MINNEAPOLIS —
Reid Detmers worked six solid innings and Brandon Drury and Niko Kavadas homered to lead the Angels to a 6-2 victory over the struggling Minnesota Twins on Monday night.
Detmers (4-6) was making his second straight quality start after spending three months at triple-A Salt Lake. The 25-year-old left-hander gave up five hits and struck out eight — including the last three batters he face — for his first win since April 12 against Boston after starting the season 3-0. He gave up three hits and struck out 10 in six innings in a no-decision against the Dodgers last Tuesday in his first appearance since June 1 after being demoted to the minors after months of inconsistency.
Drury hit his fourth homer of the season, a two-run shot, in the the third inning and Kavadas added another two-run homer, his third, in the sixth.
Kyle Farmer homered for the Twins, who struck out 12 times and lost their fourth straight game. Minnesota has scored just 13 runs in losing six of its last seven games. The Twins are 6-15 in their last 21 games, yet remain third in the American League wild-card standings, three games ahead of idle Detroit and Seattle.
David Festa (2-6) gave up a two-run single to Nolan Schanuel in the first and a 459-foot home run to Drury in the third inning as the Angels took a 4-0 lead. Festa was lifted after four innings.
Carlos Santana had an RBI single in the third for Minnesota and Farmer homered in the fourth before Kavadas lined a home run to right field off Ronny Henriquez in the sixth to stretch the Angels’ lead to 6-2.
José Suarez, recalled Monday from triple A, threw three hitless innings for this first career save. Since June 17, Angels relievers lead the majors with a 2.62 ERA.