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Detroit Tigers: Justin Upton walk-off stuns Minnesota Twins

By Rich Shook, The Sports Xchange
Justin Upton pushed the Detroit Tigers past the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Photo by Shelley Lipton/UPI
Justin Upton pushed the Detroit Tigers past the Minnesota Twins on Saturday. Photo by Shelley Lipton/UPI | License Photo

DETROIT -- Justin Upton drilled a walk-off, two-run homer with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday night to give the Detroit Tigers a 12-11 comeback victory over Minnesota that snapped the Twins' six-game winning streak.

Mikie Mahtook lined a single to right-center field off reliever Matt Belisle (0-2) to start the ninth and Upton followed with his 22nd home run off a 2-1 fastball.

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Detroit blew a 5-0 first-inning lead and trailed 11-6 in the seventh before mounting its comeback.

Joe Mauer hit a three-run double and added a two-run homer to drive in five runs for Minnesota.

Jose Iglesias hit a two-run homer, his fourth home run of the y ear, in the eighth inning after James McCann reached a career -best five RBIs by hitting into a forceout with runners on first and third. McCann's grand slam in the first put the Tigers on top 5-0.

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Dillon Gee allowed a sacrifice fly to Upton after Mahtook's one-out triple in the seventh. Reliever Trevor Hildenberger gave up McCann's RBI groundout and the Iglesias home run, which made it 11-10.

Mauer, a career .303 hitter against Detroit in 733 at-bats, hit a two-run homer off reliever Edward Mujica in the sixth and Byron Buxton added a sacrifice fly later in the inning to pad the Twins' lead to 11-6. Mauer's sixth home run, to left-center field, was his 16th against Detroit in his career and his five RBIs gave him 114 vs. the Tigers.

Reliever Daniel Stumpf gave up an RBI single to Jason Castro in the fifth, giving Minnesota an 8-6 lead.

McCann doubled to open the fourth for Detroit and eventually scored when Iglesias hit into a forceout at second, pulling the Tigers within a run at 7-6. Minnesota starter Jose Berrios was pulled after hitting the next batter, Ian Kinsler.

Buxton led off the fourth with his sixth home run, which was just over the wall in right-center field and gave the Twins a 6-5 lead. Jorge Polanco ran his hitting streak to 10 games with a single to right and scored on a line single to left by Brian Dozier that chased starter Jordan Zimmermann and put Minnesota ahead 7-5.

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Zimmermann (7-10) pitched two scoreless innings before allowing five in the third and two in the fourth to fritter away a 5-0 lead. He gave up eight hits in 3 1/3 innings, walking one and striking out one.

Mauer hit a three-run double with one out in the third to cut into a 5-0 Detroit lead and Eddie Rosario tied the score by hitting his 16th home run one out later. Rosario's second home run in two games went over the wall in right-center field.

Berrios gave up five runs to Detroit in the first, one on an RBI single by Nicholas Castellanos and four on a grand slam by McCann, his 11th home run and second career slam. Berrios lasted 3 1/3 innings, giving up six runs and six hits with two walks.

Shane Greene (3-2) pitched one inning for the win.

Detroit's Miguel Cabrera left the game after six innings with lower-back tightness.

NOTES: Tigers 3B Nicholas Castellanos will begin taking fly balls in right field to see if that's a viable option for 2018, manager Brad Ausmus said. ... Minnesota's Paul Molitor learned after Friday night's 9-4 win over Detroit that it was his 200th as the club's manager. ... The Tigers brought OF Alex Presley (right side strain) back from a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo and put him in the starting lineup. OF JIm Adduci was sent back to the Mud Hens. ... With RHP Brandon Kintzler traded, the Twins don't have a set closer, so Molitor said Minnesota will continue to mix and match at the end of games.

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