Tigers 2, Twins 1: Matt Boyd silences the Minnesota offense

There wasn’t a whole lot going on for either side on Tuesday, but Matt Boyd didn’t need much to work with. His efforts combined with James McCann’s two-run home run gave the Tigers a 2-1 win, tying them with the Twins for first in the American League Central Division.

After a rough first start that saw Boyd knocked out in the third inning, he gave the Twins nothing to work with in his second start of the season. He deployed a nasty changeup that had hitters wobbly at best, and his slider did the rest. The result was one two-out hit in the sixth, and two walks. That was it.

In addition to nearly no-hitting the Twins for six straight innings, Boyd struck out six batters and 14 of the 21 batters he faced started in an 0-1 count — 10 of those matchups lasted four-or-fewer pitches. He finished with 97 pitches and exited to a standing ovation for his efforts.

The Tigers offense, meanwhile, wasn’t doing much against Hector Santiago. They had just two hits against him — a Victor Martinez single in the second, and a Miguel Cabrera single in the fourth — until James McCann took him deep to left on a two-run home run. It would’ve been a solo shot had Justin Upton not been hit by a pitch to start the fifth.

ROARS:

Matt Boyd: Gave up one hit in six innings of work. He also struck out six batters and walked two.

James McCann: Dude gained some pop over the offseason. Smashed his third dinger in four games, this one a two-run homer.

Most of the Tigers bullpen: Shane Greene, Kyle Ryan, and Justin Wilson put in a combined three innings of no-run ball. Greene gave up a hit and a walk but was quickly pulled after an out in favor of Ryan, who eliminated any danger. Wilson walked a batter but that was as eventful as his inning of work became.

HISSES:

Tigers offense: Santiago was pitching well, but the Tigers still had chances to make him pay and couldn’t capitalize.

Francisco Rodriguez: Didn’t do so well. Gave up a one-out double and an RBI single with a 2-0 lead. Then, he gave up a bloop single to pinch hitting Joe Mauer to put two on.

STATS AND INFO:

• James McCann's home run gave the Tigers a homer in their first seven games for only the second time since 1913. The other time was in 2014.