MINNEAPOLIS
— Reliever Joel Zumaya's painful right arm injury marred Detroit's move
into first place, after the Tigers used four first-inning runs against
Francisco Liriano to beat the Minnesota Twins 7-5 on Monday night.
Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera hit two-run doubles in the first
off Liriano, who surrendered a season-high six runs in six-plus innings
while the Tigers passed the Twins for a half-game lead in the AL
Central.That took the background to Zumaya's health, though, when the hard-throwing right-hander squirmed and winced around on the mound in obvious pain after throwing a pitch with one out in the eighth inning.
Zumaya, who missed large chunks of the last two seasons because of shoulder problems, was in so much discomfort his right thumb was shaking while the trainer checked him out.
Jose Valverde came in and got five straight outs for his 18th straight save, making a winner of Jeremy Bonderman (4-5) and moving the Tigers into first place for the first time since May 20. They were tied then with the sputtering Twins, who have led the division this season for all but a handful of days.