DETROIT -- Kyle Gibson got a little help in one of his best starts this season.Its a lot easier to pitch with a 7-1 lead in the fifth, Gibson said.Jorge Polanco homered and drove in four runs, Brian Dozier added three more hits to his torrid second half and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 8-1 on Tuesday night.The Tigers lost for the third time in 14 games against Minnesota, costing them precious ground in a crowded race for the second AL wild card.Gibson (6-9) dominated, allowing one run and five hits in eight innings. The win ended a four-start winless streak, including when Gibson allowed five runs in five innings to Detroit on Aug. 23.He had a couple nervous moments in there, but that was a great overall outing, Molitor said. Its not easy to get through that lineup with one run on five hits in eight innings.Kennys Vargas homered for the Twins, and Robbie Grossman drove in two runs.Matt Boyd (5-4) took the loss in his worst outing since June. He gave up seven runs, eight hits and a walk in 3 2/3 innings.I was just out of sync, Boyd said. I wasnt right physically. I feel great, but my mechanics were off. I couldnt repeat my delivery, and thats a recipe for disaster. That cant happen at this time of year.Dozier entered hitting .318 with 26 homers since the All-Star break. Hes hit safely in 17 consecutive games.Buck Farmer saved Detroits bullpen by pitching 4 1/3 scoreless innings, but now the Tigers long reliever will be unavailable for starts by Anibal Sanchez and Mike Pelfrey on Wednesday and Thursday. Sanchez has struggled all year, while Pelfrey will be pitching for the first time since July and is expected to be on a low pitch count.He was outstanding, and it helped us a ton, Ausmus said. That frees up the rest of the bullpen for the next couple days.Boyd got into trouble quickly, allowing two runs before recording an out. Dozier led off with a base hit and Polanco blooped a double down the right-field line. Grossman lined Boyds 11th pitch of the night into center for a two-run single, but the Tigers defense prevented further damage.Vargas hit a hard grounder up the middle, but Jose Iglesias fielded it behind second and got off a backhanded flip toward the bag. Ian Kinsler caught it in his bare hand and threw in one motion to turn the double play.Miguel Cabreras RBI single made it 2-1 in the bottom of the first, but Gibson took control after that.Polancos two-run homer gave the Twins a three-run lead in the third. Grossman followed with a double, giving the top three in Minnesotas order six hits in six plate appearances, including three doubles and a homer.Detroit loaded the bases in the fourth, but Gibson got Jarrod Saltalamacchia to pop out and end the inning.Polanco had two shots at the triple he needed for the cycle but popped out and walked.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: Miguel Sano was out of the lineup one day after leaving a game with stiffness and soreness in his lower back. Sano is listed as day to day but said he expects to miss two or three games.Tigers: Justin Upton didnt play after aggravating a calf injury on Monday. Upton, one of Detroits hottest hitters over the last three weeks, hopes to return within a day or two.OLYMPIAN IN THE HOUSEFor the second day in a row, a medalist from the 2016 Summer Olympics threw out the first pitch. After boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields did the honors on Monday, it was Canadian Shelina Zadorsky, who won bronze as a member of the womens soccer team after a college career at the University of Michigan.UP NEXTThe teams play the third of a four-game series Wednesday night, with Detroits Anibal Sanchez (7-13, 5.69) facing Minnesotas Tyler Duffey (8-11, 6.13). Sanchez has shown some signs of improvement, going 1-1 with a 3.34 ERA in his last five starts.Will Harris Lions Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. Will Harris Youth Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions-jarrad-davis-black-jersey/ . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. T.J. Hockenson Lions Jersey . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Calvin Johnson Lions Jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games.KENT, Ohio -- Kent States players made their home opener memorable, and it had little to do with winning.In a sign of unity they hope catches on, the Golden Flashes invited fans onto the court to stand with them during the national anthem before Wednesday nights game against Mississippi Valley State.Moments before tip-off, Kent States players went into the crowd and each of them asked a fan of a different race to join them while the schools Flasher Brass pep band performed the anthem.We understand all of the issues going on in our world, sophomore point guard Jalen Avery said. In these times, we felt it was important to show a sign of unity in our community. Our meaning behind it was to let everybody aware of all the things that are going on in our country know that we wanted to make a stand for unity. That was basically our symbol, and we wanted to treat everybody as one.Kent State coach Rob Senderoff said the players approached the coaching staff with the idea.It takes courage for our players to make a statement like this, and I believe iit is a representation of the unity in our campus community, Senderoff said.dddddddddddd Theres a lot of people protesting the national anthem, or protesting the election, or religion. You see all of that nationally, and our guys wanted to make a statement. To me, it was a tremendously positive statement. Hopefully everybody can recognize that. I have a lot of African-American players on my team, and they have faced discrimination because of the color of their skin.The statement they wanted to make was that `I am greater than that. Im a person. We are all people, and we are going to try and bring some unity here on campus. I think they made a positive statement with what they did.One of those asked to join the players, was Kent State president Beverly Warren.The team plans to continue to have fans on the court for every home game at the M.A.C. Center this season.Kent State defeated Mississippi Valley State 93-63. ' ' '
