Lefty Boyd bounces back in big way

DETROIT — After two starts this season, Matthew Boyd already has both extremes covered.

Boyd allowed one hit in six outstanding innings, and James McCann homered in the fifth to lift the Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Twins on Tuesday.

It was quite a turnaround for Boyd, who was pulled from last week’s outing in the third inning but took a no-hitter into the sixth this time.

“It was good,” he said. “It’s nice to come back and put your team in a position to win. That being said, there’s room to grow.”

Boyd (1-1) did not allow a hit until Robbie Grossman lined a clean single to left field with two out in the sixth. The Tigers left-hander struck out six and walked two before turning the game over to the bullpen.

The Tigers pulled even with the Twins atop the AL Central and have won four of five.

Francisco Rodriguez allowed a run in the ninth but recovered for his third save in four chances. Pinch-hitter Max Kepler popped out with two on to end it.

Hector Santiago (1-1) allowed only three hits in 6 ⁄ innings, but one of them was a two-run shot by McCann.

Boyd recovered nicely after giving up five runs in 21⁄3 innings in his first start of the season against the White Sox. The Tigers picked him over the more experienced Anibal Sanchez for a spot in the rotation, and they’ll hope this start was more indicative of what he’ll provide going forward.

“He shut us down pretty good,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “We didn’t adjust, I didn’t think, particularly well, in terms of outs on offspeed. Between his changeup and breaking ball — he mixed in some fastballs, but he got a lot of outs on his offspeed.”