MIN 10, DET 4: Deja Vu All Over Again

Snapshot (chart via Fangraphs)

The Twins jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the top of the fifth inning, making for a pretty low-stress Sunday afternoon for the club. Detroit scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, but the Twins answered with a five-run sixth inning.

The Twins collected 12 hits, two apiece from Brian Dozier, Joe Mauer, Polanco and Kennys Vargas. Eddie Rosario drew two walks. Alan Busenitz pitched a scoreless inning, lowering his ERA to 1.50. Ryan Pressly (0.2 IP) and Taylor Rogers (0.1 IP) combined for a scoreless inning of their own. Michael Tonkin took care of the final two innings and gave up a two-run homer to Ian Kinsler in the ninth.

This was the 82nd victory of the year for Minnesota, giving the Twins a winning record and putting this year's club just a win behind the 2015 team with six games

left to play.

The Twins also now hold a commanding lead in the race for the second Wild Card spot. Clinching early would give the team an opportunity to provide the veterans some much-needed rest before amping up for that play-in game.

AL Wild Card Standings

WC1: Yankees 86-69 (+4.5)

WC2: Twins 82-74

Angels 76-78 (-5.0) *Sunday game in progress when this published.

Rangers 76-79 (-5.5)

Royals 76-79 (-5.5)

Postgame With Molitor

Bullpen Usage

Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days:

Looking Ahead

Mon: Off

Tue: Twins (Bartolo Colon) at Cleveland (Josh Tomlinson), 6:10 pm CT

Wed: Twins (Adalberto Mejia) at Cleveland (Danny Salazar), 6:10 pm CT

Looking Back

MIN 10, DET 4: Twins Blow Out Tigers Bullpen

MIN 7, DET 3: Gibson, Offense Keep Rolling

MIN 12, DET 1: Once Again, The Twins Bounce Back