MINNEAPOLIS -- Tigers left-hander Matt Boyd had one of his worst major league starts in his last outing, hurting Detroit's playoff hopes with a home loss to the last-place Minnesota Twins.

Given another chance against the same opponent, Boyd made an adjustment and bounced back to boost the Tigers' chances of landing an American League wild card.

Boyd threw a career-high eight innings, and Miguel Cabrera added his 442nd career home run and a bit of drama on the basepaths as Tigers beat the Twins 8-1 Tuesday night.

Boyd (6-4) allowed just one run on three hits and one walk. He tied a career high with seven strikeouts.

"Just a small little mechanical tweak," Boyd said of his adjustment. "I knew exactly what I did wrong. I knew what it would take to get back to what it was for me. So, the last five days I've just been drilling it."

James McCann added a three-run homer as Detroit pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Baltimore Orioles for the final AL playoff position.

"Every game counts," Boyd said. "This is what you live for, you know? I wouldn't want it any other way. Back against the wall, we're fighting our way out, and we're going to keep fighting. It's the way we want it."

Brian Dozier had a first-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 23 games, but the Twins (55-96) dropped their fourth game in a row and matched their loss total from 2012 and 2013. They finished 83-79 last year.

"Our offense has been having a tough time," Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said. "We didn't score much in New York, and that trend kind of continued tonight. We had a pretty good day against Boyd last week, but he made amends going eight strong innings."

Cabrera's 34th homer of the season was a two-run liner to left in the seventh inning to tie him with Dave Kingman for 41st in major league history. He also passed Joe DiMaggio for 48th all-time with 1,538 RBIs.

Boyd kept Minnesota scoreless and retired 14 in a row until Robbie Grossman's solo homer with one out in the seventh.

Last week against the Twins, Boyd gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings as the two teams split a four-game series.

"No question it was the command," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said. "He didn't have his command when he saw the Twins the last time. He had all four pitches working (Tuesday). He used them all, but he was able to throw strikes."

Minnesota left-hander Hector Santiago (12-9) nearly matched Boyd early, but McCann's 12th home run ended Santiago's night in the sixth as part of a four-run inning.

Santiago, who had allowed just four hits heading into the sixth, wound up surrendering six runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He entered Tuesday having yielded five runs over his previous four starts.

Michael Tonkin came on in relief of Santiago and allowed two runs on four hits. Cameron Maybin had one of his two hits two batters ahead of Cabrera's homer off Tonkin in the seventh. Cabrera has 12 career home runs in 57 games at Target Field.

Cabrera displayed some speed, or at least determination, to manufacture a run in the fourth. Cabrera lined a ball to the base of the wall in right field. Cabrera turned and headed to second, and then hurried as Twins outfielder Max Kepler quickly grabbed the ball and threw to second. Cabrera slid in, feet-first, just ahead of the tag.

Cabrera then advanced to first on a fly out to center, again sliding in on a close play. Justin Upton followed with a ground ball to third base, which chased Cabrera back to the bag. As soon as third baseman Eduardo Escobar threw to first, Cabrera turned and ran home. First baseman Kennys Vargas' throw home seemed to beat Cabrera and he was tagged by catcher John Ryan Murphy.

However, a replay showed Cabrera got his foot in before the tag, and the umpires reversed the original out call.

"When I was backing up third, I definitely didn't expect him to go," Santiago said. "When he slid into third, I'm like, 'What are you doing?' I asked him. He called time and just laughed it off. When he went home, I saw the first two steps and I kind of thought he was going to fake him out, and then he took a third one. I started yelling, 'Four, four, four.'

"I don't know what he was doing. He did a good job. I think he caught everybody off guard there, got two bases and got a run from us."

NOTES: The Tigers decided on RHP Buck Farmer to start Wednesday's game in Minnesota in the open rotation spot. Farmer has a 4.07 ERA in 13 relief appearances with Detroit this season. ... Tigers 2B Ian Kinsler and DH Victor Martinez were held out of Tuesday's game. Kinsler is dealing with a concussion and Ausmus told reporters that Martinez's right knee swelled up after Sunday's game when he was hit by a pitch from Trevor Bauer. ... Twins OF Eddie Rosario's season has come to an end because of a fractured thumb. Rosario, who hit .269 with 32 RBIs in 92 games, will need six weeks to recover. ... Molitor said 3B Miguel Sano (lower back tightness) took batting practice and fielded grounders Tuesday. Sano was held out of the lineup but could return soon. ... Tigers 3B Nick Castellanos (left hand fracture) is still having issues after taking batting practice. Ausmus said a return this season is looking unlikely.