Field Level Media
Aug 25, 2019
C.J. Cron hit a three-run home run and Jonathan Schoop added a two-run blast to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 7-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers in the rubber game of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Cron finished 1-for-2 with two walks, three RBIs and two runs scored, and Schoop also walked and scored twice for Minnesota.
The Twins increased their American League Central lead to 3 1/2 games over Cleveland, a 9-8 loser to Kansas City in 10 innings earlier Sunday. The Twins, who increased their major league-leading home run total to 253, won just their second home series since the All-Star break.
Martin Perez (9-5) picked up the win, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out five to garner his first victory since a 15-6 win over Texas on July 5.
Jordy Mercer hit two doubles and scored twice, Harold Castro went 2-for-4 with an RBI and John Hicks doubled and drove in two runs for Detroit.
Matthew Boyd (6-10) suffered the loss for Detroit, allowing seven runs on four hits and a season-high five walks while striking out seven. Boyd fell to 1-6 in his past 15 starts.
Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Schoop led off with a walk and scored when Mitch Garver doubled high off the wall in right-center above the 403-foot sign. Garver advanced to third on a groundout by Jorge Polanco and then scored on a groundout by Nelson Cruz.
The Twins extended the lead to 5-0 in the fourth. Miguel Sano led off with a line-drive double down the left field line and Max Kepler was hit by a pitch. Cron then followed with his 21st homer of the season, a 410-foot drive to center.
Detroit cut it to 5-2 in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Mercer and Hicks and an RBI single by Castro.
Minnesota increased its lead to 7-2 in the sixth when Schoop lined a two-run homer down the left field line, driving in Cron, who had walked.
The Tigers added two runs in the ninth on an RBI double by Mercer and an RBI single by Hicks off reliever Lewis Thorpe.
--Field Level Media