Tigers vs. Twins final score: Detroit wins with timely Prince Fielder hit

The Minnesota Twins could only muster one run off of 10 hits, and the Detroit Tigers used a Prince Fielder home run to take a 2-1 victory Sunday at Target Field. With the win, the 86-73 Tigers hold a 2.5 game lead on the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central.

The defenses ruled until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe led off with a single. Pinch runner Jamey Carroll reached second base on a sacrifice out, and shortstop Pedro Florimon singled to right field to push Carroll across the plate, giving Minnesota a 1-0 lead.

Detroit answered in the eighth inning after Twins starting pitcher Liam Hendriks was pulled for Jared Burton. Austin Jackson singled to lead off for the Tigers, and with two outs, Fielder launched a home run to left field to swing the game in Detroit's favor.

Detroit starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez went 6.1 innings and gave up seven hits and one run. Hendriks went seven innings and allowed five hits with no runs crossing the plate on his watch.

Jackson and Andy Dirks each had two hits for the Tigers.

The Tigers open the regular season series finale against the Kansas City Royals on Monday.

Tigers vs. Twins lineups: Anibal Sanchez and Detroit look to extend division lead

The Detroit Tigers look to extend their lead in the AL Central as they face off against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday. They currently hold a two-game lead over the Chicago White Sox with only four games left to play.

Anibal Sanchez (9-13, 3.95) takes the mound for Detroit, looking to carry over the success from his last start -- a three-hit shutout against the Kansas City Royals.

For Minnesota, Liam Hendriks (1-8, 6.09) gets the start. Hendriks got shelled for six runs including four homers against the New York Yankees his last time out.

Detroit Tigers

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Quintin Berry, LF
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Delmon Young, DH
6. Andy Dirks, RF
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Alex Avila, C
9. Omar Infante, 2B
Pitching: Anibal Sanchez

Minnesota Twins

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Ben Revere, CF
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, DH
5. Ryan Doumit, LF
6. Chris Parmelee, 1B
7. Trevor Plouffe, 3B
8. Alexi Casilla, 2B
9. Pedro Florimon, SS
Pitching: Liam Hendriks

Tigers vs Twins preview: Tigers look for series win over Twins

The Detroit Tigers will go for the series win over the Twins on Sunday afternoon, after defeating Minnesota, 6-4, on Saturday and extending their American League Central lead over the White Sox to two games. The White Sox lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 10-4, on Saturday.

Anibal Sanchez, who has a 4-3 record with a 3.95 ERA, will get a chance at redemption after he allowed 12 hits and five runs to the Twins in August. He is scheduled to go up against Liam Hendriks, who is 1-8 on the season with a 6.09 ERA.

Miguel Cabrera will go into the game leading all three Triple Crown categories, after hitting his 43rd home run of the season on Saturday, tying him with Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. Twins' catcher Joe Mauer enters Sunday's game trailing Cabrera by just .007 for the American League's batting crown.

First pitch on Sunday is at 2:10 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on FOX.

Tigers vs. Twins: Detroit picks up game in standings with 6-4 win

The Detroit Tigers 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins Saturday, combined with the Chicago White Sox losing to the Tampa Bay Rays, once again gives Detroit a two game lead in the AL Central standings.

Justin Verlander (17-8, 2.64 ERA) gave up on unearned run and struck out eight in seven innings and left with a 6-0 lead, but Detroit's bullpen made things interesting in the eighth. Joaquin Benoit relieved Verlander with a runner on base after Denard Span reached on an error. Benoit walked Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau to load the bases, then gave up a grand slam to Ryan Doumit to make it 6-4. Doumit also drove in four runs in Minnesota's win over Detroit Friday.

Jose Valverde walked Span to lead off the ninth inning, but got the next three batters out.

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead early on a solo home run by Prince Fielder and an RBI-double by Jhonny Peralta in the second inning.

Detroit picked up four more runs in the eighth. Miguel Cabrera hit a 3-run home run, his 43rd of the year, tying him with Josh Hamilton for the league lead and putting him atop all three Triple Crown categories. Mauer, who Cabrera is trying to hold off in the race for the batting title, was 0-for-3 in the game.

Andy Dirks hit a solo home run in the eighth.

Tigers vs. Twins lineups: Justin Verlander on the mound for Detroit

The Detroit Tigers will look to ace Justin Verlander to get them back on the winning track on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

Here's the Tigers' lineup for Saturday:

Today's lineup: Jackson 8, Berry 7, Cabrera 5, Fielder 3, Young dh, Dirks 9, Peralta 6, Avila 2, Infante 4. Verlander is starting.

— Brian Britten (@BBritten_Tigers) September 29, 2012

The Tigers lost 4-2 to the lowly Twins on Friday night, and with the Chicago White Sox's victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, saw their lead in the American League Central trimmed to just one game. Having Verlander on the bump should be a huge boost, as last year's Cy Young winner as been lights out once again this year. Heading into Saturday's start, he holds a 16-8 record and 2.72 ERA. He leads all of MLB with 231 strikeouts.

Slugger Miguel Cabrera will continue his chase for the Triple Crown against Twins starter P.J. Walters. Cabrera currently leads the A.L. in batting average and RBI, but trails Josh Hamilton by one home run.

Max Scherzer questionable for final start of regular season

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer is "50/50" to start in the team's regular season finale next Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals due to a shoulder injury.

Tigers vs. Twins preview: Detroit looks to keep White Sox at bay

The Detroit Tigers' lead in the A.L. Central was sliced to one game on Friday after they lost to the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox picked up a win over the Tampa Bay Rays. Saturday brings another opportunity for the Tigers to inch toward the playoffs by defeating one of the worst teams in the American League.

The good news for the Tigers is that they'll be throwing ace Justin Verlander, who has been typically stellar down the stretch this season. Verlander has faced the Twins once this season, giving up one earned run and striking out seven in a complete game four-hitter on July 4.

The flipside for Detroit is that they'll be facing Twins starter P.J. Walters, who has been dominant in three starts this year against the Tigers. In those starts, Walters has given up only six earned runs in 18.1 innings. The Tigers, though, have totaled 25 baserunners in those innings and have only struck out ten times.

First pitch on Saturday is at 4:05 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on FOX.

Octavio Dotel's arm soreness has Jim Leyland 'concerned'

Octavio Dotel pitched one scoreless inning for the Detroit Tigers in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins. He only threw 11 pitches (nine of them strikes) in that inning, but Jim Leyland elected not to bring him out for another inning of work, and Chris Iott of MLive.com reports that Dotel's arm wasn't feeling right:

Octavio Dotel was removed due to a sore bicep. Jim Leyland said he is concerned. #Tigers

— Chris Iott (@Chris_Iott) September 29, 2012

Dotel, however, seems less concerned, according to Iott:

Octavio Dotel said he doesn't think his sore bicep will be a problem. Hopeful that he will be fine tomorrow. #Tigers

— Chris Iott (@Chris_Iott) September 29, 2012

Dotel, in his 14th Major League season and pitching for his 13th different team, has a 5-3 record with a 3.70 ERA for the Tigers this season. He has pitched in 55 games and struck out 62 batters in 56 innings.

Tigers vs. Twins: Detroit loses opener in Minnesota 4-2

The Minnesota Twins rallied late to beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 Friday in the opener of a three-game series.

Both starting pitchers — Detroit's Drew Smyly and Minnesota's Scott Diamond — pitched well but received no-decisions for their efforts. Smyly gave up no runs and struck out five in 5.1 innings, leaving with the game tied 0-0. Diamond pitched seven innings and gave up two runs (just one of them earned).

The Twins broke the 0-0 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning. After Justin Morneau reached on an error by Prince Fielder, Ryan Doumit followed with a home run off of Phil Coke to put the Twins up 2-0.

The Tigers tied the game under similar circumstances in the top of the eighth. Austin Jackson reached base on an error by Trevor Plouffe, then the next batter, Omar Infante, hit a two-run home run.

The Twins scored the game-winning runs in the bottom of the eighth. After Denard Span walked and Joe Mauer was intentionally walked, Doumit doubled, driving both runners in.

Brayan Villareal (3-5, 2.52 ERA) took the loss for the Tigers. Jared Burton (3-1, 1.95 ERA) won for Minnesota and Glen Perkins pitched a perfect ninth for his 16th save.

Tigers vs. Twins lineups: Scherzer out, Smyly in for Detroit

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer has been scratched from his scheduled start on Friday night against the Minnesota Twins, as the AL's leader in strikeouts per nine innings has a strained deltoid. Drew Smyly (4-3, 4.24 ERA) will start in his place.

Scherzer won't throw again until he is fully recovered, according to MLB.com's Jason Beck (via Bless You Boys), which means the remainder of the season is in jeopardy for the 28-year-old righty.

Scott Diamond (12-8, 3.64 ERA) will be on the mound for Minnesota. Here are the full lineups:

Tigers

1. Austin Jackson CF
2. Omar Infante 2B
3. Miguel Cabrera 3B
4. Prince Fielder 1B
5. Delmon Young DH
6. Jhonny Peralta SS
7. Andy Dirks LF
8. Avisail Garcia RF
9. Gerald Laird C

Twins

1. Denard Span CF
2. Ben Revere RF
3. Joe Mauer C
4. Justin Morneau 1B
5. Ryan Doumit DH
6. Trevor Plouffe 3B
7. Matt Carson LF
8. Eduardo Escobar 2B
9. Pedro Florimon SS

The Tigers used this exact lineup last weekend against Diamond and the Twins. It didn't work extremely well, though, as Detroit lost that game, 10-4. First pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.

Tigers vs. Twins: Detroit hopes to increase their lead in Minnesota

The Tigers will head to Minnesota with a two game lead in the AL Central, they'll be hoping to increase that lead at the expense of the Twins.