Twins Rebound With 15 Hits, Win

May 20, 1998 / 2:09 AM EDT / CBS/AP

Tom Kelly admitted it, even if most of his hitters wouldn't.

The Minnesota Twins wanted to do anything they could to rebound from David Wells' perfect game. They did it with 15 hits, including three from struggling Terry Steinbach, in an 8-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

Three stolen bases in the first inning, an unusually aggressive strategy for Kelly, helped the Twins to a 4-0 lead after having Monday's off day to think about their failures against Wells and the New York Yankees.

"One of the reasons we got off so well not that we got embarrassed, but you don't want somebody to throw a no-hitter or a perfect game against you," Kelly said. "You want to come out and score some runs. That's what I was thinking."

Steinbach, who sat out Sunday's loss, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs after driving in just five runs all season. He came into the game hitting .188 in his last 11 games with just one RBI.

Matt Lawton and Orlando Merced also had three hits, and Paul Molitor drove in two runs. The Twins had at least one runner in every inning except the seventh after failing to get anyone on base against Wells.

Steinbach was the only hitter willing to acknowledge that being the victims in a perfect game provided added incentive the next time out.

"It was nice to do this after the New York thing," he said.

The offense helped Brad Radke (5-3) through a shaky night for his second complete game of the season. He allowed three runs on five hits against a Detroit team that came in hitting .297 and averaging seven runs in its last 16 games.

"He's shut a lot of people down in his career," Detroit's Brian Hunter said. "He's a good pitcher. We let the game get away in the first inning. We got back in it in the second, but then (Radke) and the Twins just buried us."

The loss was just the second in eight games for the Tigers.

The Twins made sure A.J. Sager (1-1) didn't stick around long in his first start since May 9, 1997. Todd Walker, who also sat out Wells' perfect game, led off the first with a single and later scored on a grounder by Molitor when catcher Paul Bako dropped the throw from third baseman Joe Randa.

The Twins scored three more in the first. Molitor scored on the front end of a double steal to make it 2-0, and Ron Coomer and Steinbach added RBIs.

Radke gave back two runs in the second.

Luis Gonzalez hit a 417-foot solo homer to make it 4-1. Damion Easley followed with a triple and scored on Radke's wild pitch.

But the Twins made it 6-2 with runs in the second and third, and Radke retired 16 of the last 19 Tigers he faced following Easley's RBI groundout in the fourth.

"I got a lot of pitches up early in the game, and I had them up late in the game, too,"> Radke said. "Nothing changed. Maybe I should have given up a run an inning. That's what it felt like."

Sager, who took Greg Keagle's place in the starting rotation, gave up six runs on nine hits in 2 2-3 innings. He left after giving up Steinbach's two-out single in the third. Keagle came on to give up a walk and Pat Meares' RBI double, and then Steinbach's two-run double in the fourth to make it 8-3.

A disgusted Detroit manager Buddy Bell had his own theory for Minnesota's big offensive night in its first game after facing Wells.

"This was not the same kind of pitching they saw the other day," Bell said.

Notes: The game marked Detroit's first against an AL Central opponent since moving to the division at the start of the season. The Tigers play their next 13 against Central foes. ... Easley has a nine-game hitting streak, going 14-for-32 (.438). He has reached base in 24 consecutive games. ... The Tigers have homered in 13 straight games, their longest streak since tying the major league mark with 25 straight in 1994. ... Twins relievers are 1-0 with a 1.16 ERA in their last nine games. ... Twins backup outfielder Chris Latham was 0-for-2 with two walks and now is hitless in his last 15 at-bats.