Monroe Homer Lifts Twins Past Tigers

Craig Monroe hit a two-run homer off Justin Verlander and Brian Bass picked up his first major league win in relief of injured starter Scott Baker, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers last night. Bass (1-0) allowed three hits in four scoreless innings, Pat Neshek and Jesse Crain combined to work the eighth, and Joe Nathan pitched the ninth for his 10th save.

Michael Cuddyer also drove in two runs for the Twins, who have won four straight. Curtis Granderson homered for the Tigers, who have cooled off since arriving in Minnesota. After scoring 20 runs in a three-game sweep of the Yankees, Detroit has managed only two runs against the Twins in two games. Verlander (1-5) retired the first 10 batters he faced but ran into trouble in the fourth. (More MLB stories.)