Minnesota
Detroit Tigers come alive in 8th inning for 4-3 win over Minnesota Twins to split series
Another game, another comeback win.
The Detroit Tigers continue to struggle in the run-scoring department, especially throughout the early innings, but the ongoing issue hasn’t deterred the never-quit effort from the hitters throughout the lineup. It was on display again in Sunday’s eighth inning, as the Tigers scored four runs to suddenly take the lead.
Those four runs were just enough for the Tigers to beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-3, in Sunday’s series finale at Comerica Park. Spencer Torkelson drove in the game-winning run with a bloop single to shallow right-center field.
The Tigers and Twins, projected to finish at the top of the American League Central, split the four-game set.
JEFF SEIDEL: Tigers reaffirm biggest problem with season: They must play perfect to be good
The Tigers (9-6) once again received a solid performance from their starting pitcher, a positive trend this season. Right-hander Jack Flaherty allowed three runs on six hits and two walks with eight strikeouts across 6⅓ innings, throwing 100 pitches.
Flaherty threw 47 pitches in the first two innings, in which he gave up two of the three runs, then he settled down to throw just 53 pitches over his final 4⅓ innings.
The Tigers never had a breakthrough on offense against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober, who tossed six-plus scoreless innings with three strikeouts. He allowed just three hits and didn’t walk any batters in his 84-pitch outing.
The breakthrough happened in the eighth inning, beginning with Javier Báez’s solo home run off left-handed reliever Caleb Thielbar to put the Tigers on the scoreboard.
The homer to left field marked Báez’s first of the season.
Back-to-back singles from Carson Kelly and Riley Greene kept the pressure on the Twins and led to a pitching change. Mark Canha met right-handed reliever Griffin Jax with a two-run double that deflected off third baseman Kyle Famer, and because of the deflection, the ball rolled into the left-field corner.
It should have been ruled an error.
Still, Canha’s double knotted the score at 3-3, and he advanced to third base on the unnecessary throw home from the left fielder.
Torkelson put the Tigers in front, 4-3, with his single off Jax’s down-and-away sweeper. The sweeper ended up outside of the strike zone, but Torkelson made contact. He hit the ball with a 62.1 mph exit velocity, and once the ball dropped in for a bloop single, Canha scored from third base.
Right-handed reliever Jason Foley walked Matt Wallner and Edouard Julien with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but he dispatched Ryan Jeffers to finish the game.
Foley notched his fourth save in as many chances.
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Jack Flaherty battles
Flaherty wasn’t perfect.
But he was pretty good in his third start of the season.
He worked around two singles in the first inning, but he didn’t have the same luck in the second inning. He opened the second inning with a leadoff walk to Carlos Santana, and with two outs, Famer singled and Julien walked. Those three batters loaded the bases for Jeffers.
Jeffers delivered a two-run single for a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
SUNDAY’S NOTEBOOK: Tigers’ Andy Ibáñez on road to health; Spencer Torkelson’s decisions at first base
Flaherty retired all three batters in the third inning, and he sent down three of four batters in the fourth inning. The only blemish in those innings: Christian Vázquez hit a hanging slider to left-center field for a solo home run.
The homer put the Twins ahead, 3-0.
Flaherty hit the first batter he faced in the seventh inning, and after striking out Julien, the Tigers replaced him with right-handed reliever Will Vest. The runner was stranded by Vest with back-to-back outs to complete the seventh.
As for Flaherty, he generated 16 whiffs (on 45 swings) with five fastballs, seven sliders and four knuckle curves. His fastball averaged 94.1 mph and maxed out at 96.9 mph.
Before the comeback
Before the eighth inning, the Tigers showed signs of life in the seventh inning.
Torkelson, who still hasn’t hit a home run, hammered Ober’s 10th pitch — an up-and-in fastball — for a double to left field. The leadoff extra-base hit chased Ober. Right-handed reliever Brock Stewart replaced Ober, only to walk Kerry Carpenter on five pitches.
The next batter, Colt Keith, grounded into a force out, leaving runners at first base and second base with one out. The Tigers failed to score a single run because Gio Urshela grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Urshela hit a bouncer back to Stewart.
Before the seventh, Greene hit a leadoff double in the first inning and Urshela hit a single in the second inning. After that, the Tigers didn’t get another baserunner until Torkelson’s double.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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Minnesota
Vikings Have a Dubious Connection to the Dexter Lawrence Trade
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
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Minnesota
Boldy, Eriksson Ek help Wild cruise past Stars in Game 1 of Western 1st Round | NHL.com
Kirill Kaprizov had a goal and two assists, and Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist for the Wild, who are the No. 3 seed in the Central Division. Wallstedt made 27 saves in his Stanley Cup Playoff debut, and Zuccarello had three assists.
“I was definitely nervous,” said Wallstedt, a rookie. “I think it shows that it means something to you. I like a little bit of nerves. I think it’s something good. There were definitely some nerves throughout the day and then a little bit extra rolling into the game. But after the national anthem was over and the first couple pucks started coming, you’re good.
“I wanted to play and I felt like I have been going good. I was a little surprised (to get the start). But I was very excited as soon as I got the news. I just wanted to make sure I was ready today.”
Jason Robertson scored, and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves for the Stars, who are the No. 2 seed in the Central.
“We didn’t deserve to win,” Dallas forward Mikko Rantanen said. “I think two power-play goals for them, two a little-bit bounces for them where we had guys in the right spot. Just even keel. Playoffs are like this. Sometimes you lose a game, you can feel like you’re done. But that’s the mentality you need to have, you’ve got to reset and learn from mistakes.
“First 30 minutes, we didn’t win enough battles. They were just that little bit stronger in the battles and that’s why they were able to make us defend more than we want to. Just got to be stronger.”
Game 2 is here on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).
“We prepped for a couple days coming into this one. Now, we will gather information from this game and continue to move forward,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said. “For me, it’s game to game and day to day. We want to continue to get better. We won and they [Dallas] lost. It’s not so much being satisfied where you’re at or that’s what it is. We need to continue to find ways to get better.”
Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 5:35 of the first period on the power play. He scored on a one-timer from the left hash marks to finish a tic-tac-toe passing play with Zuccarello and Boldy, who found an open Eriksson Ek with a pass from the goal line.
“I think every team in the playoffs talks about not getting too high or too low. Just enjoy every day and each game and then we will go from there,” Eriksson Ek said. “I think we played pretty good today. The next game is a new game, so we just have to do it over and over every game. We know they are probably not the happiest with that game, so I am sure it’s going to be hard next game.”
Minnesota
ICE agent assault charge marks a ‘milestone’ for Minnesota prosecutors
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault accusing him of involvement in a February road-rage incident.
Trump administration ends Minnesota immigration operation
Border Czar Tom Homan announced the end of Minnesota’s immigration operation after fatal shootings heightened tension and community backlash.
Minnesota prosecutors charged a federal immigration agent with assault, saying the agent was involved in a February road-rage incident during the Trump administration’s Operation Metro Surge.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr., 35, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to April 16 Hennepin County court records. He has a nationwide warrant for his arrest.
On Feb. 5, prosecutors said Morgan allegedly drove illegally on the shoulder of a congested Minnesota highway in an unmarked SUV and pointed his weapon at two people in another car.
Morgan is the first agent charged in Operation Metro Surge, the controversial Minneapolis-area federal immigration operation that resulted in two American citizens fatally shot by federal officials, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
The charges “reflect an important milestone in our efforts to seek accountability for the harms inflicted on our community during Operation Metro Surge,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in an April 16 video statement.
Second-degree assault with a gun has a presumptive sentence of 36 months in prison if convicted, she said.
“Mr. Morgan’s conduct was extremely dangerous,” she said, adding his actions could have led to “another disastrous incident” in the community.
Neither ICE nor the Department of Homeland Security immediately responded to email requests for comment. A cell phone listed for Morgan, identified as a Maryland resident, didn’t immediately respond to a call or text message.
The incident came less than two weeks after two Customs and Border Protection officers shot and killed Alex Pretti, 37, during a protest in Minneapolis. Pretti would be the second American killed during Metro Surge after an ICE agent in early January fatally shot Renee Good, 37, while she drove her SUV in Minneapolis near an immigration operation.
Later in February, the Trump administration drew down Metro Surge, which officials called the largest immigration operation in modern American history.
Investigators said they interviewed Morgan, who identified himself as the driver. Morgan told investigators he and the other ICE employee were returning from a surveillance shift. Morgan said he feared for his life and others’ safety, so he pulled up alongside the vehicle and drew his Glock 19 firearm. He said he identified himself as police.
State investigators said neither Morgan nor the other ICE agent reported the incident to an ICE supervisor.
The April 16 warrant, signed by District Court Judge Paul Scoggin, said there was a “substantial likelihood” Morgan would fail to respond to a summons, and officials couldn’t locate him.
On April 18, Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the county attorney’s office, said there is no knowledge of Morgan being arrested yet.
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
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