Detroit Tigers Drop 3-2 Loss to Twins as the Offense Scuffles

Apr 28, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Detroit Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez (28) hits a double in the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Tigers fell to the Minnesota Twins 3-2 in the second game of their three game series. Mike Pelfrey got the start for the Twins and he was very good. His final line was 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. He retired the last 10 batters he faced before exiting the game after 7 innings. Casey Fein and Glen Perkins then retired the Tigers in order in the 8^th and 9^th to finish the game. The last baserunner to reach for the Tigers was Alex Avila with 2 outs in the 4^th inning on a walk.

Anibal Sanchez got the start for the Tigers, and his start was like many he has had with the Tigers. He was very strong early, but faded later in the game. Sanchez entered the 7^th inning, when the Twins did most of the damage against him, at 73 pitches that were relatively stress-free.

The Tigers got on the board first in this game. Alex Avila walked to lead off the inning. He advanced to second after Danny Santana made an error, allowing Nick Castellanos to reach safely. Jose Iglesias hit into a double play, advancing Avila to third. He scored after a single from Anthony Gose.

The Twins came back and evened the game at 1-1 in the bottom half of the third. Oswaldo Arcia singled to lead off the inning. Kurt Suzuki laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Arcia to second. He came around to score on a Santana single.

The Tigers answered right back in the top of the fourth. J.D. Martinez and Yoenis Cespedes hit back to back doubles which gave the Tigers the 2-1 lead.

The Twins almost got a run back in the 5^th inning when they put two on with one out. Arcia and Suzuki singled to threaten, but they did not score. Jordan Schafer popped out to shallow left field to put two on with two outs. Santana then hit a sharp single to right field that J.D. Martinez had in his hand when Arcia touched third. Arcia hesitated around third, ran through a stop sign, and was promptly thrown out by 30 feet at home plate.

Sanchez was not as lucky in the 6^th as he was in the 7^th to escape trouble. Eduardo Nunez led off the inning with a single. Eduardo Escobar came to the plate trying to sacrifice bunt, but the count went full, taking away the bunt sign. Escobar doubled off the wall in right-center field as Nunez was put in motion. Nunez scored from first, tying the game at 2-2. Suzuki then hit a single up the middle, scoring Escobar and giving the Twins the 3-2 lead.

The Twins threatened once again in the 8^th as Al Alburquerque continued his struggles. Trevor Plouffe singled and Nunez walked putting two runners on with one out that Tom Gorzelanny recorded. Escobar grounded into a fielder’s choice into the drawn in infield after the runners advanced on a wild pitch. Alburquerque then battled Shane Robinson in a nine pitch at-bat that he won after a fly out, but his regression has been troubling to say the least.

The two teams will face off for their series finale on Wednesday at 1:10pm at Target Field. Shane Greene will take the hill for the Tigers, trying to recover from his first bad start of the season. He will be opposed by Phil Hughes who is 0-4 with a 4.39 ERA after his career year in 2014.