Detroit Tigers 7, Minnesota Twins 2: Huge 7th sparks Motown victory

For six innings, the Tigers couldn't break through against Phil Hughes, as the Twins made defensive gem after defensive gem to rob the offense. In the seventh inning, a bit of baseball justice finally prevailed. The Tigers batted around en route to scoring seven runs and went on to win, 7-2.

It started with a stand-up triple by Miguel Cabrera, which, if you think about it is like seeing a unicorn, so good things were bound to follow. They did. Victor Martinez got him home and ended Hughes' day, then Nick Castellanos, Justin Upton (ground-rule double!) and Cameron Maybin all collected hits off Twins reliever Michael Tonkin.

Another pitching change didn't help matters for Minnesota, as Jose Iglesias greeted Trevor May with a single to break the tie and give Detroit a 4-2 lead. Back to back home runs by Ian Kinsler and J.D. Martinez killed the rally gave the Tigers a 7-2 lead before the inning finally ended on another Victor Martinez flyout.

On the pitching side of the ledger, Mike Pelfrey allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk, but failed to make it out of the sixth inning. Still, you could call this his second-best start of the season. Joe Mauer and Miguel Sano both hit solo shots for Minnesota.

Kyle Ryan bridged the game well for the Tigers, going 1-2/3 innings without allowing a baserunner. Mark Lowe gave up a pair of walks before escaping the eighth, and Justin Wilson closed out the ninth for the Tigers' third straight win.

ROARS:

EVERYONE: But especially Ian Kinsler, J.D. Martinez, Miguel Cabrera, Cameron Maybin, Jose Iglesias, Victor Martinez, Justin Upton and Nick Castellanos.

OH: And Mike Pelfrey, Kyle Ryan, Mark Lowe, and Justin Wilson too.

And Gene Lamont. Special guest manager while Brad Ausmus cooled his heels for a game after disrobing at home plate Monday.

HISSES:

NO ONE!

STREAKS AND STATS:

• Ian Kinsler's seventh-inning home run was his team-leading ninth of the year. Nick Castellanos has eight.
• J.D. Martinez also has eight home runs after a seventh-inning solo shot.
• Cameron Maybin has two stolen bases in two games, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the Tigers' stolen bases of the season (11) already.

WIN PROBABILITY GRAPH:

Source: FanGraphs