Detroit Tigers bottled up after hot first inning in 6-3 loss to Twins
Anthony Fenech
MINNEAPOLIS – The Detroit Tigers’ winning streak has stopped at one game.
The team’s final series of the regular season began with a 6-3 loss to the postseason-bound Twins on Friday night at Target Field.
Left-hander Matthew Boyd was unable to protect an early three-run lead and headed into the off-season on the wrong foot, despite a month’s worth of success. Rightfielder Nick Castellanos eclipsed the 100-RBI mark with a first inning home run but the Tigers didn’t score in the eight innings that followed.
Here are the main story lines from Friday night’s game:
Starting off: Boyd was beaten up, allowing five runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings. The majority of those runs came in the bottom of the second inning, when Brian Dozier hit a three-run home run and Eduardo Escobar followed with a solo shot. The home run was Dozier’s 34th of the season. Boyd’s night began by allowing a double to Dozier. Escobar then doubled him home. Of his seven hits allowed, five were extra-base hits. Boyd walked three and struck out five. He finishes the season with a 5.27 ERA in 26 games.
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Quite the feat: Castellanos hit his 26th home run of the season, a no-doubt rocket into the leftfield seats, in the first inning. On the homer, he eclipsed the 100-RBI mark for the first time in his career. The feat marked the first homegrown Tigers player to eclipse the 100-RBI mark since Bobby Higginson in 2000. Castellanos became the 10th player in Tigers history to drive in more than 100 runs at the age of 25 or younger and the first since Miguel Cabrera in 2008. He is the sixth player in Tigers history to record 10 or more triples, 25 or more homers and 100 or more RBIs in a season, according to Baseball-Reference.com, and the first since Al Kaline in 1956.
Bullpen not bad: After Boyd exited, the Tigers bullpen allowed one run on one hit in three innings. Getting action was righty Warwick Saupold, lefty Chad Bell and righty Victor Alcantara.
Race for the No. 1 pick: With the loss, the Tigers (63-97) helped their chances of landing the No. 1 pick in next year’s MLB draft. The Phillies beat the Mets and the Giants were playing the Padres on Friday night.
Contact Anthony Fenech: afenech@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @anthonyfenech.