Twins 0 - 3 Tigers
Final
  for this game

Tigers win AL Central behind Price's gem

Sep 28, 2014 - 10:22 PM Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - David Price showed why he was so coveted at the trade deadline, leading the Detroit Tigers to their fourth consecutive AL Central title with a 3-0 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.

Price (15-12) tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings, limiting the Twins to just four hits while striking out eight to register the third 15-win season of his career.

Detroit (90-72), which entered the day a game ahead of Kansas City, took the division crown in manager Brad Ausmus' inaugural season at the helm.

"We've been kind of envisioning this celebration for a few of days now," Ausmus said. "Kansas City has played extremely well over the past week and pushed us to the limit. Ultimately, the guys we have, they have been through this. There wasn't panic."

Ian Kinsler went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI and Torii Hunter knocked in a run for the Tigers, who will face Baltimore in the ALDS starting Thursday.

Kyle Gibson (13-12) took the loss after allowing three runs on four hits over 7 1/3 innings for Minnesota (70-92), which split the four-game, season-ending series with Detroit.

"I just try to get each hitter," Gibson said. "It's a lot of fun when you're going back-and-forth with a guy like (Price)."

The Tigers did not register a hit until Kinsler hit a two-out homer in the third to give Price all the support he needed.

Minnesota put a pair of runners on with one out in the fourth, but Price struck out Oswaldo Arcia before getting Eduardo Escobar to ground out. Then the left-hander worked around a one-out double from Aaron Hicks in the fifth to keep the margin intact.

Back-to-back walks with one out in the home eighth set up Kinsler's RBI single to left. Hunter followed with a sacrifice fly to extend the cushion to three.

Joe Nathan came on in the ninth and set the Twins down in order for his 35th save of the season.

Game Notes

Minnesota had won four of its last five over Detroit entering the game ... Gibson, who opened the season with three straight wins, attempted to win a third straight outing to conclude the season on Sunday ... Price, who improved to 3-1 in four starts against the Twins this season, finished the year as the AL's leader in strikeouts with 271.






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