Vargas Knocks In 5, Twins Rout Tigers In DH Opener
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins aren't used to scoring runs like this.
Kennys Vargas drove in a career-high five and Joe Mauer had three RBIs to help Yohan Pino win his first start in more than a month as Minnesota beat the Detroit Tigers 12-4 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader Saturday.
Asked if his team saved any runs for the nightcap, Mauer said: "I hope so. There's plenty of them out there, right?"
Vargas went 2 for 4 with two doubles and a sacrifice fly. The rookie has 22 RBIs in his first 21 major league games since making his debut on Aug. 1 — the most in a big league player's first 21 games since Albert Pujols had 22 in April 2001.
"He puts together good at-bats and is driving some runs in," Mauer said, "so that's always nice to see."
Right now, the entire Twins lineup is putting together good at-bats. The team's 32 runs in the last two games is its most in consecutive games since 2007 and three short of the club record set in 1996.
"It's a better feeling because of that, but we also go through those stretches where we don't do anything and it's not a good feeling, so we've just got to get consistent," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I'll consistently take this number of runs every day."
Minnesota scored seven runs off starter Buck Farmer (0-1), who lasted just 1 1-3 innings and ran his ERA to 15.63 in his second career start. A day after watching Tigers pitchers give up 20 runs on a combined 214 pitches, Farmer allowed six runs in the second as the Twins batted around for the third time in nine innings.
"Everything just started going downhill and I couldn't recover from it," Farmer said.
Vargas' double off Pat McCoy scored Mauer to make it 7-1, giving Pino (2-5) a nice cushion. Pino worked five innings, allowing four runs — one earned — and six hits while striking out six.
The Tigers scored three unearned runs off Pino in the fifth after a bad throw by second baseman Brian Dozier allowed Nick Castellanos to reach second. Ian Kinsler, Ezequiel Carrera and Miguel Cabrera all singled to pull Detroit to 9-4.
Vargas' three-run double in the seventh off reliever Kyle Lobstein made it 12-4.
"He's swung the bat well from the right side, and that's supposed to be his weaker side," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of Vargas. "He's looked good. I know it's only a couple games, but it seems like their entire lineup looks good to me."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: Ausmus said RHPs Anibal Sanchez and Joakim Soria were scheduled to throw in the bullpen between games. Sanchez has been on the disabled list since Aug. 9 with a strained right pectoral muscle. Soria has been out since Aug. 10 with a strained left oblique.
Ausmus also said utility man Don Kelly still needs treatment for a shoulder injury from April when he slammed into a wall during a road trip in San Diego. Had it not been for that, Ausmus said Kelly might have been called on to relieve SS Andrew Romine on the mound during Friday night's 20-6 loss. Ausmus said Romine, who threw 27 pitches, was about one hitter from being relieved by C Bryan Holaday. "I texted Romine this morning because he's in the lineup and I wanted to make sure he could pick his arm up before I put him at shortstop," Ausmus said.
Twins: Mauer is still receiving daily treatment for the strained oblique that caused him to miss 34 games. He's hitting .357 since coming off the DL on Aug. 11. "I feel good. I'm seeing the ball well. I think I've said over and over, just trying not to do too much and it's been working," he said.
UP NEXT
Justin Verlander (10-11) and the Tigers both try to snap two-game losing streaks in the second game of the doubleheader. Verlander was 4-0 in his last six starts at Target Field. Twins starter Trevor May (0-2) tries for his first major league victory in his third career start.
SLEEPLESS IN MINNESOTA
Twins OF Oswaldo Arcia spent Friday night at the hospital with his wife and sick newborn son. "Everything's fine. The baby's fine," said Gardenhire, who sat Arcia in the first game. "He's a little gassed right now. He got about less than an hour of sleep last night."
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