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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Steve Sparks and the Tigers knew early on that
it would be a good night for Detroit.
Sparks won his fifth straight decision and Deivi Cruz and Damion
Easley homered as Detroit beat the Minnesota Twins 8-2 Saturday night.
|  | | Damion Easley of the Tigers rounds second base after hitting a two-run homer off Eric Milton in the third inning Saturday. |
"The knuckleball moved a lot in the pen," Sparks said. Manager Phil Garner agreed. "I can't describe it but I know what I see," Garner said. "The fact that we were inside may have helped a little but his
ball seemed to move more tonight."
Juan Gonzalez had three hits and drove in a run and Shane Halter
also homered as the Tigers improved to 64-64, just the third time
this season they have been at the .500 mark.
Sparks (5-2) throwing his knuckleball at speeds clocked as slow
as 56 mph, went 7 1-3 innings and allowed two runs on five hits. He
walked four and struck out six to continue a winning streak that
began with a 4-3 victory over the Twins on Aug. 5.
"He threw a lot of first pitch strikes tonight," Garner said.
"That may have changed their approach to how they faced him."
Eric Milton (12-7) allowed two earned runs in six innings. He
lost for the first time since July 19, having gone 4-0 in six
starts in that span.
The Tigers are 16-8 in August and 55-41 since they stood at 9-23
on May 11. "We're getting good pitching but we're also getting timely
hitting," outfielder Bobby Higginson said. "You have to take
advantage of any breaks you get."
Two errors by Minnesota third baseman Corey Koskie and Cruz's
three-run homer helped the Tigers break it open in the sixth.
It was 2-all when Higginson led off with a walk. After Gonzalez
popped out, Koskie made throwing errors on grounders hit by Dean
Palmer and Wendell Magee to give Detroit a 3-2 lead.
"I don't know if I was rushing the ball but the end result
wasn't what we wanted," Koskie said. "We had three chances to
turn a double play in that inning and didn't turn one of them."
Cruz followed with his seventh homer, giving the Tigers a 6-2
lead. "Deivi has been swinging a hot bat," Garner said. "The thing
with him is that he seems to always make contact. He always puts
the ball in play."
Detroit added a run in the seventh against Jack Cressend, making
his major league debut. Higginson was given credit for a triple
when his fly ball was lost in the roof by left fielder Jacque
Jones, and Gonzalez singled through a drawn-in infield.
"We had a terrible ball game tonight," Twins manager Tom Kelly
said. "Milton pitched well but we missed too many plays and gave
Detroit too many opportunities. Sparks has been pitching terrific
for them and he baffled us."
Brad Ausmus led off the Tigers third with a single and came home
when Easley snapped a 1-for-16 slump with his 11th home run.
A.J. Pierzynski, who is 6-for-7 this season against Detroit,
doubled in the bottom half and scored on Jay Canizaro's two-out
single. The Twins loaded the bases, but David Ortiz grounded out.
"Big out for me," Sparks said. "I was determined not to walk
Ortiz. I wanted to keep us in the game. I know what Milton can do.
Last time I was here, he pitched a no-hitter (against the Angels in
1999)."
Pierzynski struck again in the fourth inning. With two out,
Jones singled and Pierzynski tripled past a diving Magee in right
field, tying it at 2. Halter homered in the ninth off reliever Eddie Guardado.
"We get another chance to go over .500 Sunday," Garner said.
"We're hitting better and we have pitched well all year. I might
even use Sparky again tomorrow if I need to."
Game notes
The Tigers announced that right-hander Adam Bernero (0-1,
4.34) will start in Sunday's series finale instead of Jeff Weaver.
Weaver will open the team's three-game series at Baltimore on
Tuesday. ... Gonzalez has hits in 17 of his last 18 games. ...
While Pierzynski hits the Tigers well, he is just 1-for-21 against
the rest of the AL this year.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
Not a wild concept: Tigers in playoff hunt
RECAPS
Tampa Bay 4
Baltimore 1
Baltimore 2
Tampa Bay 0
(2nd game)
NY Yankees 10
Oakland 6
Detroit 8
Minnesota 2
Toronto 9
Texas 3
Boston 5
Kansas City 3
Seattle 11
Chi. White Sox 5
Cleveland 9
Anaheim 5
Chicago Cubs 6
Los Angeles 4
Colorado 11
Pittsburgh 4
Philadelphia 5
San Francisco 2
Cincinnati 3
Florida 2
Montreal 5
Houston 4
St. Louis 6
Atlanta 3
Arizona 5
NY Mets 1
Milwaukee 6
San Diego 5
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