Jul 12, 2008 8:02 pm US/Central
Harris, Mauer Power Twins Past Tigers, 6-5
DETROIT (AP) ―
Joe Mauer hit a home run and Brendan Harris homered and had a season-high four RBIs to help the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers for the third straight day, 6-5 on Saturday.
Harris singled in the Twins' first two runs and opened the seventh inning with a solo shot off Tigers starter Nate Robertson (6-8) that give the Twins the lead for good. Mauer, the starting catcher for the AL All-Star team, added a two-run shot later in the inning.
Minnesota's Scott Baker (6-2) allowed four runs and six hits in seven-plus innings and won for the fourth time in five starts. The Twins improved to 21-6 since June 13, the majors' best record in that span.
Joe Nathan had three strikeouts in the ninth for his 27th save in 29 chances.
The victory, Minnesota's fifth straight against the Tigers, drew the Twins to within a game of AL Central leader Chicago. The Twins have won eight straight division games and are 27-16 against Central foes this season.
Detroit is 4-10 against Minnesota and 13-24 against AL Central teams.
After RBI singled by Harris in the second and fourth gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead, Matt Joyce tied the game for Detroit with his eighth homer of the season, a two-run shot that landed a few feet inside the right-field foul pole.
Down 6-2 in the eighth, the Tigers pulled to 6-5 in the eighth on Curtis Granderson's two-run homer and pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn's RBI groundout. But reliever Brian Bass came on and stranded the tying run at third when he induced an inning-ending grounder by Marcus Thames.
Robertson allowed five runs and 10 hits in seven innings. He hasn't won since June 21.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
