It was quite a scene in the ninth inning on Tuesday when Miguel Sano came to the plate in the ninth inning - representing the lead run.

The leftovers from the announced crowd of 22,963 were on their feet in anticipation. Sano had just hit a two-run single in the seventh to get the Twins within 4-3. The Tigers added run in the ninth, but Joe Mauer's RBI double made him the tying run and Sano the winning run.

On the mound was reliever Bruce Rondon, who had been firing fastballs between 96 and 100 miles an hour in the inning.

Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones went to the mound to have a word with his young flamethrower. They are definitely going to pitch to Sano rather than put the winning run on base. After blowing fastballs at all the other Twins hitters, he opens Sano with a breaking ball for a strike.

The second pitch is a slider off the plate, and Sano chases for strike two.

Third pitch, another slider, Sano can't handle it. And the game is over.

"You watch his inning of work and he hadn't thrown an offspeed pitch until he got to him," Twins manager Paul Molitor said, "and then he threw him three in a row."

It's been interesting to see how teams figure out how to neutralize Sano. Some were having success with fastball up in the strike zone. This time, the slider was employed, and Sano got himself out rather than lay off the tough pitch.

"You try to do the best you can to absorb some of those situations and what people are trying to do and hope you come back better the next time," Molitor said.

This is the fifth time Sano has gone five games without hitting a home run. He's never gone six games. So he's due.

But it will be worth watching the different way teams try to neutralize Sano, especially in big situations. According to Brooks Baseball, Sano has seen hard stuff 48 percent of the time the last month, down from 60 percent over the previous month. Breaking pitches and offspeed pitches are on the rise against him.