Twins win 7-1 over Tigers to set up meaningful final week of baseball

DETROIT The showdown is now set.

The Twins, fighting for their wild card lives, could have used a weekend sweep of the Tigers at Comerica Park. They fell just short, but their 7-1 victory on Sunday allowed them to take two of three games and head into Cleveland for a head-to-head collision with the Indians, who are sitting right behind them in the standings and haven’t given up hope of qualifying for the playoffs.

While Cleveland is trailing the Twins, the Twins need to leap over the Angels and pass the Astros to reach the postseason for the first time since 2010. They wanted this. They wanted meaningful games in September. Now they have seven games to run down a couple teams.

Ervin Santana continued his run of dominance, pitching seven innings to improve to 7-4 and lower his ERA to 4.10. Over his last six starts, Santana is 5-0 with a 1.47 ERA.

The Twins 10-hit attack included the first major league home run hit by prospect Byron Buxton, a no-doubter off a 96 miles per hour fastball in the eighth inning. Buxton had two hits on the day.

Santana got out of a two on, one out jam in the first inning and was never tested like that again. He reached as high as 96 miles per hour on the radar gun with his fastball, a biting slider and even an effective curveball.

Twins manager Paul Molitor is looking for offensive consistency. He sort of got it on Sunday, as the Twins consistently scored in the second inning off of very veteran left-hander Randy Wolf.

Kurt Suzuki got the ball rolling with a RBI single. Buxton, getting a start on Sunday as Eddie Rosario got a day off, came through with a RBI double as the Twins took a 2-0 lead.

Brian Dozier slapped a two-run double into the left field corner as the Twins’ lead grew to 4-0. Aaron Hicks knocked in Dozier with a single. Two outs later, Torii Hunter’s RBI single drove in Hicks for a 6-0 lead as Wolf was sent to the showers. The Twins sent 11 batters to the plate in the in the second, with the first six reaching base.

Santana cruised until the seventh, when Josh Wilson’s RBI double scored Tyler Collins.

Buxton’s homer in the eighth made it 8-1.

After a run of high intensity games, the Twins enjoyed a comfortable cushion on Sunday. It was a good time to take a breath before the intensity ramps up again in Cleveland on Monday, their next biggest series of the season.

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