Morneau's 2-Run Single In 9th Leads Twins
DETROIT (AP) -- Justin Morneau's bases-loaded single in the ninth inning gave the Minnesota Twins a 6-5 victory over the first-place Detroit Tigers on Wednesday night.
With the game tied at 4, Rene Tosoni led off the top of the ninth with a single off Jose Valverde (2-4). Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Ben Revere both reached when the Tigers misplayed sacrifice bunts.
Valverde struck out Trevor Plouffe and Joe Mauer, but Morneau hit a ball up the middle to make it 6-4.
Joe Nathan allowed an RBI single to Miguel Cabrera in the bottom of the inning but still picked up his 11th save. He is 33 for 33 lifetime in save opportunities against Detroit.
Matt Capps (4-6) got the win after finishing the eighth inning.
The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Jim Thome's 601st homer, his third in less than 48 hours.
Detroit tied the game on Delmon Young's sacrifice fly in the third, but it would have been a two-run double if not for a diving catch by Revere in center field. Revere had already robbed Young -- his teammate until Monday -- of another extra-base hit with an over-the-shoulder catch in the first.
Detroit went ahead 2-1 in the sixth on Jhonny Peralta's 17th homer, but Brad Penny couldn't get an out in the seventh. Danny Valencia led off the inning with a double into the gap in right-center, and Tosoni followed with his third career homer.
Cabrera's RBI single made it 3-3 in the bottom of the inning, but Brennan Boesch was thrown out trying to score from first to end the inning.
The teams traded eighth-inning runs, with Thome's RBI single countered by Wilson Betemit's sacrifice fly.
NOTES: Thome has as many homers at Comerica Park this week (3) as Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge have combined to hit there this season. ... The Twins start a four-game home series against the Yankees on Thursday, with Brian Duensing (8-11) facing New York's CC Sabathia (16-7). ... Detroit is off Thursday before hosting a weekend series with Cleveland. ... The Tigers announced before the game that they had sent minor-league closer Chance Ruffin to Seattle to complete a July 30 trade. The Tigers got SP Doug Fister and RP David Pauley for SP Charlie Furbush, OF Casper Wells, Ruffin and another minor leaguer. ... Two of Tosoni's three homers have come against the Tigers.
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