Joe Crede’s grand slam in 13th inning gives Twins 14-10 victory over Tigers

Crede’s hits slam in 13th, Twins beat Tigers 14-10

MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Crede’s two-out grand slam in the 13th inning off a tired Brandon Lyon gave the Minnesota Twins a 14-10 victory over Detroit — hours after Dontrelle Willis made his first start of the season for the Tigers.

Matt Tolbert’s single that Josh Anderson tried to catch but trapped in left tied it at 10 against Lyon (1-3), who loaded the bases in his third inning before Crede’s seventh career slam.

Curtis Granderson helped Detroit take a 10-9 lead in the top half of the 13th with a little trickery on the bases. The super-speedy Granderson tripled with one out before Jesse Crain (2-1) retired Placido Polanco on a flyball too shallow to score on.

With Anderson batting, Granderson faked a break for home as if he were going to steal. Crain flinched, and the right-hander brought his throwing hand out of his glove before starting his motion — thus the balk call. Fans booed, but the Twins didn’t argue.

Pinch-hitter Jason Kubel’s first-pitch, two-run homer off hard-throwing Detroit reliever Joel Zumaya tied it at 9 in the eighth, and Crede almost ended it against Lyon in the 12th — but that drive was caught by Granderson with his shoulder against the wall in center field.

Justin Morneau greeted Willis by smashing a two-run homer in the first, and Denard Span’s two-run triple put the Twins ahead in the sixth before the Tigers scored four times in the eighth on homers by Miguel Cabrera and Jeff Larish. Cabrera’s was a three-run shot, on the first pitch by Matt Guerrier.

Manager Jim Leyland, his voice rising with the cigarette smoke in his office before the game, declared Tuesday’s 6-2 defeat the most disappointed he’s been in the Tigers all season — citing too many missed opportunities by his offense. He was worked up in the seventh inning, too, drawing an ejection after rushing to scream at plate umpire Paul Schrieber.

The ending probably upset him more.

Four walks and two wild pitches contributed to five runs in 5 1-3 innings against Minnesota’s Glen Perkins, who gave up struggling slugger Magglio Ordonez’s second double of the season in front of a homer by Brandon Inge that put Detroit up 5-4 in the sixth. Then Luis Ayala and Guerrier lost a 7-5 lead in the four-run seventh.

The Tigers don’t have a win from Willis since they traded six prospects for him and Cabrera 17 months ago before giving the pitcher a $29 million, three-year contract. Willis gave up eight hits, four runs and two walks in 4 2-3 innings. It was a decent start, though, considering all he’s come back from. Willis was sent to Class A last year to work on his control, and he had been on the disabled list this spring due to an anxiety disorder.

The Twins weren’t sure what to expect. The entire lineup had only eight previous at-bats against the lively lefty who energized the Florida Marlins with his arrival from the minors in 2003 and finished that season as the NL Rookie of the Year and a World Series champion. He looked like the same D-Train, the nickname he drew during his debut.

He bounced around the mound between at-bats and pointed encouraging fingers toward his infielders. He nodded so many times, pumping himself up, he often looked like a bobblehead doll.

At Willis’ peak, before his career hit trouble, that sharp, sweeping delivery made it especially hard for left-handers to pick up the ball. But Morneau and on-base machine Mauer didn’t have any trouble on this night. Mauer made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the third.