DETROIT – Jamey Carroll hit a two-run double in the sixth inning to give Minnesota the lead, and the Twins outlasted the sloppy Detroit Tigers 11-7 on Wednesday night.
Detroit made four errors in the first three innings.
The Tigers still led 7-6 when Carroll came up with men on first and second in the sixth. His double off Duane Below (2-1) scored both runners.
Brian Dozier hit a three-run homer for Minnesota in the second, and Trevor Plouffe's two-run shot in the ninth made it 11-7.
Minnesota's Justin Morneau went 1 for 5 with a double in his first game back after being on the disabled list with a sore left wrist.
Alex Burnett (1-0) got the win in relief after Twins starter Nick Blackburn lasted only two innings.
Detroit is 9-16 since a 9-3 start and is now dealing with injuries to closer Jose Valverde (strained lower back) and center fielder Austin Jackson (mild abdominal strain). Both are day to day. Jackson left Wednesday's game after hitting a flyout in the fourth inning.
In a sign of things to come, first baseman Prince Fielder dropped a routine throw with one out in the first. Joe Mauer followed with an RBI double, and shortstop Ramon Santiago's throw home was wild for another error.
Josh Willingham's double made it 2-0.
It was 2-1 in the second when second baseman Ryan Raburn's two-out error kept a Minnesota rally alive. Dozier, the next batter, made it 5-1 with a homer to left.
Detroit came back immediately, scoring five runs in the bottom of the inning. Raburn drew a one-out walk, and the next five hitters — Brennan Boesch, Ramon Santiago, Austin Jackson, Andy Dirks and Miguel Cabrera — all hit singles. Fielder's second sacrifice fly of the game gave the Tigers a 6-5 lead.
Blackburn was pulled at the end of the inning, having allowed six runs and six hits.
Ryan Doumit's RBI single in the third tied the game at 6, and Cabrera — the third baseman — made Detroit's fourth error of the game later that inning. The Tigers became the first team since the New York Yankees in 2009 to have errors from all four infield spots in a game, according to STATS, LLC.
Detroit starter Rick Porcello allowed six runs — two earned — and six hits in four innings.
Jeff Gray replaced Blackburn and retired the first six Tigers he faced on only 14 pitches, but Cabrera's RBI double to deep center made it 7-6 in the fifth.
Down 9-7 in the seventh, the Tigers put men on second and third with one out. Alex Avila and Raburn struck out to end the threat.
NOTES: Minnesota OF Denard Span (right hamstring) was initially in the starting lineup but was scratched about an hour before the game. ... The Twins beat the Tigers for the fifth time in their last 23 meetings. ... Detroit's Doug Fister (0-1) faces Minnesota's P.J. Walters (0-1) on Thursday.
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