You can't ask starter Glen Perkins to do more than he did. Against the potent Tigers, he allowed just two runs in six and one third innings.
But the bullpen let the team down, giving up three runs as Detroit came back to win, 5-4. It was a tough loss that put the Twins two and a half behind the White Sox, who beat Cleveland, and only two and and a half over the Tigers.
The division, long considered weak, has been anything but in recent weeks. The Twins had won 11 of 12, but the White Sox have won five in a row and Detroit six.
The Twins had plenty of hits, 13. The only starter who went hitless was Jason Kubel. Among those with two hits were Carlos Gomez, Alexi Casilla, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and rookie Denard Span. You have to say, though, that if you get 13 hits, you should score more than four runs.
Matt Guerrier, who gave up two runs in the eighth, took the loss.
Curtis Granderson had the game-winning hit in the eighth. Yes, the Tigers have a potent lineup, but this is a game the Twins must win if they're serious about contending. They were up 4-1 and their bullpen let them down. Worse, it was a home loss.
Will this hurt the Twins' confidence? It might. The Twins are a very young team and might start to believe they can't beat teams like the White Sox and Tigers. That's five in a row they've lost against those two division rivals.
The Twins beat up on the National League, going 14-4. But now they have to prove they can beat tough AL teams. The division now looks like a tough one.
The Twins can't afford to be swept by the Tigers. Period.
We'll see how they react to this loss, which was a brutal one. They need to show they can beat the Tigers.
Detroit is on a roll. I'm sure they're the team the White Sox are most worried about. They should be -- this is a lineup that matches Boston's, New York's. And now that Joel Zumaya is back -- he earned the save Monday -- the Tigers bullpen looks a lot better. This game was won by the Detroit pen, which was a lot better than the Twins' pen.
It's Nate Robertson vs. Scott Baker on Tuesday.
