John Lowe

Detroit Free Press

MINNEAPOLIS Don't take it from Jim Leyland. Don't take it from Brad Ausmus.

Take it from Twins manager Ron Gardenhire about how valuable Don Kelly is to the Tigers.

"He can play multiple positions, and he's really rangy," Gardenhire said today. "He's got those long arms and legs, and he seems like he's got a wing span of about 18 feet. His instincts are really good. They put him at third base late in the game, and it seems like he gets to everything."

After eight innings on the bench, Kelly took over at third for the ninth inning Monday night. Josmil Pinto pulled a sharp grounder in the shortstop hole. From Gardenhire's vantage point in the first-base dugout, the ball was going into left field to put the potential tying run at first base with one out. Kelly darted to his left for it.

"He really didn't make it look too tough," Gardenhire said. "He took one step, and the next thing you know his wingspan is going out there and he's snagging the baseball."

Kelly quickly set himself and threw out Pinto. "He's very accurate with his throws," Gardenhire said.

The Twins didn't put the potential tying run on base in the ninth. On Tuesday, Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler was asked if one play stood out to him from that 8-6 win the night before.

"Don Kelly's play in the ninth inning," Kinsler said. "He ranged far to his left. He took his time — he knew he had time with the runner. (Pinto is a catcher.) He threw a strike.

"To come off the bench and be ready to do a job — it's hard to do, to sit around for eight innings, especially where it's that kind of game: a long, drawn-out game with a lot of bullpen moves," Kinsler added. "Donny Kelly is always ready. He's always ready. That play proved it. It was a huge out."

Contact John Lowe: jlowe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at@freeptigers.