Matt Wallner's grand slam guides Twins over Tigers in series opener

Matt Wallner admitted he wasn't sure what to do when the Target Field crowd of 30,150 screamed for a curtain call Tuesday night.

Wallner, the rookie outfielder from Forest Lake, had seen curtain calls only on TV. Now he was at the center of it. He heard everyone yelling. He saw teammates looking at him. So, he sprinted to the top step of the dugout and offered a wave.

If he keeps taking swings like he did during the Twins' 5-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers, he might become used to them.

Stepping into the batter's box with the bases loaded, no outs and the Twins trailing by a run in the sixth inning, Wallner pummeled a fastball to the second deck in right-center field. It was his first career grand slam, a majestic 450-foot blast.

"I think I've only seen Miguel Sano hit a ball out there," Twins pitcher Bailey Ober said.

Manager Rocco Baldelli added: "That's not normal. That's not typical stuff even for major league baseball players. That's impressive."

Wallner earned the homer, and the curtain call, in a seven-pitch at-bat. He fouled a fastball on the outside corner and a slider at the bottom of the strike zone before Tigers reliever Will Vest left a belt-high fastball over the heart of the plate. There was that unmistakable sound of a no-doubt homer, the loud crack, and Wallner knew it immediately as he celebrated with a bat drop.

Baldelli marveled that the swing came in a two-strike count against a reliever having a strong season.

"He looks like a new guy from when we first saw him," Baldelli said. "He makes great mental adjustments."

The Twins had only three baserunners in the first five innings against Tigers starter Alex Faedo, a cousin of former Twins shortstop Lenny Faedo. Once the Tigers turned to their bullpen, they had five straight batters reach base.

Jorge Polanco started the sixth-inning rally with a leadoff walk, and Max Kepler singled in an eight-pitch at-bat after a foul pop-up dropped between catcher Eric Haase and third baseman Matt Vierling in a miscommunication. Royce Lewis, activated from the injured list Tuesday, gave the Twins their first run when he lined an RBI single to left field off reliever José Cisnero.

"When Royce is healthy, it seems like that moment finds him," Ober said.

Carlos Correa reached on a slow roller to second base to load the bases for Wallner. After Wallner hammered the fifth fastball he saw during his at-bat, he pumped his fist as he rounded first base. In his last two games at Target Field, he has hit a grand slam and a walk-off homer.

"I knew I had to grind that one out," said Wallner, who hit three grand slams in a six-game span at Southern Mississippi in 2018. "The last thing I want to do there is strike out."

Before the game, the Twins honored Miguel Cabrera before his final series in Minnesota. The organization presented him with a series of gifts to commemorate his 21-year career.

Glen Perkins carried a $5,000 check to donate to the Miggy Foundation. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau followed with a fishing pole, a tackle box and a No. 24 bucket hat. Fellow Venezuelans Pablo López and assistant hitting coach Rudy Hernandez walked out with a customized silver hockey stick.

Then Ober gave Cabrera one more gift in the second inning: A down-the-middle fastball. Cabrera blasted his second home run of the season to the second deck in left field, a two-run shot. It was Cabrera's 509th career homer, tying him for 26th in MLB history with Gary Sheffield.

"A lot of the times, he's been shooting home runs the opposite way on fastballs from right-handers," Ober said. "That was the first one I've seen him really drive. I mean, it obviously looked like it was his prime swing right there, back to 2013, 2014 stuff."

Ober didn't allow another run, stranding the bases loaded in the fourth inning.