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DETROIT (AP) -- When Eddie Guardado first joined the Minnesota Twins in 1993, Rick Aguilera was one of the first players to help Guardado adjust to life in the big leagues.

	Guardado

Guardado is fitting in fine now. He set a Twins record Wednesday night with his 43rd save, preserving Minnesota's 2-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Guardado tied the record set by Jeff Reardon (1988) and Rick Aguilera (1991) the previous night.

"Aggie was right there with me and he showed me the ropes and what to expect in the big leagues,'' Guardado said.

"Everyday Eddie'' saved the victory for Joe Mays who allowed three hits in six innings.

"I've been with Eddie for a long time,'' said Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire, a coach for the team from 1991 until last season. "I saw him when he first came up as a kid. I liked his attitude. I liked the way he has no fear. Just, 'Give me the ball.'''

Mays (4-7), a native of nearby Flint, struck out two and walked one as he continued his dominance of the team from his home state.

The righthander is now 9-3 against the Tigers with a 2.24 ERA. He's also 7-0 in his last nine starts against Detroit.

"I got lucky tonight,'' Mays said. "Just tried to sink the ball.'' Mays missed three months because of inflammation in his right elbow. In his first start after coming off the disabled list on July 20, he beat Detroit 14-4.

"He's one of those pitchers who knows how to pitch,'' Detroit first baseman Carlos Pena said. "He uses his stuff to his advantage and he makes the right pitch.''

Steve Sparks (8-16) allowed two runs on eight hits in eight innings.

Minnesota scored in the first inning on Matthew LeCroy's RBI single and on Luis Rivas' RBI double in the eighth.

The Tigers' best chance to score came when Pena walked and Robert Fick singled to lead off the seventh, but Hiram Bocachica fouled out to first attempting to bunt and Eric Munson and Chris Truby both struck out.

Detroit loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth, but Fick ended the inning by popping to short.

Game notes

Pena stretched his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games ... LeCroy is 7-for-52, but was intentionally walked in the eighth. ... Detroit's Brandon Inge is in a 1-for-28 slump.