Twins 5, Tigers 4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)—Shannon Stewart hit an RBI ground-rule double off Troy Percival with one out in the ninth inning, giving Minnesota a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

It was the first earned run Percival (0-1) allowed in 40 1-3 career innings against the Twins. Before Stewart’s big hit, Percival was the only active major leaguer with at least 40 innings logged against one opponent with an ERA of zero.

Lew Ford singled to start the ninth and moved to second on a sacrifice by Michael Cuddyer. Pinch-hitter Nick Punto walked, bringing up Stewart.

Juan Rincon (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the victory.

Rookie Jason Bartlett hit his first major league homer and Cuddyer also went deep for Minnesota, which tied the game at 4 in the eighth against a shaky Ugueth Urbina.

Eleven of Urbina’s first 15 pitches in the eighth were balls, and he paid for it. Bartlett and Joe Mauer walked, with Bartlett eventually scoring on Torii Hunter’s high-bouncing single over third baseman Brandon Inge’s head. Mauer tried to come home on a wild pitch, but catcher Ivan Rodriguez recovered in time to make a throw to Urbina, who applied the tag to end the inning.

Craig Monroe, a career .348 hitter against the Twins, spoiled Joe Mays’ return to the rotation with a two-run home run in the fifth. Monroe went 2-for-4 with two runs and started the go-ahead rally in the seventh by reaching on an infield single. He scored on Omar Infante’s broken-bat blooper that fell in shallow center field with two outs, giving the Tigers a 4-3 lead.

Mays had required ligament replacement surgery in September 2003 and hadn’t started since Aug. 29 that year.

Returning from a viral infection that kept him out the last four games, Magglio Ordonez went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts for Detroit.

Dmitri Young’s soft two-out roller sneaked through the infield for an RBI single in an ominous first inning in which Mays threw 23 pitches. He walked the leadoff man, Carlos Pena, in the second before getting Monroe to hit into a double play and settling in.

The next time Mays walked Pena to start an inning, though, he didn’t get away with it. Monroe followed with a line drive to the corner in left field that barely cleared the wall but put the Tigers ahead 3-1 in the fifth.

Mays completed five innings, allowing four hits, three runs and four walks while striking out three and throwing 82 pitches—52 strikes.

Tigers starter Mike Maroth couldn’t hold his two-run lead, allowing Cuddyer’s towering homer in the fifth and leaving after a bunt single by Mauer started the sixth.

A throwing error by Inge on the play moved Mauer to second. He advanced on Hunter’s infield single and tied the game at 3 on a groundout by Jacque Jones.

Maroth gave up five hits, three runs—two earned—and one walk. He struck out three and threw 52 of his 81 pitches for strikes.

Notes

The Twins have been outscored 12-0 in the first inning this year, allowing runs in six of their seven games. … Inge is 1-for-15 in his career against Mays. … Bartlett’s homer was the first by a Twins infielder this season. … In four innings this year, Urbina has allowed six hits, five runs and two walks without any strikeouts. Percival has given up five hits, three runs and two walks in 3 1-3 innings.