Matt Shoemaker continued his dominance of the Detroit Tigers and the visiting Minnesota Twins hit three solo homers while pulling away to a 7-3 victory on Friday.
Shoemaker (2-3) tossed five scoreless innings despite allowing four hits and two walks. He struck out five while posting his sixth win in eight career starts against Detroit.
Kyle Garlick, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler had the homers for Minnesota. Polanco reached base four times while scoring two runs and driving in two more and Kepler added two RBIs.
Detroit starter Tarik Skubal (0-5) gave up two solo homers in five innings but also equaled his career high with eight strikeouts. Willi Castro blasted a three-run homer and Miguel Cabrera reached base four times.
The game was delayed in the middle of the fifth inning and the end of the sixth inning by inclement weather.
Garlick lofted a fly ball leading off the game that just cleared the right-field wall. Skubal then struck out the next three batters.
Polanco smacked his third homer this season over the left-field wall leading off the second.
Cabrera snapped an 0-for-26 skid with a long single in the second inning. Niko Goodrum followed with another single. Shoemaker struck out the next better, then got JaCoby Jones to tap into a double play.
With Bryan Garcia on the mound, the Twins scored twice in the sixth. Polanco and Miguel Sano drew one-out walks. Kepler knocked in Polanco with a single to center and Andrelton Simmons brought in Sano with a groundout.
The Tigers broke through against reliever Cody Stashak in the sixth inning. Candelario led off with a single and Cabrera walked. One out later, Castro drilled a changeup over the left-center fence to cut Minnesota’s lead to 4-3.
Minnesota scored a run off Jose Cisnero after the second rain delay. Josh Donaldson hit a one-out double and Mitch Garver drew a walk in the seventh. Polanco ripped a two-out double to right to knock in Donaldson.
Kepler drilled a Daniel Norris offering over the right-field wall in the eighth. Sano had an RBI single in the ninth.
–Field Level Media