Instant Reaction: Twins Beat Tigers 6-2

To the Twins credit, they took advantage, stringing together five hits and a walk in seven at-bats. Joe Mauer's triple was the ballgame's breakthrough hit, but give some credit to Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki for their alternate but effective approaches in Mauer's wake. Plouffe went up hacking, going after the first pitch and delivered a second triple and a fifth run. Suzuki alternately worked a 3-1 count before his double, which ended Lobstein's night after 2.1 innings and mostly cemented the game.

Lobstein is not terribly well known outside of Detroit and has a funny name, so it might be tempting to write this game off as the Twins taking advantage of a bad pitcher. That's at least partially true. Lobstein is only in the rotation because of Justin Verlander's status and his likely path is that of a back-of-the-rotation starter.

But he also entered today's game with a 3.00 ERA. In his last start he threw 7.2 innings while giving up just one run - and it was unearned. He has oddly been one of the Tigers most consistent pitchers this year, so while the Twins did what they were supposed to do, they also did something that no other team has done this year when they chased him early.

Overlooked Gem

I'm sure starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco will get plenty of credit for this win, but the most valuable pitcher was Twins reliever Michael Tonkin. He entered the game in the bottom of the seventh, leading 6-2 but with runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs and needing to face the heart of the Tigers order: Ian Kinsler, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez. Four batters later he walked off the mound and into the dugout with three outs and no change in score. Fangraphs will tell you that he cut Detroit's chances to win that game from 16% to less than 4% with his work.

He did get a little help. Danny Santana ranged pretty deep into left field to get the first out on a pop fly. Eddie Rosario got to a ground ball in a hurry to make sure that Cabrera's single didn't drive home (the admittedly hobbled) Jose Iglesias from second base. And Tigers manager Brad Ausmus helped by writing Victor Martinez in the cleanup spot in the Tigers lineup.

Martinez looks totally lost right now. His batting average is down to .226. His OPS is just .603. He left six Tigers on base tonight, going 0-4 with three strikeouts. This game could've been much tighter with any contribution at all from him.

Come, America to Comerica

This was my first visit to Comerica Park and I left a lot more impressed than I expected. I've been somewhat reluctant to give it the benefit of the doubt because I loved the Tigers old ballpark, Tiger Stadium, so much. But they did Comerica right.

Nearby are some decent establishments to socialize before the game. We chose Cheli's Chile Bar where they have a beer garden with standard but good fare and inside they have 20 or so taps. Michigan has a vibrant craft brew culture, and you'll find that reflected almost everywhere, including in the ballpark, where there's an enclave near the main gate with 11 craft beers on tap.

Comerica doesn't have a signature architectural feature, other than maybe the big concrete cats all over, but it stays visually interesting with lots of levels, entertaining side areas and appealing decorations that tie in the Tigers rich and long history. My favorite is the ballplayer sculptures by Lou Cella in center field, which are a cool combination, both realistic and abstract.

The weather was cold, but the Tigers fans were friendly, the ballpark was fun, the beer was good and the Twins got a relatively easy win. Comerica isn't making it into my Top Ten MLB ballparks, but it's close, and an easy "thumbs up." It's worth a special trip and I'd love to come back.