Norris strikes out 11 as Tigers defeat Twins
DETROIT -- Ian Kinsler drove in two runs and Daniel Norris recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night at Comerica Park.
Kinsler hit his 26th homer in the first inning and added a go-ahead sacrifice fly. Norris, whose previous high was nine strikeouts, pitched 6 1/3 innings and gave up two solo homers but did not figure in the decision.
Shane Greene (4-4) pitched one inning of relief to get the win and Francisco Rodriguez notched his 41st save despite issuing two walks. Miguel Cabrera supplied a solo homer and Jose Iglesias contributed a run-scoring double for Detroit, which has an 11-2 record against the last-place Twins.
Minnesota second baseman Brian Dozier hit his 40th homer of the season and tied his career-high by extending his hitting streak to 16 games. Kurt Suzuki also homered for the Twins.
Alex Wimmers (1-2) gave up two runs in one inning of relief and took the loss. Starter Ervin Santana held the Tigers to one run over five innings.
Detroit took a 3-2 lead on two close plays at the plate in the seventh against Wimmers. Andrew Romine drew a one-out walk, then slid around Suzuki's tag at home plate on Iglesias' game-tying double down the left-field line.
Greene walked two batters in the eighth but Bruce Rondon retired the next two batters to preserve the lead.
Cabera drilled his 32nd homer off Taylor Rogers in the eighth.
Tigers left fielder Justin Upton departed in the fourth inning with a left calf strain.
Detroit led 1-0 on Kinsler's seventh leadoff homer of the season, tying the franchise record. Curtis Granderson set the mark in 2007 and matched it in 2009.
With one out in the third, Dozier hit his first homer since Tuesday after blasting nine in an eight-game span. He joins Harmon Killebrew as the only Twins players to have 40 homers in a season.
Suzuki gave Minnesota a 2-1 advantage when he led off the fourth with his seventh homer of the year.
Norris set his new strikeout mark by whiffing Dozier on a 3-2 pitch in the fifth.
NOTES: Detroit 3B Nick Castellanos took batting practice on Monday for the first time since he suffered a fractured left hand when hit by a pitch on Aug. 6. He's hopeful of returning this weekend. "It didn't bite me too bad but there were a couple of swings where it was definitely sore," he said. ... Tigers RHP Jordan Zimmermann will throw approximately 80 pitches in a simulated game on Wednesday. He had a disastrous outing in his return from the 15-day disabled list on Saturday, lasting just one-plus inning and while giving up three homers in an 11-3 loss to Baltimore. ... Twins 1B Joe Mauer missed his second straight game on Monday with a quad injury. Mauer is expected to sit out at least one more game with Detroit starting left-hander Matt Boyd on Tuesday. ... Minnesota entered with a 19-44 record against American League Central Division opponents.