Ian Kinsler’s two-out RBI single preceded a two-run homer by J.D. Martinez in the top of the 12th inning, pushing the Detroit Tigers past the Minnesota Twins 7-4 in a back-and-forth game Wednesday night.
With scant fans left from the paid crowd of 22,509, Martinez’s 37th home run off Brian Duensing (4-1) landed with a loud clang on the metal bleachers in lower left field that punctuated a tough loss for the postseason-chasing Twins. They stayed 1 1/2 games behind Houston for the second American League wild card spot, after the Astros lost to Texas.
Eddie Rosario homered in the game for the Twins and Trevor Plouffe drove in a game tying run in the bottom of the ninth after Kevin Jepsen blew a save opportunity in the top of the ninth.
Ian Krol (2-3), the ninth Tigers pitcher, got the last nine outs for the victory while allowing only one walk. He stranded the two runners he inherited with no outs in the 10th.
The first pitch was delayed 56 minutes because of rain, and the game finally ended at 12:23 a.m. local time.
