It'll be over soon, Twins fans. Only eight days remain, only four baseball games, in Miguel Cabrera's decades-long torment of the Twins.
But on Tuesday, the future Hall of Famer added one more win over Minnesota to his storied history.
Cabrera, at the age of 40 and in his 21st and final season, collected two hits, scored a run, and helped the Tigers snap the Twins' five-game winning streak with a 6-0 victory at Comerica Park.
The Twins, who had scored at least three runs in every game this month, reverted to their scratch-for-offense ways against Detroit lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The loss marked the eighth shutout of the Twins this season.
"He's a very high-quality pitcher. It's not by accident he pitches deep into a lot of ballgames," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Rodriguez, who is 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA since the All-Star break. "There are not that many pitchers in the league that can just stand up there and fire fastballs in the zone and get swings that are just not on the ball. That's what he did."
Sonny Gray, who broke a 15-start winless drought last Thursday, was even better through three innings, striking out seven of the first 11 hitters he faced. He allowed an unearned run in the first inning when Jorge Polanco fielded a ground ball by Cabrera but misfired on his throw to first base, allowing Riley Greene to score from second.
"Sonny threw the ball well. His breaking stuff looked good," Baldelli told reporters in Detroit. "We just didn't back him up with runs today."
That's happened plenty of times before, of course; Tuesday's start was Gray's eighth this season in which the Twins have supplied two runs or fewer, and the third shutout.
With the Twins doing so little at the plate, Gray's chances effectively ended in the fourth inning, when four consecutive Tigers reached base with hits to lead off what would become a two-run inning.
And at the top of that rally: Cabrera, taking part in his 121st career victory over the Twins, sixth most in history. The Venezuelan Triple Crown winner reached out for a two-strike sweeper from Gray that was just inches above the dirt. But Cabrera redirected it as a hard grounder into right field for a single, and he scored two batters later on Javier Báez's single.
That hit was No. 3,141 for the two-time MVP, tying him with Tony Gwynn for 21st-most in major league history.
Cabrera also singled in the eighth inning, lining a slider from righthander Josh Winder into center field. He left the game to a loud ovation from the 16,588 in attendance as he passed Gwynn and moved into the career top 20 by tying Robin Yount at 3,142 hits.
The two singles also give Cabrera, who visits Target Field one final time for two games next week, 267 for his career against the Twins. Only Carl Yastrzemski (321) and George Brett (275) had more — and no player ever drove in more runs against the Twins than the 167 Cabrera has.
Gray (5-5) struck out 10 Tigers but allowed seven hits and three runs, two earned. Jake Rogers homered off Winder in the seventh inning.
"Sonny is going right at hitters. A lot of at-bats end pretty early," Baldelli said. "The at-bats that go to two strikes, he's putting them away well. He's attacking successfully right now."
The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
