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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins arent picky about how they get on base this season. Kurt Warner Womens Jersey . And if the most-walked team in the majors can get more starting pitching performances as they did Saturday, the Twins likely wont mind their status as a middle-of-the-pack team when it comes to batting average. Phil Hughes struck out six in seven innings, Josmil Pinto hit his fifth homer of the season and the Twins scored two runs in the fifth without a hit in their 5-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. Minnesota looked to be in for a long afternoon after Detroit took an early 2-0 lead and Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez handled the Twins early. But Sanchez left in the third with a blister on his middle finger on his throwing hand, forcing newly recalled Jose Ortega (0-1) into action. Ortega, who had just arrived from Triple-A Toledo, and Phil Coke then combined to walk six Twins -- five in the fifth. A throwing error by catcher Bryan Holaday and a bases-loaded walk by Coke allowed Minnesota, hitless at that point, to tie the game. Minnesota entered the game with a majors-leading 113 walks this season, and added eight more on Saturday. "As weve talked about many times now, were taking our walks and getting people on, and you score runs like that," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Thats a good way to go about your business." Especially with Hughes rolling. Hughes (2-1) didnt walk a batter, retired 16 straight at one point and has won two straight -- a welcome sight for a Twins rotation that had produced only six quality starts this season. Although he acknowledged the need for more innings from his starters, Gardenhire preached patience with his rotation earlier in the day, saying the team believes its starting pitchers will do well. For one afternoon, at least, Hughes gave his manager a glimpse of that. "Anytime your starter doesnt give you innings, its up to the next guy to kind of bounce back and hopefully save the bullpen a little bit," Hughes said a day after the Twins bullpen threw six-plus innings in Friday nights loss. Trevor Plouffes two-run single off Coke scored Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier put the Twins ahead for good in the fifth, and Pintos homer off Al Albuquerque in the eighth provided an insurance run. "It was a tough spot for the entire bullpen," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "We were a little bit strapped going into today as it was. Sanchezs injury straps us even more." Detroit took a first-inning lead after Sam Fuld couldnt hang onto Miguel Cabreras fly to deep right, allowing Torii Hunter to score from first. Cabrera went to third on Fulds bad throw and scored on Victor Martinezs sacrifice fly. That was all the Tigers could muster against Hughes, though. The veteran right-hander made efficient work of Detroits lineup the next six innings. Jared Burton pitched a scoreless eighth and Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for his sixth save in seven chances. "After the first I was coming apart a little bit, and not really staying within myself, overthrowing a little bit and coming out of my mechanics," Hughes said. "But I was able to settle down pretty quick and get on a little bit of a roll, which was nice." Martinez led off the ninth with a homer. Sanchez threw 53 pitches without allowing a hit and was in the middle of Doziers at-bat when Holaday, head trainer Kevin Rand and pitching coach Jeff Jones went to the mound. Shortly after being joined by Ausmus, Rand and Sanchez walked off the field. "It looked nasty, it really did," Ausmus said. "As soon as I went out there and saw it I was caught between throwing up and pulling him out of the game. It looked gross." Notes: Trevor Plouffe took a pitch off the arm in the fourth and later came out of the game. Gardenhire said he would be day to day. ... The Tigers optioned RHP Justin Miller -- who pitched two-thirds innings on Friday night and allowed a run and two hits -- to Toledo to make room for Ortega. "It had nothing to do with how Justin pitched last night. He had pitched well the previous two outings, it was just we needed help for the bullpen," Ausmus said. ... Ausmus says he plans to put C Alex Avila (shin) back into the lineup Sunday. Avila was hurt sliding into home plate on Friday. Ausmus reiterated RHP Rick Porcello (elbow) should make his next scheduled start Wednesday. Porcello was hurt after a line drive deflected off his glove and hit his throwing elbow. ... A day after his relievers threw 6 2-3 innings, Ron Gardenhire put starter Mike Pelfrey in the bullpen as "an emergency-type guy." Asked about tweaking his starting rotation, Gardenhire said, "Youve got to give them a little bit of time here. These guys are here for a reason, we think theyre going to be good and hopefully theyll get rolling and we dont have to have this conversation." . The Tigers and Twins wrap up their three-game series on Sunday when Justin Verlander (3-1) takes the mound for Detroit. Minnesota righty Kyle Gibson (3-1) will make his start against the Tigers for the first time. Orlando Pace Jersey . -- The Kelowna Rockets earned their 16th straight win with a 7-2 rout of the Portland Winterhawks in Western Hockey League action Thursday. Deacon Jones Jersey . According to TSNs Farhan Lalji, Richardson is heading to Toronto for a physical and is expected to sign with the Argonauts. http://www.laramsfootballshops.com/bobby-evans-jersey/ . Second-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States made lighter work of her day as she beat 2009 champion and Swiss wild card Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-3. Two seeds fell: No. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-2, and No. INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers are making old-school basketball trendy, winning with defence, balanced scoring and strong second halves. On Tuesday, they did it again. Roy Hibbert scored 22 points and Lance Stephenson fell just short of his fourth triple double this season, helping the Pacers hold off Torontos late charge for an 86-79 victory that allowed them to keep the NBAs best record. "We didnt let them get physical with us," Stephenson said, referring to the stark contrast to Indianas loss last week north of the border. "That was a point of emphasis." The Pacers (28-6) have won three straight since that loss at Toronto and have a two-game lead over two-time defending champion Miami in the Eastern Conference. This was no typical night in Indiana. Some Pacers fans stayed home because of the poor road conditions in and around the city, and both teams started sluggishly -- perhaps a result of their own weather-related travel delays. Because of the snowstorm that swept through the Midwest on Sunday and the frigid temperatures that delivered a second big blow to Indianapolis on Monday and Tuesday, the Raptors (16-17) were forced to stay in Miami two days longer than planned and didnt arrive in town until about five hours before tip-off. Things didnt go much smoother for the Pacers, who endured a seemingly endless round of delays as they tried to return home following Sunday nights game at Cleveland. So when All-Star Paul George picked up his second foul less than five minutes into the game, the Pacers knew they would have to revert to their traditional style. "Our guys buckled down and had a great defensive performance," coach Frank Vogel said. Hibbert led the charge. He helped the Pacers dominate the middle with a 53-36 rebounding edge and a 40-26 scoring advantage in the paint. The 7-foot-2 centre was 5 of 12 from the field and 12 of 13 from the free throw line with eight rebounds and three blocks. Stephenson, the league leader with three triple doubles, did his thing, too. He finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Danny Granger, the former All-Star who is working his way back into game shape, came off the bench to match his season high with 13 poinnts, and George Hill and Paul George each added 11 for Indiana. Jared Goff Rams Jersey. And defensively, the Pacers were stifling. They held the Raptors (16-17) to a season-low point total by limiting them to just 37.0 per cent shooting from the field -- their third-worst performance of the season. Coach Dwane Casey didnt blame the poor shooting effort on the abrupt change of plans but rather his teams inability to effectively counterpunch against the Pacers inside. "Shooters legs, sea legs, whatever you want to call it, it was there," Casey said. "We can have all the excuses, but again, in a game like this, youve got to man up and bring it." DeMar DeRozan led Toronto with 28 points, while Patrick Patterson added 20 and Kyle Lowry had 16. Nobody else reached double figures for the Raptors, who have played their best basketball of the season over the last month though theyve lost back-to-back road games -- at Miami and Indiana -- following a four-game winning streak. Toronto fought hard most of the night, jumping to an 11-4 lead and cutting an eight-point second quarter deficit to 32-31 with a 7-0 spurt. But the Pacers seized control by closing out the first half on a 12-5 run that made it 44-36, then used an 8-0 third-quarter run to break it open. Indiana led 71-54 in the final minute of the quarter before Toronto made one last rally. The Raptors closed to 77-70 on Lowrys layup with 4:14 to go, made it 81-75 when Patterson hit a 3 with 2:51 to play and got it to six two more times. Twice, they had chances to get even closer, but they missed 3s both times in the final minute and the Pacers held on. "We remembered these guys from a couple of games ago. We let that one get away," said David West, who finished with 12 rebounds and four points. "Tonight we made a point of protecting our home court." NOTES: Indiana improved to 17-1 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. ... Toronto hosts Detroit on Wednesday after completing a three-game road trip. ... The Pacers have a 2-1 lead in the season series and wont face Toronto again until April 4. ... Raptors forward Tyler Hansbrough, an ex-Pacer, did not play because of a sprained left ankle. 22:51ET 07-01-14 ' ' '