DETROIT, Michigan -- After dropping 10 of the last 12 games, the Detroit Tigers entered a must-win situation in a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park. 

The Tigers (19-21) completed the sweep of the Twins (10-29) with a 6-3 victory on Wednesday afternoon. Minnesota, after losing back-to-back-to-back games, has lost 11 of their last 13 games and have the worst record in the majors. 

''We talked a lot about the first inning, being ready,'' Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said. ''Some of the basic things that you would hope at this level. We got to catch the ball, hit the cutoff man, all those kind of things that just jump out at you when you're playing poorly. Give extra bases, extra opportunities. It's a tough hole to dig for your starting pitcher when you don't make plays early.''

Detroit struck first on an RBI single off the bat of J.D. Martinez to score Ian Kinsler for a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

After a triple by J.D. Martinez, first baseman Miguel Cabrera drove him in with a sacrifice fly to deep center field. Later in the bottom of the third inning, Justin Upton knocked in Nick Castellanos for a 3-0 edge in favor of the Tigers. 

The Tigers were back at it again in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Kinsler singled up the middle off Twins starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco. The hit allowed Cameron Maybin to race home from third base. Maybin, who scored to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead, finished the game 1-for-4 with a walk and has hit .556 since coming off the disabled list on Monday. 

Nolasco (1-2, 4.74 ERA) allowed four runs (two earned runs) on nine hits and one walk through 5.0 innings pitched. The right-handed pitcher struck out six. 

Kinsler cranked his 10th home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning against Taylor Rodgers. It was the fourth home run in four straight days for Kinsler. He is the first Tigers leadoff hitter to accomplish that feat since Dick McAuliff in the 1969 season. 

Minnesota got their first run of the game against Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander in the top of the sixth inning. Trevor Plouffe scored off the wood of Danny Santana, who hit a sacrifice fly. 

Verlander (3-4, 4.58 ERA) allowed three runs on six hits and three walks over 7.1 innings of work on Wednesday. The veteran struck out 10 batters and was dominant for his third straight start.

During the impressive outing, Verlander logged his 2,000th career strikeout by punching out Eddie Rosario in the fourth inning. Besides Verlander, Mikey Lolich is the only other Tigers pitcher to reach 2,000 strikeouts.

"Man, the first strikeout they showed against (Travis) Hafner I looked pretty doggone young, fresh-faced,'' Verlander said. ''A lot of great moments along the way, and a lot of great moments here in this stadium in front of these fans. A lot great seasons. It really all brings that back to the forefront pretty quickly. Most importantly, we won.''

The 33-year-old is the 76 pitcher in MLB history to record that accomplishment. Believe it or not, Verlander now has 31 career double-digit strikeout games and two this season.

''Ver has to catch up to Rocket (Roger Clemens) to really impress me,'' Tigers manager Brad Ausmus joked. ''But it's an outstanding accomplishment. Ver has been one of the elite pitchers in baseball since he arrived on the scene. Since the end of last July, when a lot of people doubted him, he's kind of shown he's got some left in the tank.''

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Steven Moya, who was a late replacement for Victor Martinez, hit a line drive to center field and scored Miguel Cabrera to increase Detroit's lead to 6-1. Victor Martinez was a late scratch as the Tigers wanted to give him a day of rest. 

Verlander allowed runners to reach first and second in the eighth inning before departing in favor of Alex Wilson. The right-handed pitcher immediately allowed a two-run single to Plouffe, which cut the Twins deficit to three runs. 

Francisco Rodriguez entered the game with a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning and slammed the door with a perfect frame of pitching to secure the 6-3 win. 

Up Next

The Tigers have an off-day on Thursday before playing the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday at 7:10 PM ET from Comerica Park. The Twins travel back home to Target Field for a battle against the Toronto Blue Jays at 8:10 PM ET on Thursday.