Detroit @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 15, 2016 ) Minnesota 5, Detroit 1

Rookie left-hander Matt Boyd gets a chance to atone for one of his worst starts of the season when he takes the mound for the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Minnesota Twins. Boyd was bludgeoned for seven runs in 3 2/3 innings in an 8-1 loss to the Twins in his last start on Sept. 13.

Revenge aside, Detroit cannot afford to stumble against the worst team in the majors after coming out of the weekend two games out of the second wild card. The Tigers are 10-11 over their last 21 games and play their next 10 against American League Central foes, capped by a four-game set versus first-place Cleveland. Justin Upton has three homers and six RBIs in his last three games for Detroit, which is 2-13 against the Indians this season but 30-21 against their other division rivals. Minnesota (55-95) returns home following a seven-game road trip that started with a promising four-game split at Detroit before unraveling in a three-game sweep by the New York Mets and appears headed for its first 100-loss season since 1982.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, TBS, FSN Detroit, FSN North (Minnesota)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers LH Matt Boyd (5-4, 4.43 ERA) vs. Twins LH Hector Santiago (12-8, 4.65)

Boyd dropped two straight starts after going more than two months without a loss, although he was sharp at the Chicago White Sox with seven innings of two-run ball on Sept. 6. Until he was rocked by Minnesota, Boyd had not allowed more than three runs in 11 consecutive appearances, a span that included two wins over the Twins. He beat them with six innings of three-run ball Aug. 24 and threw six scoreless innings July 18.

Santiago is starting to resemble the pitcher that had registered 10 victories when he was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline. The 28-year-old lost his first four starts with the Twins in ugly fashion, getting lit up for 24 runs and 32 hits over 19 innings. He has bounced back nicely over his last four turns by going 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, including 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in a win at Detroit last time out.

WALK-OFFS

1. Upton has seven home runs and 17 RBIs over the last 15 games, although all the RBIs have come in six games.

2. Twins 2B Brian Dozier is riding a 22-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 36 of his last 38 contests.

3. Tigers DH Victor Martinez is batting .356 with two homers and nine RBIs in 15 games versus Minnesota this season.

PREDICTION: Tigers, 5, Twins 3