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Friday, Aug. 4 7:05pm ET
Lawton's bases-loaded pinch hit keys Twins | |||||
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GAME LOG
DETROIT (AP) -- Matt Lawton gave Eric Milton a nice 25th birthday present Friday night. Lawton's tiebreaking two-run pinch-hit single made a winner out of Milton, who pitched seven solid innings and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 3-1. Lawton, who hadn't played since Monday because of a sprained right toe, pinch-hit for Chad Moeller with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth. He lined a 3-1 pitch from Nelson Cruz into left, giving the Twins a 3-1 lead. "I came out and took batting practice and they asked me if I was able to hit," Lawton said. "I said, 'Yeah, I can hit but I can't run.' It was a perfect situation with the bases-loaded and two out. I was gimpy going down to first base." Lawton would've never had the chance if not for a mental gaffe by Tigers third baseman Shane Halter. After C.J. Nitkowski (4-8) put runners on first and second with two out, Halter couldn't cleanly field Jacque Jones' grounder. He recovered -- only to make a late throw to first when he could've either forced or tagged David Ortiz at third. "The ball just hit off my glove, then hit me in the cheek. Then after that I kind of like panicked," Halter said. "I didn't know where the runners were. I didn't know if I had a chance at second base, third base or what. I was kind of disoriented at the time and just threw the ball to first out of instinct. It was just a really stupid play." Lawton delivered after Cruz relieved Nitkowski. "I don't know if we should've won it, but we shouldn't have lost it like that," Tigers manager Phil Garner said. "We're playing all night and it looked like we weren't going to score a run, but still we don't want to lose it by not making a play." Halter's miscue was not typical of the Tigers, who stayed in the game with several outstanding defensive plays. The best was left-fielder Bobby Higginson's diving catch in the seventh of Jacque Jones' smash into gap near the flag pole. "The play Higginson made in left-field's got to be on somebody's (highlight) tape for a long, long time," Twins manager Tom Kelly said. "That's one of the best catches I've ever seen." Both Kelly and Garner said Jones would've had an inside-the-park homer if Higginson didn't make the catch. "As good as any one we've seen this year," Garner said. "He went a long way to get it." Milton (11-6) gave up one run and four hits to win his third straight start. He had dropped four straight decisions before the current streak. "When you go out there and win without your best stuff, it tells you something," Milton said. "To work six or seven (innings) without good stuff, I'll take it." Bob Wells pitched two innings for his eighth save. Tigers starter Willie Blair, moved up a day when Hideo Nomo was scratched with discomfort in his right hand, allowed one run and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings. "Today was actually the fifth day, so it wasn't a big dal at all," Blair said. "I felt good, I was able to throw all my pitches for strikes and keep them off balance and we made a couple of great defensive plays to help me out." Both teams were hitless until Midre Cummings' leadoff double in the fourth. He moved up on Ron Coomer's single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ortiz. Milton retired nine straight before Damion Easley led off the fourth with a single. The Tigers scored in the fifth on Juan Encarnacion's sacrifice fly after singles from Dean Palmer and Wendell Magee. Detroit then loaded the bases with one out, but Milton got Easley on a pop behind second base before Brad Ausmus flew out. "Getting out of that with only one run gave me a boost," Milton said. Game notesKnuckleballer RHP Steve Sparks (0-2, 6.55 ERA) will take Blair's scheduled start Saturday against the Twins. ... Milton retired at least the first nine batters he faced for the second straight time. He set down the first 10 (and 14 of the first 15) in a 6-2 win July 29 over the New York Yankees. ... The Twins' Corey Koskie was thrown out at home trying to score from first on Hunter's two-out double in the sixth, the relay going RF Magee to 2B Easley to C Ausmus. ... The Tigers' four hits matched their lowest game total since June 24 at Cleveland. ... Nomo is day-to-day after X-rays on his hand were negative. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Minnesota Clubhouse Detroit Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 5 Kansas City 4
Minnesota 3
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