MINNEAPOLIS — Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run home run to move into at least a tie for the lead in all three triple crown categories and Justin Verlander struck out eight in seven innings to help the Detroit Tigers stay in front in the AL Central with a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday.
Cabrera’s blast in the eighth inning off Casey Fien was his 43rd home run for the year, moving him into a tie with Texas star Josh Hamilton for the AL lead. He also leads the AL in batting average (.327) and RBI (136) as he looks to become the first player since 1967 to lead the league in all three categories.
Verlander (17-8) allowed four hits and one unearned run to drop his ERA to 2.64 for the Tigers, who moved two games ahead of the Chicago White Sox in the division.
Cabrera’s home run proved to be a big one after Ryan Doumit hit a grand slam off Joaquin Benoit in the eighth.
Al Alburquerque helped the Detroit bullpen do what it couldn’t do against the Twins on Friday night - complete the victory. Jose Valverde picked up his 33rd save. Prince Fielder and Andy Dirks also homered for Detroit.
Chicago lost to Tampa Bay 10-4 moments before the final out of the Tigers game.
P.J. Walters (2-5) gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and struck out 5 strikeouts in five innings for the Twins. Joe Mauer went 0 for 3 with 2 walks, dropping his average to .320.
One day after Detroit lost a game of cushion to the White Sox when reliever Brayan Villarreal leta lead slip away against the Twins, Verlander came out determined to make sure the Tigers kept the pressure on Chicago.
Verlander kept his fastball at93 or 94 mph while keeping the Twins off balance with an array of off-speed pitches.
ATHLETICS 7, MARINERS 4
Josh Donaldson hit a tying two-run home run in the ninth inning and Brandon Moss hit a game-ending three-run home run in the 10th, and host Oakland rallied to defeat Seattle.
BLUE JAYS 3, YANKEES 2
Adeiny Hechavarria doubled home the tie breaking run in the sixth inning and host Toronto beat New York.
RAYS 10, WHITE SOX 4
Matt Moore pitched one-hit ball into the sixth, Matt Joyce homered twice and visiting Tampa Bay stayed three games behind in the chase for the second AL wild card by beating Chicago.
ORIOLES 4, RED SOX 3
Chris Davis hit his 30th home run, rookie Manny Machado lined a go-ahead shot in the seventh inning and host Baltimore climbed into a tie with the New York Yankees atop the AL East by defeating Boston.
National League
BRAVES 2, METS 0
Mike Minor won his fifth consecutive decision, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward each had an RBI and host Atlanta beat New York.
BREWERS 9, ASTROS 5
Marco Estrada struck out 11 in eight shutout innings, Corey Hart homered twice and host Milwaukee beat Houston.
NATIONALS 6, CARDINALS 4
Visiting Washington cut its magic number for winning the NL East to one, beating St. Louis on Kurt Suzuki’s two-run double in the 10th inning.
DIAMONDBACKS 8, CUBS 2
Trevor Cahill (13-12) threw a four-hitter in his third career complete game, Justin Upton drove in three runs and host Arizona defeated Chicago.
PADRES 7, GIANTS 3
Chase Headley hit his 30th home run and had three RBI to tie Ryan Braun for the NL lead with 112 and host San Diego beat NL West champion San Francisco.
PHILLIES 9, MARLINS 5
Roy Halladay (11-8) survived a shaky opening inning, Jimmy Rollins had three hits and scored three times, and visiting Philadelphia beat Miami.
PIRATES 2, REDS 1
Andrew McCutchen hit a home run off Jonathan Broxton with one out in the ninth inning, lifting host Pittsburgh over Cincinnati.
Saturday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 2, Cincinnati 1 Milwaukee 9, Houston 5 Atlanta 2, NY Mets 0 Philadelphia 9, Miami 5 Washington 6, St. Louis 4 (10) Arizona 8, Chicago Cubs 2 San Diego 7, San Francisco 3 LA Dodgers 3, Colorado 0
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto 3, NY Yankees 2 Detroit 6, Minnesota 4 Oakland 7, Seattle 4, 10 innings Tampa Bay 10, Chicago White Sox 4 LA Angels at Texas, ppd., rain Baltimore 4, Boston 3 Kansas City 7, Cleveland 6 (14)
Sports, Pages 27 on 09/30/2012