Clawing back: Tigers top Twins, close WC gap

MINNEAPOLIS — Injuries depleted the Tigers’ lineup, but the Twins couldn’t silence it. James McCann’s three-run homer, Miguel Cabrera’s two-run shot and a pair of Justin Upton RBIs supported Matt Boyd’s career-high eight innings, sending Detroit to an 8-1 win Tuesday night at Target Field.

A week after the Twins split a four-game series at Comerica Park, seemingly curtailing Detroit’s postseason charge, the Tigers moved to 1 1/2 games behind Baltimore for the second AL Wild Card spot. Toronto is a half-game ahead of Baltimore pending the Blue Jays’ result in Seattle later Tuesday night.

The win kept the Tigers seven games back of AL Central-leading Cleveland with 12 games left to play.

Despite missing Ian Kinsler (concussion) and Victor Martinez (bruised right knee), the Tigers teed off on lefty Hector Santiago, who had stymied them last Thursday.

Santiago (12-9) didn’t allow a hit until Andrew Romine, playing in place of Kinsler, singled with two outs in the third inning. From there, half of Detroit’s final 16 batters against Santiago reached base, seven with hits. Cameron Maybin tripled home Romine, Cabrera doubled and scored in the fourth, then McCann’s homer punctuated a four-run sixth.

Boyd (6-4) avenged the seven-run drubbing the Twins handed him a week ago by retiring 18 of 19 batters after Brian Dozier’s leadoff single in the first inning. He struck out five consecutive Twins, all swinging, from the end of the third inning into the fifth, nearly matching his total swings and misses from his previous start. Robbie Grossman’s seventh-inning solo homer broke up his scoreless performance, but he tied a …

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