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Brandon Inge singled home the winning run in the
13th inning and the Detroit Tigers beat Minnesota 11-10 on Saturday
night, damaging the Twins' chances of earning home-field advantage
throughout the AL playoffs.


      The AL Central champions fell a game behind Tampa Bay in the
race for the best record in the American League. The Rays, with a
soft schedule the rest of the way, lead the AL East by 1½ games
over the New York Yankees.


      Johnny Damon and Miguel Cabrera opened the 13th with singles off
Pat Neshak (0-1). Jhonny Peralta followed with a grounder to third
that was misplayed by Danny Valencia for an error, loading the
bases.


      Randy Flores, the game's 16th pitcher, replaced Neshak and got
Brennan Boesch to ground into a 1-4-2 putout at the plate. Inge
then lined a clean single to right, ending the game after 4 hours,
19 minutes.


      Daniel Schlereth (1-0) earned his first AL win after pitching
out of jams in the 12th and 13th innings.


      In addition to Justin Morneau (concussion) and Joe Mauer (knee),
Minnesota played without manager Ron Gardenhire in the dugout.
Gardenhire was hit in the right ear by a thrown ball during batting
practice, and although he was not seriously injured, he spent the
game in the clubhouse.


      Both starters, Detroit's Jeremy Bonderman and Minnesota's Carl
Pavano, allowed seven runs in four innings, including three homers
each.


      The Twins scored five runs before Bonderman got his second out,
but that wasn't going to be nearly enough on a night dominated by
power hitters.


      After Jason Kubel provided the game's first run with an RBI
single, Valencia cleared the left-field bullpens with his second
career grand slam.


      Detroit got a run in the first on Peralta's RBI single and
another in the second when Austin Jackson's base hit brought home
Alex Avila.


      After a scoreless third, the Tigers went up 7-5 with five runs
in the fourth, including three homers. Avila started the run with a
solo shot, followed by two-run drives from Don Kelly and Cabrera.


      Minnesota quickly tied the game. Kubel and Valencia opened the
fifth with homers, chasing Bonderman from what could have been his
last home start with the Tigers.


      Eddie Bonine didn't fare much better in relief, allowing the
Twins to score three more times in the fifth to take a 10-7 lead.


      Glen Perkins replaced Pavano for the fifth and became the fourth
straight pitcher to struggle. He got only two outs before being
pulled after allowing sacrifice flies to Jackson and Ryan Raburn.


      Raburn's RBI single tied it at 10 in the seventh.


      The Twins got a runner to third in the 12th, but Schlereth
struck out Jose Morales to end the inning. Schlereth then pitched
out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the 13th.


      NOTES: Jason Repko left the game after being hit in the right
thumb by a pitch from Bonine. X-rays were negative and Repko is day
to day. ... Inge struck out three times, giving him 1,101 in his
career, breaking Lou Whitaker's franchise record of 1,099. Inge, a
free agent after the season, has played more than 1,000 fewer games
than Whitaker. ... Both benches were warned after Perkins hit Inge
with a pitch to start the fifth inning - the third hit batter of
the game.
      

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Brandon Inge singled home the winning run in the
13th inning and the Detroit Tigers beat Minnesota 11-10 on Saturday
night, damaging the Twins' chances of earning home-field advantage
throughout the AL playoffs.


Twins lose rollercoaster game in 13 innings to Tigers

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