state=final,game_tab=box,game=492396
Boxscore.
CHEERS
Nicholas Castellanos: Hit his 25th home run of the year, the day after his 17-game hit streak ended.
JaCoby Jones: Made a catch on a Joe Mauer line drive that StatCast rated four stars; there was a 29% catch probability.
Jeimer Candelario: Picked up a pair of hits. Currently batting north of .360. I like the cut o’ his jib.
HISSES
Tiger bats in general: To borrow a phrase from Crash Davis, at this point they couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat.
Matt Belisle: If you’re a pitcher, don’t wear a single-digit number. Just don’t, alright? (Looking at you too, Stroman.)
Daniel Norris: C’mon, man. We want to like you. But you’re making it very, very hard for us to do that right now.