Park homers, but Twins fall 4-1 to Zimmerman, Tigers
MINNEAPOLIS -- One bad pitch marred an otherwise outstanding effort by Tyler Duffey.
Jordan Zimmermann won his fifth straight start to begin his first season with Detroit, and Justin Upton hit a three-run homer off Duffey to help the Tigers top the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Saturday.
Duffey (0-1) gave up just one earned run in 6 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking none in his second start of the season. But with two on and two outs in the first, he tried to get ahead in the count with a first-pitch fastball. It caught too much of the plate and Upton drove it an estimated 417 feet into the second deck for his second homer with Detroit.
"It's easy to look back and say I should have gotten out of that. I know I was more than capable of doing it," Duffey said. "That mistake is a lot larger when you've got a guy like Zimmermann throwing against you. . That's just one of those things that put us in a hole, but I did everything I could to keep us in it. It just wasn't enough."
Zimmermann (5-0) gave up one run and six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over seven innings. He became the first Tigers pitcher to win five games in April since Frank Tanana in 1988, according to STATS.
"These guys gave me three runs early and I was able to settle in and throw strikes and just be myself and not have to worry about a tight ballgame," said Zimmermann, whose ERA actually rose to 0.55.
Victor Martinez doubled twice for the Tigers, who have won five of six. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save in seven opportunities.
Eduardo Escobar had three singles for the Twins, who lost their third straight and fell to 7-17 overall.
Zimmermann cruised through the first three innings, but Byung Ho Park homered in the fourth to break up the shutout. Park lined a 1-2 pitch into the bullpen in left-center, his team-leading sixth homer of the year.
"The pitcher was really locating his pitches," Park said through a translator. "He didn't leave many pitches up in the zone, but the one that I hit was up in the zone and I got lucky."
It was the first home run allowed by Zimmermann in 29 2/3 innings this season.
After that, each time the Twins threatened, Zimmermann had an answer. John Ryan Murphy reached second on an error by right fielder J.D. Martinez with one out in the fifth before Zimmermann struck out Danny Santana and Brian Dozier to preserve the two-run cushion.
Minnesota got its leadoff man on in the seventh, but Zimmermann promptly induced a double-play grounder from Eddie Rosario.
WHOOPS
Duffey said he was worried about Murphy's safety if Upton hadn't connected in the first inning. "I threw the wrong pitch, actually. I'm kind of glad he hit it because if not it might have put Murph in a little jeopardy," Duffey said. "He called curveball and I threw a fastball."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: C James McCann (sprained ankle) caught nine innings for Triple-A Toledo on Friday, but manager Brad Ausmus said McCann will continue his rehab assignment through the weekend. McCann was expected to catch nine more innings Saturday and five innings on Sunday before rejoining the Tigers for their three-game series in Cleveland that begins Tuesday.
Twins: 3B Trevor Plouffe (strained intercostal muscle) was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment with Class A Fort Myers on Saturday. Plouffe has been on the DL since April 19. Barring any setbacks, he is expected to join the Twins in Houston on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Mike Pelfrey (0-4, 4.64 ERA) faces his former team in Sunday's series finale. Pelfrey spent the past three seasons in Minnesota. He pitched a season-high 6 2/3 innings in his most recent start, a 5-1 loss to the Athletics on Tuesday.
Twins: RHP Ricky Nolasco (1-0, 3.25) has been the team's most effective starter this season. He's averaged just shy of seven innings in his four starts and is second in the AL in strikeout-to-walk ratio with 24 strikeouts against three walks.
