Detroit rallies to down Minnesota 8-7

DETROIT (AP) - Brennan Boesch broke an eighth-inning tie with a sacrifice fly, and the Detroit Tigers went on to beat the Minnesota Twins 8-7 on Tuesday night.

After Danny Worth led off the bottom of the eighth with a single, Austin Jackson tried to bunt him to second. Reliever Phil Dumatrait (0-1) tried to get the force play but threw late and wildly to second. Casper Wells then bunted the runners to second and third before Boesch hit a fly ball to right.

Justin Morneau hit two home runs for Minnesota, including a two-run shot in the seventh that gave the Twins a brief 7-6 lead.

Al Alburquerque (3-1) pitched a perfect eighth to win in relief for the second straight day, and Joaquin Benoit pitched the ninth for his second save.

Regular closer Jose Valverde had the night off after saving Monday night's 6-5 win over Minnesota and pitching in both games of a doubleheader on Sunday. Benoit allowed a one-out single by Denard Span and a walk to Alexi Casilla, but he struck out Morneau and got Michael Cuddyer to hit a ground ball to end it.

The Tigers scored the winning run in the eighth on Monday as well.

On Tuesday, Detroit scored six runs in the fifth to take a 6-3 lead. Minnesota rallied as Jim Thome hit a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and the Twins scored three runs in the top of the seventh.

The Tigers tied it at 7 in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by Jhonny Peralta.

Detroit starter Max Scherzer allowed seven runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked one.

Brian Duensing went 4 2/3 innings for Minnesota, giving up six runs and nine hits. He struck out five and walked two.

Minnesota scored a run in the second and two in the third. Detroit left fielder Ryan Raburn was unable to cut off Danny Valencia's double in the gap in the second, and Valencia scored on a single by Delmon Young.

The following inning, Raburn allowed Matt Tolbert's line drive to go over his head for a double. Tolbert eventually scored on Casilla's sacrifice fly, and Morneau added a solo homer to make it 3-0.

The Tigers sent 10 batters to the plate in the fifth. Brandon Inge and Raburn started the rally with singles, and Austin Jackson added an RBI single one out later. Casper Wells made it 3-2 with a ground-rule double, putting runners at second and third. Boesch then hit a ground ball to Tolbert, but the shortstop tried to catch Wells going to third and instead threw high and into the Detroit dugout for an error. Both runners scored to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead.

Victor Martinez and Peralta added RBI doubles later in the inning.

Minnesota outfielder Jason Kubel sat out after leaving Monday's 6-5 loss to the Tigers with a sprained left foot. He is day-to-day.

NOTES: The Twins have been hurt by injuries to stars Joe Mauer, Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan. The list of recovering players has become so long that manager Ron Gardenhire started playing the theme music to "Final Jeopardy" on a laptop in his office as a trainer updated reporters. Gardenhire said the plan is still for Mauer -- out since April 12 because of weakness and soreness in his legs and a beat-up shoulder -- to return as a catcher. "He signed an eight-year deal to catch in the big leagues for the Minnesota Twins," Gardenhire said. "So we're trying to get him back as a catcher. If it doesn't work out and if this doesn't work out when he comes back, then we're going to have to figure somewhere else, and that's a lot harder than everybody makes it out to be." ... The Tigers were credited with three straight sacrifices in the eighth inning. ... Jackson was forced to stop at third during Detroit's big fifth inning when Wells' drive bounced over the wall in left-center for a ground-rule double. The Tigers won the previous day's game when Peralta was allowed to score from first on a double, after the umpires made a disputed fan interference call down the left-field line.

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