DETROIT -- Victor Martinezs drive to left-center field stayed in the air just long enough for Eddie Rosario to make the catch before running into the wall.Another opportunity had come and gone for the Detroit Tigers.Were in an offensive funk that started before this series, and theres not really much you can do about that, manager Brad Ausmus said. We barreled up a lot of balls again today, but they were either right at someone or they ran them down.Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario homered off Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth, and the Minnesota Twins scored three runs in the inning to beat the Tigers 4-1 on Wednesday. The winning rally came immediately after Rosarios catch took a big hit away from Martinez with two on in the eighth.Detroit wasted a fine start by Justin Verlander, who gave up a run and two hits in eight innings. Francisco Rodriguez (1-1) retired the first two batters of the ninth before Kepler sent a drive to right field to break a 1-all tie.Rodriguez then made a throwing error and appeared to be shaken up, but after a conference at the mound he stayed in the game and allowed a two-run shot by Rosario.Ryan Pressly (3-5) earned the win in relief, and Brandon Kintzler pitched the ninth for his sixth save.Minnesotas Joe Mauer and Detroits Ian Kinsler homered in the first inning, and that was all the scoring until the ninth.The last-place Twins took two of three from the playoff-chasing Tigers, with Detroit managing only four runs in the series. Verlander tried to look on the bright side.If anything, I would very easily be able to look at this series and say, `OK, well, we didnt win the series but we pitched extremely well and I think thats a good sign moving forward, he said. The offense comes and goes. You cant always rely on offense, but if you can go in night in and night out and your starters can give you a chance to win, thats how you win a lot of ballgames.Verlander struck out nine and walked two. Minnesotas Ervin Santana allowed one run and six hits in seven-plus innings.Santana hadnt allowed a homer since June 19, but Kinsler sent his first pitch of the game over the fence in left, tying the score at 1. The Tigers had only one more baserunner through five innings, then squandered opportunities in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth.Detroit had runners on first and second and nobody out in the sixth when Cameron Maybin hit into a double play. The Tigers had men on second and third in the seventh when James McCann flied out to end the inning. With two on and two out in the eighth, Martinez sent his drive to left-center, but Rosario made the running catch before bouncing off the wall.Detroit had two hits in the ninth but didnt score.STOPPAGEThere was a delay in the seventh when a fan ran onto the field and eluded security for a while. He eventually stopped around the edge of the infield and was tackled.It was a rather long delay, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. You can find humor in it, I guess, but I think with everything that goes on these days, my first reaction is get the heck out of the way. You just dont want to take any chances. I think that was affirmed by the tackle.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (right neck strain) is expected to throw a bullpen session Thursday, and Ausmus says if that goes well, hell probably go on a rehab assignment Sunday. ... OF Tyler Collins was scratched before the game because of neck spasms. ... LHP Daniel Norris (right oblique strain) will have another rehab start Saturday.UP NEXTTwins: RHP Tyler Duffey (5-6) takes the mound Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series at Boston. Steven Wright (11-5) starts for the Red Sox.Tigers: RHP Mike Pelfrey (2-9) starts the opener of a four-game set against the White Sox in Chicago. Pelfrey did not make it out of the second inning Saturday.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtristerCheap Nike Basketball JerseysWholesale NBA Jerseys .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ . Olli Jokinen, Mark Scheifele, and Bryan Little each had a goal and an assist as Winnipeg won 5-2, handing Calgary its record-setting seventh consecutive loss on home ice. Fake NBA Jerseys . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Stitched NBA Jerseys . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost .Once used as a platform to reinvigorate hopes of national selection or pitch for higher honours, the Duleep Trophy has gradually steeped towards insignificance. The 2013-14 final was washed out with just a handful of overs bowled because of incessant rain and a wet outfield. Allotting Kochi the match during the peak monsoon season spoke of the tournaments irrelevance, one that had become synonymous over time because national players were either unavailable or simply did not have an incentive to play in a busy cricket calendar.Now, ahead of the tournaments return to India domestic calendar following a years break, owing to Indias busy T20 season, ESPNcricinfo looks at the talking points that could add significance to the 2016 edition to be played in Greater Noida from August 23 to September 14.Pink ball Test The tournament has been revived by trialling the pink ball under lights before hosting a day-night Test. While the latest innovation has been ruled out for the home series against New Zealand, the success of this seasons Duleep Trophy could be a significant step towards hosting Indias inaugural pink ball Test in the near future.Pitches Though cricket in India is usually played with the SG ball, the Duleep Trophy will be played with a pink Kookaburra, which requires a specific set of conditions to last. The pitch for the inaugural day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide last year had to have a more-than-normal coating of grass to help delay the wear and tear of the ball, and it resulted in exaggerated lateral movement. Another concern with hosting a floodlit match, especially in India, is dew. These two factors will be closely monitored.However, maintaining a stipulated amount of green on the surface will also bring with it the prospect of losing its home advantage, which could be as big a challenge for the Indian team as any. Therefore, the tournament could provide a marker on how surfaces of varying degree behave with the pink ball under lights.Vote of top players The proposal to play the tournament with the pink ball was ratified mainly because it was understood in June that the countrys top cricketers would be available for the entire duration of the tournament. It was also to act as preparation for the upcoming record 13 Tests at home, making it Indias longest home season. The late addition of the two Twenty20s against West Indies in Florida on August 27 and 28 effectively rules out that possibility.Although Virat Kohli has publicly backed the idea to play day-night Tests, he has never featured in a match involving the pink ball. Only two members of Indias squad of 17 in the West Indies - M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara - will play in the Duleep Trophy. Shardul Thakur, who is also in the Test squad, is set to fly out to Australia to join the A team as a replacement for Barinder Sran.Challenger-style format The tournament itself has undergone a transformation, wiith the inter-zonal format, the squads for which were named by a selection committee nominated for the respective zones, replaced by three teams picked by the national selectors.dddddddddddd In 2002-03, the BCCI fielded five teams - three squads selected from performers in the elite division of the Ranji Trophy and two from the plate division. A seasons experiment later, the tournament went back to the zonal format, with the addition of a foreign team to make it a six-team event. After doing away with the overseas teams participation in 2008-09, the format was once again changed from a league-cum-final arrangement to a knockout structure, as was the format when the tournament was conceptualised in 1961-62.Players to watch out for Suresh Raina: A certainty in Indias limited-overs squad for a majority of the last four years, Raina suddenly finds himself at the crossroads. Troubles with the short ball and 68 runs in five innings, including two ducks, during the home ODIs against South Africa led to his axe from the format. An underwhelming World T20 campaign in March-April led to his ouster from the shortest format too. Since 2015, his T20I average and strike rate of 21.33 and 124.27 respectively are significantly lower than his career numbers. Therefore, Rainas distance than proximity to the Indian squad at the moment, after being left out of the USA-bound T20I squad, is intriguing. As captain, his move will be closely watched too.Kuldeep Yadav: Ten first-class games across two seasons may not trigger excitement, but Kuldeep belongs to a rare breed of left-arm wristspinners. He has the ability to impart revs and extract turn from docile surfaces, like he did during the Syed Mustaq Ali T20s earlier this year. In the IPL too, with their season on the line, Kolkata Knight Riders picked him over Piyush Chawla, and he delivered. The success of Lakshan Sandakan on turning tracks at home against Australia has re-emphasised the values of a left-arm wristspinner. Particularly interesting to watch will be his approach on surfaces that are likely to be grassy for the longevity of the pink ball.Cheteshwar Pujara and Gautam Gambhir: Pujara finds himself in a middle-order maze, after being unable to capitalise on a string of starts. With Kohli emphasising often on a horses-for-courses approach, big runs in the Duleep Trophy could reinforce Pujaras credentials in Indias top order. Gautam Gambhir, meanwhile, finds himself in a tougher position, having to compete with not two but three specialist openers in Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, all of whom are in the midst of a merry-go-round like situation. Therefore, the Delhi captain, who has tweaked his stance and trigger movements after working closely with Justin Langer in Western Australia last year, has his task cut out. ' ' '