Tigers Survive Minnesota's 8th-Inning Comeback, Win 11-6

Detroit built a 5-1 lead, watched Minnesota erase it entirely in the eighth inning, then exploded for six runs across the final two frames to win 11-6. The story of the night was Detroit's refusal to fold after the most gut-punch moment of the game.

Detroit came out swinging. John Peck's two-run double to center in the second plated Clark and Valencia to make it 2-0, and the Tigers kept piling on — Lee singled home McGonigle in the fifth, Greene doubled Lee home, and Peck struck again in the sixth with an RBI single that pushed the lead to 5-1. Drew Anderson was doing his part on the mound: 5.2 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 5 strikeouts. Minnesota chipped away — a Jeffers double in the fourth, a Larnach double in the sixth — but Detroit looked firmly in control heading into the late innings.

Then the eighth happened. Minnesota strung together a walk and a series of baserunners to make it 5-3, and then Royce Lewis singled to center, scoring Clemens and Ross to tie the game at 5-5. That single swung the home win probability from 35% to 73% — a 38-point lurch that turned Target Field electric. It looked, at that moment, like Minnesota had completely stolen the game's momentum. Kyle Finnegan came on in relief and the Tigers needed a response fast.

They got one, eventually — but not before Minnesota knotted it again. Clark doubled to left in the 11th to put Detroit back up 6-5, only for a Keaschall single to right to tie it at 6-6. That's when Detroit slammed the door for good. Spencer Torkelson launched a 382-foot home run to left in the 12th, scoring Lee and making it 8-6. Then Javier Báez — in just one at-bat — doubled to right and cleared the bases, plating Malgeri, Peck, and Clark to cap a stunning 11-6 final. Báez finished 1-for-1 with 3 RBI. Max Clark scored three times on 3-for-4 hitting. Finnegan threw 2 scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts to hold things together when it mattered most. Minnesota's Dean Kremer lasted just 4 innings, allowing 6 hits and 4 earned runs. Detroit's offense appears to have too many weapons to stay quiet for long — and on this night, that depth was the difference.