MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Edouard Julien homered off former Auburn teammate Casey Mize, Byron Buxton also went deep and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 Sunday to stop a three-game losing streak.
Buxton and Ty France had two hits apiece for Minnesota, which won for just the second time in eight games.
Simeon Woods Richardson (1-1) allowed one run and five hits with five strikeouts, and Louis Varland, Cole Sands, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran each followed with a hitless inning, combining for seven strikeouts and one walk.
Spencer Torkelson homered for the second straight game and Kerry Carpenter had two hits for Detroit, which had won seven of eight.
Mize (2-1) gave up four runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Minnesota led 2-1 in the sixth when Julien hit an opposite-field home run off the left field foul pole for his first home run this season. Buxton doubled and, three batters later, France hit an RBI single on a chopper up the middle.
Buxton’s homer in the first and Brooks Lee’s run-scoring single in the second built a 2-0 lead. Lee was playing his first game this season after recovering from a back strain.
Infielder José Miranda, hitting .167 with 13 strikeouts, was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul, one day after he failed to run hard from first to second on a potential forceout, costing an out when second baseman Colt Keith failed to touch the base.
Key moment
Riley Greene hit an inning-ending flyout with two on in the fifth. He ended the third by striking out with runners at the corners and is 1 for 24 in his past seven games.
Key stat
Willi Castro has reached base in all 15 games, the longest streaking opening the season for Minnesota since Brian Dozier’s 17 games streak in 2018.
Up next
Tigers: LHP Tarik Skubal (1-2, 3.78) starts Monday at Milwaukee, which sends LHP Tyler Alexander (1-0, 2.84) to the mound
Twins: RHP Joe Ryan (1-1, 2.65) starts Monday’s series opener against the New York Mets and RHP Clay Holmes (1-1, 4,30).
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