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Detroit Tigers come alive in 8th inning for 4-3 win over Minnesota Twins to split series

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

Listen to our weekly Tigers show “Days of Roar” every Monday afternoon on demand at freep.com, Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.





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Minnesota cannabis store owners lament testing backlog: “It’s getting frustrating for everyone involved”

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Minnesota cannabis store owners lament testing backlog: “It’s getting frustrating for everyone involved”


One of five cannabis testing sites in Minnesota is shutting down, citing exorbitant costs as the reason.

William Drexler is moving product he has around as he waits patiently for more. He says customers who come into Grey Area, on Grand Avenue in St. Paul, are looking for adult-use items, which he says are being held up by a backlog in testing.

“We haven’t had problems with drinks or edibles yet, but for the adult-use products that where we’ve seen the delays, like your pre-rolls, your flowers, we haven’t even gotten pens in yet,” Drexler said.

He says getting cannabis products in his store has been an issue since he got his license to sell them a few months ago.

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“I’ve heard pretty much from every vendor that it’s testing that we are waiting on. That’s been the normal thing to hear, and week by week they may say, ‘it’s next week,’ and that can delay into the following week. So at this point I don’t think many of them are giving a date,” he said.

He anticipates getting those products will take even longer now that one of the testing sites is no longer testing.

In a statement, Legends Technical Services said, “under the current regulatory framework, we do not foresee an ability to continue to meet our client expectations in an economically viable manner. “

“We’ve already seen testing delays from the get go, so vendors aren’t really giving us time frames because they are probably hearing different time frames themselves,” Drexler said. “It’s getting frustrating for everyone involved.”

For now, Drexler contacts growers to see how long before his shelves are in full bloom.

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“These companies here, it’s the same story kind of from them when we contact them. ‘Hey, we need more product. We’re hoping for new [product] soon, but it’s coming out of testing soon,’” he said.

WCCO has reached out to Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management for comment on the backlog.



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Jack Leiter’s struggles at home give Minnesota Twins a pitching edge in American League clash

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Jack Leiter’s struggles at home give Minnesota Twins a pitching edge in American League clash


Every year, I feel like I end up locking on certain pitchers and teams and bet them more than others. It almost never is intentional; usually, I find a team or player I like, we win with them consistently, and I ride the horse until it is time to get off. That’s a bit of how I feel with both the Twins and Rangers who battle in this one.

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I have said that the Chicago White Sox are the biggest surprise in all of baseball, but the Minnesota Twins might be willing to make a strong argument about it. This was a year that the Twins were supposed to be garbage and be more likely to trade people away (like they did last year) than they would be looking to make a move for the club. I can’t say it is entirely due to Byron Buxton, one of the names floated in trade rumors last year and in the offseason, but he is having a great campaign and has the Twins just five games below .500.

Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch against the Cleveland Guardians in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 21, 2022. (David Berding/Getty Images)

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One of the other guys that you can attribute the success of this year to is today’s starter, Joe Ryan. If the Twins do decide to take Ryan to the market, he will have many suitors and should bring back a big haul. Ryan has posted a 4-3 record with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has been slightly worse on the road than at home, but it hasn’t been a significant issue. He was great in May, posting a 1.73 ERA, but June has seen him make three starts and allow eight earned runs, including four homers. Rangers hitters have struggled significantly against him, hitting just .143 against him.

The Texas Rangers are still in the mix for the American League West division. Before you say, “Well, yeah, it’s only the middle of June.” I bring this up because they are just two games back of the Mariners, and the Rangers really haven’t played all that well this season. I think there is a lot of potential for this team to add a bat, and he could make a major difference. If they added Buxton, for example, the Rangers might be the favorite to win the division given how everyone else is playing.

Texas Rangers pitcher Jack Leiter delivers a pitch to the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on May 31, 2026. (Jim Cowsert/Imagn Images)

I’m not trying to discuss hypothetical trades, though. The pitching staff might be enough to carry them to a Wild Card or division title anyway. Today’s starter, Jack Leiter, isn’t the best on the roster, but he’s been good. Leiter is 3-6 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. At home, he has been okay, going 2-2 with a 4.14 ERA. He has allowed four or more earned runs in seven of his 14 outings. Twins hitters are batting .417 against Leiter in just 12 at-bats, with Buxton going 2-for-2 with a double, a homer and three RBIs.

I think it probably makes sense to play Buxton to get 2+ bases here today. I get that he probably did all of this damage to Leiter in one game, but it is still worth seeing if he can get it done. He is having a good season, and Leiter isn’t a guy who is going to make you nervous very often about throwing zeroes.

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Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins jogs off the field after the fifth inning of the MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 15, 2025. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

I also think we probably should play the game overall. I think the Twins are the correct side in this game. There are a lot of times that I’d back the Rangers, as I think they have the better overall team, but in this one, the pitching mismatch is too strong. Give me the Ryan-led Twins, through five, on the moneyline.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024 

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End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum packs big history into small-town Minnesota

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End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum packs big history into small-town Minnesota


City parks are all across Minnesota. But a town in Murray County has one that’s gone off its rails.

Currie, Minnesota, is truly small-town America. The population hovers at just over 200. But on the northern outskirts, you’ll happen upon a place with plenty of bells and whistles: End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.

“It’s like a little village from way back when. You have your church. You’ve got a school,” said visitor Larry Diedrich.

You’ve also got railroad relics, up and down the tracks.

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“1901 was when the first line was put in here,” said Jake Halverson, site manager for End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum.

Halverson said Currie was once a thriving railroad town. In fact, it was the end of the line for steam engines heading west. If you wanted to go east, Currie was your gateway to the rest of the world. The first stop was Bigham Lake.

“From Bigham Lake they could go to Minneapolis, from Minneapolis to Chicago, from Chicago to New York,” said Halverson.

But by mid-century the last train had left the station. No sooner did that happen than teenagers from the local 4H club began to clean up the abandoned turntable.

The platform was used to turn 400,000-pound steam engines around when they hit the end of the line. Thanks to the 4Hers, it still works today.

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The club also bought the train depot for $1 from the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad Company and moved it closer to the turntable.

“That is really the beginning of maybe bringing more attention to the history of the railroad here,” said Halverson.

It’s history that comes in all shapes and sizes, including a model railroad that’s a replica of a time that was.

“It was built to look like what Currie was 100 years ago,” said Halverson.

Much of what you see at the park and museum is original, including a 125-year-old water tower that was moved to the site from Walnut Grove.

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The caboose nearby originally came from South Dakota. The locomotive once ran in Georgia.

The rail business may have left Currie, but the love for trains never did. It’s a chance to celebrate big history in a small town.

“Wherever there have been trains, there have been people who are fascinated by them,” said Halverson. “I think this is an opportunity for individuals to learn about not only this part of Minnesota but to know where this part of Minnesota fits in with the rest of the world.”

The End-O-Line Railroad Park and Museum is open from Wednesday through Sunday from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.

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