MINNEAPOLIS (AP)— Leadoff man Denard Span was the catalyst for  the Minnesota Twins with three singles and a walk, and the Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 5-4 on Wednesday for their first sweep in nine series this season.The crowd at Target Field held a moment of silence before the game in honor of former Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell, who died Tuesday night. Detroit’s uniforms had a black, circular “EH” patch on the sleeves.Span scored on first baseman Justin Morneau’s double in the first inning against sputtering Tigers starter Rick Porcello. After taking a 2-0 lead, the Twins became the first major league team to score at least two runs in the first inning of six straight games since the 1971 New York Yankees did so seven consecutive times. The Twins have outscored their opponents 28-13 in the first inning this year.Kevin Slowey (4-2) surrendered seven hits and three home runs in 5 2-3 innings, but they were all solo shots — two by Miguel Cabrera — and struggling right-hander Jesse Crain gave the Twins a solid relief appearance by getting four outs in a row.Alex Avila homered twice for the Tigers, too, starting the ninth against Jon Rauch with a drive down the right-field line. But Rauch retired the next three batters for his eighth save in nine tries.Avila also hit a no-doubter to the upper deck in right field in the third off Slowey. Cabrera hit a line drive to left field that hooked sharply on a blustery afternoon and zipped into the seats in the fourth. He followed with a more muscular homer in the sixth that bounced off the scoreboard strip above the lower section in right-center, his seventh of the season. Cabrera leads the majors with 30 RBIs.Still, the Tigers trailed the entire game.Porcello (2-3) tied his career high with four walks, allowing five hits and five runs in 5 1-3 innings. After a promising rookie year, the right-hander has completed six innings only once in six starts and given up five or more runs in four straight appearances.And again, one of baseball’s sloppiest defensive teams failed to provide support.With two outs in the fourth and the Twins leading 3-2, light-hitting Alex Casilla walked. Nick Punto went all the way to third when his fly ball to the warning track was dropped in the swirling wind by right fielder Brennan Boesch, allowing Casilla to easily score.Then Span was credited with a single when shortstop Ramon Santiago made an awkward, not-so-fundamentally-sound stab at a sharp grounder that rolled under his glove and let another run score. Even the relay throw from left field was off target, and Span took second.Boesch’s error was the 25th in 29 games for Detroit, most in the league.____Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]