DETROIT _ The zip code for Hopkinsville, Ky., is 42240. It also was the Twins' line score from first their five innings against the Tigers on Friday. By the time the Twins went scoreless in that fifth inning, they were well on their way to a 13-5 trouncing of Detroit at Comerica Park. Jorge Polanco had three hits by then. C.J. Cron hit a three-run home run, and the Twins had sent 26 batters to the plate over the first three innings. It marked their sixth consecutive win, tying for their longest of the season, as they have begun to bash the lesser teams in the AL Central like a fully-stuffed pinata. And it was an emphatic way to open a four-game series at Comerica Park.
Coupled with Cleveland's 4-0 loss at Tampa Bay, the Twins lead the A.L. Central by 4 { games, their biggest lead since July 16.
The Tigers entered the series reeling with five straight losses, and needing to win five of their remaining 19 games at Comerica to avoid being the first team ever to lose 60 games at home. The Twins made sure one of those five didn't occur on Friday, as they knocked out right-hander Edwin Jackson in the third inning after throwing 70 mostly hittable pitches.
The Twins couldn't exhale right away, however, as right-hander Kyle Gibson gave up three runs over the first two innings and looked shaky while doing it. But he stabilized to give them five innings while throwing 107 pitches, his second most of the season. But by the late innings, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was able go to his bench for substitutions.
The Twins sent seven batters to the plate in the first inning while taking a 4-0 lead. Nelson Cruz opened the scoring with a RBI single to center. Eddie Rosario added an RBI single and two more runs scored on fielder's choices.
But Gibson needed a whopping 35 pitches during the first inning as he got two strikes on five batters but only retired one of them. Ronny Rodriguez hit an RBI double and Dawel Lugo added an RBI single. The Twins covered that in the second with a pair of runs, but back-to-back doubles by John Hicks and Jake Rogers _ the bottom two hitters in the Tigers lineup _ made it 6-3. And it looked like the Twins offense would have to outhit Gibson.
But the Twins got an RBI groundout by Jake Cave, then Cron scored on a wild pitch to put them ahead 8-3 in the third. Cron then blasted a Matt Hall curveball over the right field wall in the fourth for a three-run homer that gave them a 12-3 lead. The Twins have 262 homers on the season, five shy of the major league record.
Now, the Twins could exhale. Gibson was able to get through five innings as he mixed his pitches bet-ter. John Hicks nicked him for an opposite field homer in the fourth, but the Twins led 12-4 by then and were in control. In five innings, Gibson gave up four runs on 10 hits without walking a batter and striking out five. The Twins moved to 9-4 on the season against the reeling Tigers, who have had six losing streak of at least six games this season.
The Twins won 10-5 over the White Sox on Thursday with Max Kepler and Miguel Sano on the bench with nagging injuries. Both were back in the lineup on Friday, with Kepler going 2 for 4 with an RBI and Sano 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Sano played despite being under the weather the last couple of days.
Polanco finished 3 for 4 with two runs scored before being replaced by Ehire Adrianza in the eighth. He's batting .300 for the first time since Aug. 2.
