DETROIT -- The Tigers' 2009 collapse still haunts them. Brandon Inge said as much after hitting his walk-off homer against Glen Perkins in Saturday's 3-2 victory over the Twins.

With one more victory at any point in the 2009 season, Inge remembers, the Tigers could have avoided even playing a Game 163 against the Twins, let alone the heartbreak that came with that 12-inning loss.

"It's one of those things that is so devastating that I don't think anyone even has to talk about it," Inge said. "It's just understood.

"That game is talked about in the clubhouse once in a while -- how good of a game 163 was. But every time we talk about 163, we talk about how we should have never even been there, and that's probably the most important factor out of all of it."

These Tigers have no one pushing them, but the memories of 2009 are helping give them a finishing kick. That's eight consecutive wins for Jim Leyland's squad.

Perkins laments pitch

Glen Perkins was frustrated with his pitch selection against Inge. He thought Inge took a good swing against his fastball with a 1-0 count. After throwing a slider on the 1-1 pitch, he threw another fastball, and the .190-hitting Inge jumped on the high pitch, pulling it into the left-field seats.

"It's my fault," Perkins said. "Drew [Butera] called a fastball; I didn't shake to the slider. The pitch I threw him is the only one that he could hit out, and it hit his bat. He was cheating [starting his swing early] to try to hit a home run there."

Benson's highs and lows

Joe Benson is a great interview. I hope days like today don't wear him down.

He lined a single to left field in the second inning for his first major league hit, but this led to a pair of base-running mistakes. He should have taken second base when Delmon Young threw to third base, trying to get Chris Parmelee.

"That's probably just admiring it a little bit," Manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Got his first big league hit and just got excited. But he's definitely gotta be at second on that play."

Then, Benson fell for Max Scherzer's fake-to-third, throw-to-first pickoff move.

"It was pretty embarrassing at the time," Benson said. "I actually believe that was one of the only times I've ever been picked off [on that move] and it's not good to have it happen on a stage like this."

Parmelee singled in his first major league at-bat last week, but Benson was hitless in his first 11 at-bats entering Saturday.

"Everyone was making jokes about the monkey being on my back, and everything," Benson said. "Honestly, I wasn't pressing. It would have been nice to get the first one out of the way like Chris did the first at-bat, but if it takes 12-15, hopefully it was bound to come."

Benson didn't let the base-running plays ruin his whole day. He struck out two more times (giving him six whiffs in 15 at-bats), but he hit a leadoff double in the seventh.

"I'm starting to feel a little more comfortable at the plate," Benson said. "Everything's starting to slow down a little more."

Final thought
Gardenhire hadn't heard about Gophers coach Jerry Kill collapsing on the sideline until reporters arrived for the postgame press conference.

"Makes [Saturday's Twins loss] seem pretty unimportant," Gardenhire said.