John Shipley, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. –
RECAP: Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera added an RBI to his Triple Crown totals but was upstaged by Joe Mauer, who went 3 for 4 with a triple and four RBIs as the Twins won the opener of a day-night double-header Sunday, Sept. 23, in front of 40,438 paid at Comerica Park.
Mauer is one of the few players who could keep Cabrera from winning the Triple Crown by leading the American League in batting average, home runs and RBIs. Cabrera went 1 for 4 with an RBI double and still led in all three categories (.332/42/131) but Mauer — who won batting titles in 2006, ’08 and ’09 — has a .326 average with 10 games remaining.
Scott Diamond (12-8) gave up two earned runs on four hits and three walks, retiring the first 10 batters before the Tigers scored on Cabrera’s double and Delmon Young’s RBI single in the fourth. He struck out five. Max Scherzer (16-7) left with a 2-1 lead in the sixth but was charged with three earned runs in the Twins’ five-run sixth.
MEANING: The Tigers’ loss knocked them back to a full game behind first-place Chicago in the Central Division race pending the White Sox’s game at Anaheim.
ETC.: Justin Morneau, Trevor Plouffe, Pedro Florimon, Eduardo Escobar and Ben Revere also drove in runs for Minnesota.
