DETROIT -- Justin Upton won't have to hear Ian Kinsler badgering him about hitting his 200th home run any longer.

Upton finally reached the milestone Monday and it turned out to be a game-winner. The solo blast by the Detroit Tigers' left fielder held up in a 1-0 win over the Minnesota Twins at Comerica Park.

Kinsler had a friendly wager with Upton over who would hit their 200th homer first. Kinsler won the bet earlier this month.

"Ian's been wearing me out about it," Upton said. "It's definitely cool to get a milestone but I hope that's not the last milestone I'll reach."

Upton's second-inning shot down the left-field line was all that Matt Boyd and three Detroit relievers would need against the downtrodden Twins. Boyd pitched six scoreless innings to collect his first victory this season.

Making his seventh start, Boyd (1-2) allowed only three hits and one walk while tying his career high with seven strikeouts

Upton, who was stuck on 199 home runs since July 7, had two of Detroit's three hits.

"I never want to think that we're only going to score one run," Upton said. "It ended up being a big one."

Boyd retired the last seven batters he faced and finished with a flourish in the sixth, striking out Miguel Sano and Brian Dozier after snaring a Joe Mauer line drive.

"He didn't give in," catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia said. "He kept going after them and didn't leave it over the middle."

Francisco Rodriguez finished up to notch his 26th save.

The game ended on a strikeout-throwout double play, with Saltalamacchia gunning down pinch-runner Danny Santana after Brian Dozier fanned.

Detroit, which is 7-0 against Minnesota this season, has won three of four since the All-Star break. The Tigers recorded their first 1-0 win of the season.

Ricky Nolasco (4-8) was the hard-luck loser, allowing just three hits in six innings, though he did not have a strikeout.

The last-place Twins, who fired GM Terry Ryan earlier in the day, were limited to three hits -- singles by Kurt Suzuki and Sano and a double from Max Kepler. They have lost three of four since the break.

"Our offensive troubles continue here through the first four games coming out of the break," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We had trouble particularly with Boyd's off-speed stuff. We got a baserunner in the ninth and couldn't make it happen. We tried to force the action a little and we couldn't put the ball in play. I don't think Danny got his best jump on 3-2 (count)."

Molitor wouldn't blame the shutout loss on the events of the day.

"I'm not going to put those two together," he said. "I don't think there's an effect there. A lot of different circumstances come your way through the course of a year and that was a very tough one, but I don't think that was an effect on the outcome of the game."

Nolasco retired the first five batters he faced before Upton turned on an inside fastball for his 10th homer this season. Upton went hitless on Sunday after he missed the first two games following the All-Star break because of a death in his family.

Nolasco escaped a bases-loaded situation in the third as cleanup hitter Victor Martinez flied out to end the inning. Minnesota had three runners in the fourth but a double play helped Boyd escape without any damage.

The Twins had only one runner after that inning.

NOTES: Twins manager Paul Molitor was assured by owner Jim Pohlad that his job was safe the rest of the year and into next season despite the firing of GM Terry Ryan on Monday. "I'm grateful because I want to keep doing this," Molitor said. ... Interim Twins GM Rob Antony had no inkling a change was in the works until Sunday. "He's been a mentor, he's been like a dad for me," Antony said of Ryan. "It's a tough day for a lot of people." ... Detroit RHP Jordan Zimmermann threw a pain-free, 25-pitch bullpen session on Monday. Zimmermann, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a neck strain, will throw another bullpen session before making a rehab start. ... The Tigers reinstated RHP Warwick Saupold from the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Toledo. Saupold, who made five relief appearances with Detroit, was placed on the disabled list on June 1 with a groin injury.