A couple of extras from a rainy night in Minneapolis:
Jorge Polanco impressed his manager with a couple of smart baserunning plays in the third inning.
Polanco laced a 2-2 slider into the right-field corner, easily scoring Brian Dozier from second base. And when J.D. Martinez didn't pick up the ball cleanly, Polanco sped up at second base and headed for third. Good job of recognizing he could take the extra base with one out, Molitor credited.
When Joe Mauer followed with a ground ball to second base, Polanco froze a few steps off third base, making certain that Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler would throw to first. When he did, Polanco scooted home with another run.
Light sees first action
Pat Light made his Twins debut on Tuesday, relieving Michael Tonkin with one out in the seventh inning. The righthander allowed a single to J.D. Martinez, but then struck out Justin Upton and retired Casey McGehee on a line drive to center field.
"It was a situation where I had to get ready quick," said Light, who was acquired from Boston at the trade deadline three weeks ago. "It's actually sometimes good getting ready quick — just get your arm loose and get out there."
It was Light's third career appearance in a major-league game, and by far his best. In his debut in April, Light allowed two runs in one inning of work; in July, he was hit around for six runs, five earned, while recording five outs. That's a career ERA of 23.62 — reduced to 18.90 by Tuesday's success.
"It was good to get out there and pitch well," Light said, "especially after those first couple in Boston."
Losing streak continues
Paul Molitor on the Twins' five-game losing streak, their longest since mid-June: "I'm holding on to hope that we're going to play better and get back on track. This started on that last homestand, where we didn't play particularly well, and things got a little sloppy. "
