Minnesota Twins 3, Detroit Tigers 2: Game 21 Player of the Game

The Detroit Tigers had trouble generating offense against Minnesota Twins starter Mike Pelfrey tonight, only mustering two runs on three hits. They still made a game of it, and were one bad inning away from taking home yet another low-scoring victory. Instead, they fell to the Twins 3-2, falling to 14-7 on the season.

Anibal Sanchez had his second consecutive solid start, allowing three runs on nine hits in seven innings. The walk issues that Sanchez had in his last start were not impressive tonight. Sanchez struck out six without walking a batter, but took the loss thanks to a lack of run support.

Yoenis Cespedes had one of the few hard hit balls for the Tigers' offense tonight, lining an RBI double off the wall in center field in the fourth inning. Cespedes' hit gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead at the time, but it would be their final hit of the game.

J.D. Martinez had the only other extra base hit of the evening for the Tigers, a double that led to a run in the fourth inning. Martinez also threw out Oswaldo Arcia at home plate in the fifth inning on a strong, accurate throw. Sure, it helped that Arcia basically stopped on the way, but Martinez's throw may have been enough to get a hard-charging baserunner.

Blaine Hardy wasn't asked to do much, but he deserves credit for retiring the only batter he faced: former All-Star and career .318 hitter Joe Mauer.

Game 20 Player of the Game

Yoenis Cespedes edged out Jose Iglesias in yesterday's Player of the Game poll. Both players homered, but Cespedes had three RBI to Iglesias' one in the Tigers' 5-4 win over the Twins.