Tigers rally in 12th to beat Twins, 7-4

MINNEAPOLIS It was cloudy at game time with light rain falling but, when the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins finally got underway in their series finale at Target Field after an hour delay, the brightest spot of next year’s starting rotation shown through the clouds Wednesday night.

It was left-hander Daniel Norris, the prized piece of the Tigers’ trade deadline moves who returned from the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain to pitch a solid 32/3 innings.

Norris threw a few pitches shy of his 50-pitch limit, allowing only a solo home run a few innings before it became cloudy once again for the Tigers, whose bullpen coughed up not one, but two late leads.

But after the Twins squandered not one, but two big opportunities, the Tigers won the game with three runs in the 12th inning, 7-4.

Ian Kinsler drove in the game-winning run, scoring Andrew Romine, who doubled with one out, and J.D. Martinez padded the Tigers’ lead with a two-run home run to left field on a line for his 37th home run of the year.

In the ninth inning, closer Bruce Rondon blew his third save in eight opportunities when Miguel Sano led off with a lead-off walk and took second base on a passed ball before Trevor Plouffe doubled him home.

Several innings earlier, Norris struck out four and walked none. His only blemish of the short start was a solo home run by Eddie Rosario in the third inning.

The Tigers backed Norris early with two runs in the first inning on a Tyler Collins double, but let Twins right-hander Ervin Santana off the hook in the innings that followed, grounding into a pair of double plays in the fourth and fifth, and didn’t score again the rest of the way.

In the seventh inning, the Twins tied the game against right-hander Drew VerHagen, who, pitching in a high-leverage situation for the second straight night, allowed a lead-off walk to Joe Mauer, then a double to Miguel Sano and surrendered the lead two batters later when former Tiger Torii Hunter lined a ball off Marte’s glove at third base.

After manager Brad Ausmus opted for Blaine Hardy in a lefty-on-lefty matchup against Rosario, he singled through the hole at second base to give the Twins a lead.

Marte’s two-run single off Twins interim closer Kevin Jepsen was set up by Victor Martinez’s lead-off infield single and Collins’ second double of the game.

The Tigers’ second lead didn’t stick, but their third did Ian Krol pitched a three-up, three-down 12th inning and they left town with a series win.

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