Tigers back Boyd, rout Twins 8-2 in doubleheader opener

DETROIT (AP) — Matthew Boyd pitched six solid innings for his first victory of the season, and Victor Reyes had four hits to lift the Detroit Tigers to an 8-2 win over the Minnesota Twins in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday.

It was the first quality start of the season for Boyd (1-4), who was Detroit's opening day starter. The left-hander allowed one earned run and four hits with six strikeouts. Nelson Cruz hit a solo homer off him in the sixth, but by then the Tigers had built a comfortable lead.

Detroit has won five of its last seven.

The Tigers hit Minnesota starter Randy Dobnak (5-2) hard, and they could have won by more if they hadn't grounded into four double plays in the seven-inning game.

Dobnak allowed six runs and 12 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Boyd did not walk a batter. Of his 13 pitches that induced swings and misses, six were changeups, according to baseballsavant.com.

“It's nice to have that — keep guys off balance,” Boyd said. “That changeup really allows you to control your barrels a little bit.”

Detroit took a 1-0 lead in the second when Christin Stewart hit an RBI double off the glove of left fielder Eddie Rosario. Jorge Polanco hit a sacrifice fly for Minnesota to bring home an unearned run in the third, but Jonathan Schoop's run-scoring single put the Tigers back ahead in the bottom half.

Stewart hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Austin Romine's RBI single made it 4-1.

“Being a groundball pitcher, guys are going to put the ball in play a lot,” Dobnak said. “They found holes, and ultimately that's just the game of baseball, and going forward, I've got to erase that from my mind.”

Dobnak departed with the bases loaded in the fifth. Jorge Bonifacio then hit a two-run single off reliever Lewis Thorpe. Niko Goodrum, the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Tigers-back-Boyd-rout-Twins-8-2-in-doubleheader-15524557.php