MINNEAPOLIS -- With Minnesota Twins pitcher Kyle Gibson struggling with his control and his consistency, the Detroit Tigers waited out the right-hander before finally pouncing in the sixth inning in an 8-3 win at Target Field on Tuesday night.

Gibson allowed just two runs through five, but saw his pitch count climb during a three-run sixth, which featured a pair of wild pitches and a walk as Detroit took the lead for good.

The Tigers waited out Gibson, looking at several close pitches while spoiling others, waiting for him to leave something over the plate. When he did, they took advantage.

Victor Martinez homered among three hits and Erick Aybar also homered for Detroit, which improved to 8-2 against Minnesota this season.

"(Gibson) didn't have his best control and we were able to get his mistakes," Martinez said. "He's been a tough against us, but good teams are able to capitalize on his mistakes."

On the other side, Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez was able to navigate the rainy weather to complete seven innings, allowing just three runs on six hits without a walk and striking out two. It was his fourth quality start in his last five outings.

"He was solid," said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. "For the last month, other than the Texas outing (Aug. 12), he's been outstanding. I think the fastball command is better; he's got a little more life up in the zone with the fastball. The changeup has been really good as well. He seems to have that zip up top in the strike zone again.

The Twins got a home run from Brian Dozier, giving them a brief 3-2 lead in the fifth inning. However, in the next half-inning, the Tigers put together the first of two three-run rallies, scoring one on a wild pitch and two more on a single by Cameron Maybin.

Dozier was the only Twin to reach base more than once. Jorge Polanco and Joe Mauer also had run-scoring hits for Minnesota, which lost its fifth game in a row overall.

"I'm holding onto hope that we're going to play better and get back on track," said Twins manager Paul Molitor. "It's just a matter of us continuing to try to do what we can to put the right people out there and try to keep improving. It's a tough time of the year once you get down to the end."

The Tigers finished with 14 hits and had five players with at least two hits.

"They did a good job of taking some close pitches and making me work hard," Gibson said. "Unfortunately there in the fifth or sixth inning, I just couldn't make a pitch when I needed to."

Detroit scored first in the second inning, working the bases loaded against Gibson with a single, a double and a walk. Maybin, the No. 9 batter, also drew a walk, forcing in a run and giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Minnesota rallied for a pair of runs in the third on an RBI triple by Polanco and a run-scoring ground out by Mauer.

Aybar drove in a Detroit run with a single in the fifth inning but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double.

Minnesota regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning on Dozier's 29th home run of the season. The blast established a new career high, one more than he had last season.

"It'll be fun to see if he can get to 30," Molitor said. "That's a pretty big milestone for a little second baseman."

Aybar and Martinez homered two batters apart in the seventh to provide the final offensive blow.

NOTES: The Tigers announced that RHP Bobby Parnell cleared waivers and was released. ... Tigers RHP Jordan Zimmermann is expected to be limited to 45 pitches in his rehab outing this weekend. Zimmermann has been on the 15-day disabled list since Aug. 5 with the re-aggravation of a neck strain. ... Twins DH Miguel Sano was put in the No. 6 slot in the batting order Tuesday. It's just the third time this season and sixth time the last two seasons that Sano has batted lower than fifth in the order. ... The Twins and Tigers will play the second of a three-game series at Target Fieldon Wednesday. Detroit will send LHP Matt Boyd to the mound against Minnesota RHP Tyler Duffey.