Detroit 8 at Minnesota 1 - Recap

MINNEAPOLIS -- Miguel Cabrera hit his 442nd career home run, and added a bit of drama with his legs, to back Matt Boyd's career-high eight innings as the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 8-1 Tuesday.

Boyd (6-4) bounced back from a disappointing loss at home to Minnesota last week by giving up just three hits and one walk. He tied a career high with seven strikeouts.

James McCann added a three-run homer as Detroit kept pace in the race for the American League Wild Card.

The Tigers entered the day 2 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays for the final American League wild-card spot. The Blue Jays played at Seattle late Tuesday.

Cabrera's 34th homer of the season was a two-run liner to left in the seventh inning to tie him with Dave Kingman for 41st in major league history. He also passed Joe DiMaggio for 48th all time with 1,538 RBIs.

Boyd kept Minnesota scoreless and retired 14 in a row until Robbie Grossman's solo homer with one out in the seventh.

Last week against the Twins, Boyd gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings as the two teams split a four-game series.

Brian Dozier had a first-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 23 games, but the Twins lost their fourth game in a row.

Minnesota left-hander Hector Santiago (12-9) nearly matched Boyd early, but McCann's 12th home run ended Santiago's night in the sixth as part of a four-run inning.

Santiago, who had allowed just four hits heading into the sixth, wound up surrendering six runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He entered Tuesday having yielded five runs over his previous four starts.

Michael Tonkin came on in relief of Santiago and allowed two runs on four hits. Cameron Maybin had one of his two hits two batters ahead of Cabrera's homer off Tonkin in the seventh. Cabrera has 12 career home runs in 57 games at Target Field.

Cabrera displayed some speed, or at least determination, to manufacture a run in the fourth. Cabrera lined a ball to the base of the wall in right field. Cabrera turned and headed to second, and then hurried as Twins outfielder Max Kepler quickly grabbed the ball and threw to second. Cabrera slid in, feet-first, just ahead of the tag.

Cabrera then advanced to first on a fly out to center, again sliding in on a close play. Justin Upton followed with a ground ball to third base, which chased Cabrera back to the bag. As soon as third baseman Eduardo Escobar threw to first, Cabrera turned and ran home. First baseman Kennys Vargas' throw home seemed to beat Cabrera and he was tagged by catcher John Ryan Murphy.

However, a replay showed Cabrera got his foot in before the tag, and the umpires reversed the original out call.

Santiago cruised through the first 2 2/3 innings, striking out five of the first eight batters he faced until Andrew Romine singled for Detroit's first hit of the game. Maybin quickly followed with an RBI triple off right field wall.

NOTES: The Tigers decided on RHP Buck Farmer to start Wednesday's game in Minnesota in the open rotation spot. Farmer has a 4.07 ERA in 13 relief appearances with Detroit this season. ... Tigers 2B Ian Kinsler and DH Victor Martinez were held out of Tuesday's game. Kinsler is dealing with a concussion and manager Brad Ausmus told reporters that Martinez's right knee swelled up after Sunday's game when he was hit by a pitch from Trevor Bauer. ... Twins OF Eddie Rosario's season has come to an end because of a fractured thumb. Rosario, who hit .269 with 32 RBIs in 92 games, will need six weeks to recover. ... Molitor said 3B Miguel Sano (lower back tightness) took batting practice and fielded grounders on Tuesday. He was held out of the lineup, but could return soon. ... Tigers 3B Nick Castellanos (left hand fracture) is still having issues after taking batting practice. Ausmus said a return this season is "becoming more unlikely," according to MLB.com.