MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The day after Detroit's bullpen blew a big lead, Alfredo Simon put the Tigers in a sizable hole.
Simon was knocked out in the third inning in another difficult start, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Tigers 9-5 on Saturday.
"I get behind the count and when you get behind the count, they know you're going to throw a fastball in the middle and that's when you get hit," Simon said.
Simon (8-6) was charged with seven runs, five earned, and 10 hits in 2 1/3 innings. The right-hander has been tagged for a whopping 30 runs over his last five starts.
Former Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter hit a towering two-run homer into the third deck against Buck Farmer, highlighting a 16-hit afternoon for Minnesota.
An offseason trade acquisition from Cincinnati, Simon was 7-3 with a 2.58 ERA in mid-June before scuffling. Simon, a 2014 All-Star, has struggled with location. Two of the seven outs he recorded on Saturday were on the bases when the Twins tried to advance.
"I don't want to put a lot of things in my mind," Simon said of searching for a second-half improvement. "I just try to work hard and in the second half try to do it better, like try to make the pitch down. When you try to make the pitch and leave it up, you're going to get hit. I have to do it better than that and just try to throw the ball down."
Detroit manager Brad Ausmus said he is not thinking about moving Simon out of the rotation "right now."
"Yeah, it's been a bad stretch for him, for sure," Ausmus said. "We obviously need him to get past this, sooner than later."
Trevor Plouffe and Eddie Rosario each had three hits and scored twice, and the bottom five batters in Minnesota's lineup combined for six RBIs and 11 hits in 19 at-bats. Aaron Hicks hit a two-run triple in the third inning that finished Simon's start.
This was quite the carryover for the Twins, after their seven-run ninth inning the night before was punctuated by Brian Dozier's game-ending home run against Joakim Soria.
Phil Hughes (8-6) gave up a home run to Victor Martinez and a two-run single to James McCann in the fourth, but he took a 7-0 lead into that inning. Yoenis Cespedes drove in another run with a double in the fifth, the last inning for Hughes.
"The Hunter home run took a little of the wind out of the sails," Ausmus said. "You feel like you're chipping you're way back in the game. You've got a few innings left. You know they have (closer Glen) Perkins on the back end and then they tack on two runs with one swing of the bat, which kind of stinks."
Hughes retired Martinez the next time on a called third strike that upset the veteran designated hitter enough to prompt an ejection by home plate umpire Marty Foster. Ausmus had to stand between Martinez and Foster during the ensuing argument.
FELIZ IN THE FOLD
Neftali Feliz made his debut in the Tigers' sputtering bullpen, a week after the Texas Rangers released their former closer. The 2010 AL Rookie of the Year pitched a scoreless eighth inning. Ausmus said before the game his closer Soria is the only reliever whose status is set.
"Feliz was good, yeah," Ausmus said. "If he can pitch similar to that on a regular basis, he can be a nice addition to the bullpen."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: Since 1B Miguel Cabrera hurt his calf July 3 the Tigers are 4-4, but they've averaged 6.4 runs per game in his absence.
Twins: Dozier was hit by a pitch just above the left elbow, but he stayed in the game despite some pain and scored on Hunter's homer in the sixth.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Shane Greene will start the series finale Sunday, coming up from Triple-A Toledo. Farmer was optioned to Toledo make room for Greene.
Twins: RHP Kyle Gibson starts for Minnesota. He is 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in his last three turns, with 17 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings.
