With another mash, Tork settling into middle of the order

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins unveiled a statue of Hall of Famer Joe Mauer prior to Sunday’s series finale against the Tigers. Unlike Mauer’s No. 7 plaque, they put the statue in a spot outside Target Field where not even Spencer Torkelson could hit it.

“Can’t get to that section,” Torkelson, who chipped a piece off of Mauer’s plaque in left field with a foul ball two years ago, said with a smile.

That didn’t stop Torkelson from continuing his barrage on the ballpark. Sunday’s home run off Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson reached the second deck of the left-field seats, a few feet further than his home run Saturday off the facing of the same deck.

It wasn’t enough in Sunday’s 5-1 loss, denying the Tigers’ quest for a series sweep. But it sent Torkelson out of town with another impressive series: 3-for-10, two home runs, a walk, four RBIs and four runs scored.

The hot weekend continued Torkelson’s resurgent season, but his success at Target Field has been a career trend. He’s a .284 (19-for-67) hitter with four doubles, six home runs and 13 RBIs in 18 games there. He has more homers at Target Field than at any other road ballpark.

“Maybe I see the ball well here,” Torkelson said. “But I definitely feel like I like it here.”

Then again, it might be the opponent. Torkelson is hitting .321 (18-for-56) in his last 14 games against the Twins at home and on the road, with three doubles, seven homers, 14 RBIs, four walks and a 1.115 OPS. That includes seven homerless but effective matchups last year, when he split the season between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo.

The Twins are clearly aware of it. Sunday’s homer led off the fourth inning after Woods Richardson threw him a curveball, a changeup and a slider. Torkelson didn’t offer at any of those, and he fouled off two fastballs before finally connecting with another.

“Gosh, I missed two good pitches to hit that at-bat,” Torkelson said. “Luckily he came back with it, and I’m not going to miss that one.”

On Saturday, Torkelson’s sixth-inning two-run homer off lefty Kody Funderburk came in an at-bat in which he didn’t see a fastball, instead pouncing on a hanging backup slider. He had a sacrifice fly in the first inning of that game off a Chris Paddack curveball, and a fourth-inning leadoff single off a fastball after he declined to chase a couple of Paddack changeups off the plate.

“He’s just staying very grounded in what he’s doing and what he’s trying to do,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “There’s a mix of good approach, good execution, long at-bats. He stayed within himself. There’s not much not to like, given how in control of his at-bats he is. Obviously really proud of what he’s doing, and we need him.

“He’s in the middle of the lineup for a reason. He’s earned his way back into that. Just continuing to get good pitches to hit helps the good results, and he’s certainly doing that now.”

As the Tigers head to Milwaukee for three games against the Brewers, Torkelson is the hitter that opponents worry about. While Torkelson tore up Target Field, Riley Greene went 0-for-11 with two walks, a run scored and six strikeouts. Three strikeouts came Sunday, when Hinch flipped the batting order to put Greene in front of Torkelson.

“I’m missing fastballs right down the middle,” Greene said. “Just trying to get on time and be aggressive and really not guess, because I find myself guessing sometimes when I get into these kind of things.”

Greene’s first two strikeouts came with a runner on base against Woods Richardson, taking a 1-2 slider for a called third strike in the first inning, then fanning on a 94 mph fastball in the third. Perhaps that’s why Twins manager Rocco Baldelli stuck with Woods Richardson against Kerry Carpenter and Greene hitting back-to-back with a runner on and two outs in the fifth inning.

After Carpenter was hit by a 3-2 pitch, Greene almost made them pay, fouling off a first-pitch fastball over the heart of the plate, then connecting with a 1-1 changeup and flying out to right.

“I did square it up. I just hit it too high,” Greene said. “I had three opportunities with runners in scoring position, 0-for-3 on them. Gotta be better. Can’t happen.”

As intertwined as Torkelson’s and Greene’s careers have been, they’ve rarely, if ever, heated up during the same stretch, either due to injuries or slumps. Greene will eventually find his timing. If Torkelson can stay hot, Detroit’s offense could take off, which makes Torkelson’s feelings on his tear even more encouraging.

“Normal,” Torkelson said. “It feels good, but it feels relaxed. It feels like me.”