Ausmus, Tigers will finish 2015 with losing record
DETROIT (AP) -- For the last two months, it's looked like Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus might lose his job at season's end.
It was announced Saturday that he'll be back for 2016, and officially, he'll be managing a club coming off a losing season.
Detroit's 6-2 loss Saturday night to the Minnesota Twins eliminated the Tigers from postseason contention and ensured their first losing season since 2008.
Tigers general manager Al Avila announced before the game that Ausmus will return as the team's manager next season. With an 86-year-old owner, Mike Ilitch, who has been dreaming about a World Series ring since playing in the minors in the 1950s, Ausmus knows a losing season won't be good enough next year -- the last on his three-year deal.
"Quite frankly, we expect to win," he said when asked about 2016. "Our goal is the same -- win a world championship."
Saturday, though, the Tigers ran into the pitcher who has improbably kept the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card race -- Tyler Duffey.
The rookie improved to 5-1 with a 3.14 ERA, allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk in six innings.
"I felt great out there tonight," he said. "I wasn't at my best, but I kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win. That's the most important thing."
Duffey has now thrown a career-high 189 2-3 innings between Double-A, Triple-A and the majors, including 51 2-3 in a pennant race. That wasn't the plan, but he hasn't allowed the Twins to shut him down.
After getting beat up by Toronto in his debut, he is undefeated in eight starts with a 2.17 ERA.
"I know we've been relying on Tyler a lot in the last month, but he keeps doing the job," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We know where he is in terms of innings for the season, so we are always checking with him, but he keeps telling us he will be fine."
The Twins blew a late lead Friday night and, with Houston winning Saturday, couldn't risk falling further behind in the AL wild-card race -- they trail the Astros by 1 1/2 games.
"I'm not going to say this was a must-win game, but we definitely needed it," Molitor said. "The days are dwindling, and the last thing we can afford is to give another one away."
Detroit's Alfredo Simon (13-11) allowed four runs on eight hits and a walk in eight innings.
Minnesota took a 1-0 lead when Brian Dozier led off with a double, took third on Joe Mauer's single and scored on Dixon Machado's fielding error.
The Twins doubled the lead in the third on Escobar's triple and Dozier's sacrifice fly, but the Tigers tied it in the fourth.
Miguel Cabrera led off with a single and moved to third on J.D. Martinez's one-out double. Nick Castellanos made it 2-1 with an RBI double, and James McCann singled to bring Martinez home.
Minnesota went back in front in the seventh on a rally started when former Tiger Torii Hunter walked with one out. Aaron Hicks and Kurt Suzuki followed with singles, the latter bringing home Hunter. Hicks stole third to put runners on the corners, and Escobar beat out a 3-6-3 double-play attempt, allowing Hicks to score Minnesota's fourth run.
The Twins added two insurance runs in the ninth on Escobar's 12th homer.
HEADS UP
For the second time in as many nights, a fan had to be helped by paramedics after being hit by a foul ball. This time, it appeared to be a male who was hit by a Castellanos liner over the end of the Tigers dugout. After lengthy treatment at his seat, he was able to walk up to the concourse under his own power.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: Ausmus said he does not expect SS Jose Iglesias (broken finger) to play again this season. Iglesias, a first-time All-Star this year who hasn't played since the injury on Sept. 3, would finish the season with a .300 batting average.
UP NEXT
The teams finish their three-game series Sunday in Detroit's last home game of the season. Minnesota's Ervin Santana (6-4, 4.31) is scheduled to face Randy Wolf (0-4, 5.91). The 39-year-old Wolf, who is making his seventh start for the Tigers, has just one win in 10 starts since 2012.
