Luis Arraez picks up where he left off, helps spark Twins to 8-4 win over Tigers

DETROIT – With two runners on and two outs already on the board, the Twins were on the brink of taking a slim two-run lead into the bottom of the seventh inning at Comerica Park. That seemed even more likely when Detroit reliever Joe Jimenez threw two strikes, both with his 97-mile-per-hour fastball, to who he probably thought was going to be his final batter.

Except that hitter was one Luis Arraez, fresh off his first All-Star Game borne from his MLB-leading batting average. And Arraez has never been one to give up on an at-bat because of a bad count.

Arraez proceeded to foul off three pitches and draw a high ball before plopping a Jimenez breaking ball into right field to score two runs, putting the Twins into a commanding lead that ultimately proved to be the pivotal moment as the Twins went on to beat the Tigers 8-4 on Saturday.

The first baseman doesn't seem all to impressed with himself, though, because this is just his usual. He was 3-for-5 with those two RBI and a run in the leadoff spot against the Tigers to bring his batting average to .342.

"I just trust myself a lot," Arraez explained. "I just fight out there. When I've got two strikes, I just close my mind and then I trust my hands. I just want to put the ball in play. And then I do a lot [of the time]. And everybody knows I don't like strikeouts. I just want to hit the ball every time."

Arraez is one of the prime reasons why the Twins (51-44) are two games up in the American League Central, including on the fourth-place Tigers (38-57). His consistent production has often carried the team, especially when fellow All-Star Byron Buxton isn't in the lineup because of his persistent knee injury, which was the case Saturday.

He put up his first hit in the first at-bat of the game against former Twins pitcher Michael Pineda and spurred the Twins to 11 hits and multiple bases-loaded situations. Arraez was the Twins first run, coming home on Max Kepler's sacrifice fly. Carlos Correa's solo home run in the third doubled the lead. And Gio Urshela's sacrifice fly just before Arraez's two-RBI single in the seventh made it 3-1, after Twins starter Joe Ryan (7-3) gave up his only run on a Javier Baez single in the sixth inning.

Ryan said what Arraez does to generate run support for the pitchers is "special."

"It's exciting, just the athleticism. It's not just like he's staying in one spot doing all the same things. He can play so many different roles … [which is] incredibly valuable and probably incredibly frustrating to face," Ryan said. "… He's a catalyst for a lot of offensive streaks we've had. And same goes, he'll keep that rolling if he's not the starter at-bat. So it's fun to watch."

The Twins recorded another three runs and three hits in the eighth inning. Detroit catcher Tucker Barnhart dropped the ball when trying to make a tag at the plate to let one run in. Urshela drove in his second on a single, and Gary Sanchez also delivered a run with a fielder's choice.

And while the offense couldn't have been much stronger, the bullpen revealed some familiar weak spots. With the Twins up 8-1, Jovani Moran took the mound in the eighth inning and quickly made two outs only to walk the next two batters and then surrender back-to-back RBI singles. Trevor Megill took over but let another run in off a wild pitch. Jhoan Duran, though, had a 1-2-3 ninth inning, including a strikeout, to preserve the four-run victory and not punt Arraez from the spotlight.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Arraez has a way of parrying whatever pitchers throw at him, which then forces them to toss the ball Arraez wants to hit. And Baldelli doesn't see that stopping any time soon.

"Normally, you don't like to pump people's tires that much. It's not something you want to do because it's a tough game, and it's a humbling game," Baldelli cautioned. "But he's also been reasonably hot since the first day I met him. That probably tells you all you need."