Javier Baez hit a three-run home run to help the Detroit Tigers to a 7-1 win against the Minnesota Twins in the second game of their four-game series on Friday night in Minneapolis.
Matt Vierling hit two solo homers and also singled for the Tigers, who won the series opener 8-4 on Thursday.
Twins starter Joe Ryan (7-4) allowed six runs and seven hits in seven innings, striking out seven without a walk.
After starting the season 7-1 with a 2.21 ERA through 10 starts, Ryan is 0-3 in his past four outings with a 6.08 mark in that span.
Alex Kirilloff homered while Donovan Solano and Edouard Julien had two hits apiece for Minnesota.
After Will Vest pitched a scoreless first inning for the Tigers, Mason Englert was on the mound to start the second and gave up a solo home run to Kirilloff to start the inning and give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
The Twins missed a chance to add to its lead later in the inning after Solano singled and Joey Gallo doubled into the right-field corner with one out. Solano was thrown out after he overran third base, however, and Christian Vazquez flew out to deep center to end the inning.
Vierling reached on an infield single to start the third and Eric Haase followed with a line-drive single to left. Jonathan Schoop then singled up the middle to score Vierling and tie it 1-1.
Kerry Carpenter later hit a sacrifice fly with one out and the bases loaded to move Detroit ahead 2-1. Baez then stepped up and lifted a 1-2 pitch just inside the left-field foul pole for a 5-1 lead.
Vierling took Ryan deep in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-1. That score held until Vierling hit his second homer of the game in the ninth to make it 7-1.
Englert (2-2) blanked the Twins in the third and Tyler Holton, Brendan White, Jose Cisnero and Chasen Shreve combined for six innings of scoreless relief, allowing just three hits between them.
--Field Level Media
Detroit | Minnesota | |
Matt Vierling | Player | Edouard Julien |
3 | Hits | 2 |
2 | RBI | 0 |
2 | HR | 0 |
9 | TB | 2 |
.750 | Avg | .500 |