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- Thread starter DrRays
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WHY DID
WHY DID
THE BOOKS OPEN MINN THE FAV WHEN BAKER HAS SUCKED AND DET WINS TODAY THE CLINCH ? SEEMS LIKE A TRAP.
WHY DID
THE BOOKS OPEN MINN THE FAV WHEN BAKER HAS SUCKED AND DET WINS TODAY THE CLINCH ? SEEMS LIKE A TRAP.
DETROIT - After toying with the Twins for six months, keeping an unrelenting grip on first place yet refusing to run away with the American League Central, the Tigers finally delivered a dagger Wednesday night at Comerica Park.
The moment restless Detroit fans have waited for all season came in the fifth inning, when Magglio Ordonez lined a three-run double off Twins starter Carl Pavano, stretching Detroit's lead to five runs in a game the Twins couldn't afford to lose.
The Twins' shoulders sagged a little. They had squandered chances to build a big early lead against rookie Eddie Bonine, and the Tigers breezed to a 7-2 victory, pushing the Twins three games back in the division race with only four to play.
A loss by the Twins in today's series finale would eliminate them and give the Tigers their first division title since they won the 1987 AL East.
Twins righthander Scott Baker will start, opposite Tigers lefthander Nate Robertson -- the same pitching matchup that produced Detroit's only victory in their mid-September series at the Metrodome.
"This team hasn't quit all year," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And we'll come out and probably play a pretty good game again. It's not looking good, but it's not over yet. Mathematically we still have a chance."
Outside the Central, the Tigers aren't viewed as fearsome foes. They have outscored their opponents only 729-715.
They are the kind of team that could prop up veteran journeyman such as Pavano, who was 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five previous starts against them this season with the Twins and Cleveland. Pavano (13-12) gave up seven runs on seven hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. Trailing 2-0, the Tigers scored four runs in the second inning before Ordonez broke things open in the fifth.
Afterward, Pavano blamed himself for the team's loss, saying, "I put it on my shoulders."
But the offense shared responsibility. Bonine (1-1), who was sent to the minors three times this season, held the Twins to two runs over five innings, floating an occasional knuckleball with his 89-mile-per-hour fastballs.
In the first inning, five consecutive Twins reached base. Jason Kubel hit an RBI single. Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson had another misplay, letting a long fly from Delmon Young fly over his head, about 410 feet to center.
Hit that same distance at the Metrodome, it would have been a grand slam. But all three runners had to freeze in case Granderson caught it, so Young settled for a long RBI single. Then, Jose Morales ended a seven-pitch at-bat by hitting a sharp grounder right to second baseman Placido Polanco, who started an inning-ending double play.
"We had them right where we wanted them," Morales said.
On a night the Twins would need to score big, they short-circuited a second-inning chance. Matt Tolbert led off with a bunt single but was caught stealing at second. Denard Span also singled that inning, but the Twins didn't push a runner to second again until the sixth.
"I don't know why [Tolbert] took off," Gardenhire said. "It was just a young thing. He just ran. We thought we'd just let [Bonine] bury himself. A young pitcher out there, make him throw strikes, and Matty ran into an out there, which was kind of silly."
The Tigers have now led the division for 159 days. On Sept. 6, they stretched their lead to seven games, but have gone 10-12 since then while the Twins have gone 14-8, including 12-4 over their past 16 games without injured former MVP Justin Morneau.
It's been enough to keep the Twins afloat. In fact, they trimmed the lead to one game after winning Game 1 of Tuesday's day-night doubleheader.
But now the Tigers have all but clinched it. Their magic number is two.
"We get paid to play 162 games, and we've got four games to go," Morales said. "If we win [today], we've got a chance to go home in front of our home crowd [this weekend against the Royals]."
That way, at least Twins wouldn't have to watch the Tigers celebrate in person.
The moment restless Detroit fans have waited for all season came in the fifth inning, when Magglio Ordonez lined a three-run double off Twins starter Carl Pavano, stretching Detroit's lead to five runs in a game the Twins couldn't afford to lose.
The Twins' shoulders sagged a little. They had squandered chances to build a big early lead against rookie Eddie Bonine, and the Tigers breezed to a 7-2 victory, pushing the Twins three games back in the division race with only four to play.
A loss by the Twins in today's series finale would eliminate them and give the Tigers their first division title since they won the 1987 AL East.
Twins righthander Scott Baker will start, opposite Tigers lefthander Nate Robertson -- the same pitching matchup that produced Detroit's only victory in their mid-September series at the Metrodome.
"This team hasn't quit all year," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And we'll come out and probably play a pretty good game again. It's not looking good, but it's not over yet. Mathematically we still have a chance."
Outside the Central, the Tigers aren't viewed as fearsome foes. They have outscored their opponents only 729-715.
They are the kind of team that could prop up veteran journeyman such as Pavano, who was 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five previous starts against them this season with the Twins and Cleveland. Pavano (13-12) gave up seven runs on seven hits and two walks over 4 2/3 innings. Trailing 2-0, the Tigers scored four runs in the second inning before Ordonez broke things open in the fifth.
Afterward, Pavano blamed himself for the team's loss, saying, "I put it on my shoulders."
But the offense shared responsibility. Bonine (1-1), who was sent to the minors three times this season, held the Twins to two runs over five innings, floating an occasional knuckleball with his 89-mile-per-hour fastballs.
In the first inning, five consecutive Twins reached base. Jason Kubel hit an RBI single. Tigers center fielder Curtis Granderson had another misplay, letting a long fly from Delmon Young fly over his head, about 410 feet to center.
Hit that same distance at the Metrodome, it would have been a grand slam. But all three runners had to freeze in case Granderson caught it, so Young settled for a long RBI single. Then, Jose Morales ended a seven-pitch at-bat by hitting a sharp grounder right to second baseman Placido Polanco, who started an inning-ending double play.
"We had them right where we wanted them," Morales said.
On a night the Twins would need to score big, they short-circuited a second-inning chance. Matt Tolbert led off with a bunt single but was caught stealing at second. Denard Span also singled that inning, but the Twins didn't push a runner to second again until the sixth.
"I don't know why [Tolbert] took off," Gardenhire said. "It was just a young thing. He just ran. We thought we'd just let [Bonine] bury himself. A young pitcher out there, make him throw strikes, and Matty ran into an out there, which was kind of silly."
The Tigers have now led the division for 159 days. On Sept. 6, they stretched their lead to seven games, but have gone 10-12 since then while the Twins have gone 14-8, including 12-4 over their past 16 games without injured former MVP Justin Morneau.
It's been enough to keep the Twins afloat. In fact, they trimmed the lead to one game after winning Game 1 of Tuesday's day-night doubleheader.
But now the Tigers have all but clinched it. Their magic number is two.
"We get paid to play 162 games, and we've got four games to go," Morales said. "If we win [today], we've got a chance to go home in front of our home crowd [this weekend against the Royals]."
That way, at least Twins wouldn't have to watch the Tigers celebrate in person.
