After Miguel Cabrera hit a two-run blast in the third inning, the Tigers held a 3-0 lead. But then the Twins scored the game’s next four runs — capped by a two-run homer by Orlando Cabrera. In the eighth inning, Magglio Ordonez hit a solo home run to tie it up.

The tenth inning also brought plenty of drama. In the top half of the inning, Brandon Inge hit a double to give the Tigers a one-run lead. But in the bottom of the tenth, Matt Tolbert tied it up with a run scoring single. There was no more scoring before Casilla’s heroics in the 12th.

The Twins now advance to the 2009 baseball playoffs and have a date with the New York Yankees. The Yankees will be regarded as the strong favorite in the series.

“We’re not afraid,” said Ron Gardenhire, the manager of the Twins. “I can guarantee you that.”

The Minnesota Twins Won a Historic Tiebreaker (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Twins Beat Tigers to Make Playoffs

The Tigers were able to beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 thanks to great efforts by Justin Verlander and Ryan Raburn. Verlander didn’t give up a run until the eighth inning, while Raburn hit a pair of homers to finish with three runs and three RBIs.

As for the Twins, they strolled to a 13-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. Minnesota scored four runs in the first and then three more runs in the third to put the contest away. The TWins got five home runs – two by Jason Kubel, two by Delmon Young and one by Michael Cuddyer. Kubel finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs and six RBIs.

The matchup in the tiebreak will be Rick Porcello of the Tigers versus Scott Baker of the Twins. Porcello is a 20-year-old rookie who is 14-9 with a 4.04 ERA, while the 28-year-old Baker is 15.9 with an ERA of 4.36.

Delmon Young and the Twins will try to win the division on Tuesday (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Tiebreaker Needed for AL Central Title

The Twins beat the Kansas City Royals on Friday, while the Tigers lost to the Chicago White Sox. As a result, the Twins trail the Tigers by only one game now.

After getting up 10-0 on the Royals, the Twins almost saw the entire lead disappear. In fact, the Royals cut the lead to 10-7 and even had the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning. However, the Twins were able to stop the rally and pull out the 10-7 victory.

The Tigers, on the other hand, had their home fans booing after an 8-0 defeat. Jake Peavy threw eight shutout innings for the White Sox to improve his record with the team to 3-0 and lower his ERA to 1.35.

The bad news for the Twins is that they have to face Zack Greinke on Saturday. Greinke, who is undoubtedly the hottest pitcher in all of baseball, could all but clinch the 2009 AL Cy Young Award with a good performance.

Can Joe Mauer and the Twins catch the Tigers (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Twins Closing in on the Tigers

In the 3-2 Twins victory, Orlando Cabrera authored the winning hit. With the game tied 1-1 in the tenth inning, Cabrera hit a run scoring single. Delmon Young followed later in the inning with a sac fly.

In the bottom of the tenth, Curtis Granderson hit a solo home run but Joe Nathan retired the other three batters to pick up his 45th save of the season.

In the second game of the doubleheader, the Twins have Brian Duensing going against Justin Verlander. The Tigers have to be favored due to having the experience advantage on the mound and being at home — but these Twins just keep fighting.

Orlando Cabrera and the Twins making a run in the AL Central (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Minnesota Twins Only One Game Back

Placido Polanco was the star at the plate for the Tigers. He went 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. His two-run single in the fifth inning gave Detroit a lead that it would never lose.

On the mound, Nate Robertson when five innings while giving up two earned runs and striking out six to earn his second win of the season. For the Twins, Scott Baker struggled in his 4.2 innings of work to lose his ninth game of the year to go along with 13 wins.

The Tigers (79-70) and the Twins (76-73) promise to have an exciting finish to the 2009 baseball campaign. The two teams play four more times before the end of the regular season, which means the AL Central will likely be decided on their upcoming head-to-head matchup.

Placido Polanco - Detroit Tigers (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Tigers Avoid Sweep, Beat Twins

With the Tigers, Huff will likely play multiple positions including first base, third base and left field. He will also likely see action as a designated hitter for Detroit.

While with the Orioles, Huff was hitting .253 with 13 homers, 72 RBIs and 51 runs. Though his stats are down from last year (.304/32/108/96), Huff was still regarded as one of the better hitters on the market.

Considering he has spent the majority of his career with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Orioles, Huff doesn’t exactly have a lot of experience playing for a winner. The Tigers are hoping he can adapt quickly and help their squad to the postseason.

Currently, the Tigers are 62-55 and have a two-game lead over the White Sox.

Aubrey Huff traded to the Detroit Tigers (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Detroit Tigers Get Aubrey Huff

The 24-year-old Zumaya has a 3-3 record with a 4.94 ERA this season. In 31 innings, he had 30 strikeouts, one save and seven holds.

As a 21-year-old rookie, Zumaya had his best season. Pitching for the Tigers in 2006, he had a 1.94 ERA in 62 games. He struck out 97 batters in 83.1 innings.

Since his breakout rookie campaign, Zumaya has struggled with injuries. In 2007, he was only able to pitch in 28 games. Last season, the native of California only pitched in 21 games.

With Zumaya headed to the disabled list, the Tigers called up Ryan Perry. Perry is a 22-year-old who has a 4.28 ERA in 26 relief appearances with the Tigers this season. In those games, he has five holds and one loss.

Joel Zumaya - Detroit Tigers (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Joel Zumaya Placed on the Disabled List

Victorino won with 15.6 million votes, while Inge won win 11.8 million votes. Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants finished second in the National League fan vote. Ian Kinsler finished second in the American League fan vote.

Inge, who has been extremely valuable to the Tigers due to his ability to play multiple positions, is hitting .264 with 19 homers and 54 RBIs. The 32-year-old is well on his way to having the best season of his big league career.

Victorino rose to fame last year as he helped the Phillies capture the 2009 World Series championship. This season, the 28-year-old outfielder is hitting .309 with six homers and 42 RBIs.

Voting for the final two spots of the All-Star game took place on MLB.com.

Brandon Inge is now an All-Star (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Brandon Inge and Shane Victorino Win Vote

Zack Greinke - Can Anyone Stop the Royal? (Image: Newscom)

Greinke gave up six hits and one earned run while walking none and striking out eight batters. To show how good he’s been this season, Greinke’s performance actually raised his ERA to 0.84.

The only run Greinke gave up was in the first inning. The Tigers were able to keep that lead until the sixth inning. In the sixth, Jose Guillen keyed a three-run inning with a two-run single. Guillen later added a homer in the eighth inning to give Greinke a comfortable cushion.

With the win, the Royals are now 23-23 on the season. The Tigers dropped to 25-19 with the loss.

Post from: EveryJoe

Zack Greinke Masterful in Winning 8th Game

5) Los Angeles Dodgers
Even without Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers have the best record in baseball at 28-13. A big reason for their success is that Juan Pierre has been able to fill in for Ramirez and the Dodgers haven’t skipped a beat.

4) Detroit Tigers
The Tigers started slowly but they are now turning it around. They have won four straight games and are 12-5 at home on the season. Dontrelle Willis recently had a very good game and if he can return to form, Detroit would be dangerous.

3) Philadelphia Phillies
The reigning World Series champions are starting to get back into a groove. They’ve won five straight games and are now 21-16. Oddly enough, they are 8-12 at home and 13-4 on the road.

2) New York Yankees
The Yankees had three straight games with a walk-off and now with Alex Rodriguez hitting homers once again, New York is looking very good. They’ve won seven straight games and are sitting at 22-17.

1) Milwaukee Brewers
Winners of seven in a row and nine of their last ten, the Brewers are the surprise team in the NL at the moment. That said, it’ll be tough for the Brewers to hold on after they learned that Rickie Weeks is out for the season.

Can the Brewers Stay Hot without Rickie Weeks? (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Hottest Teams in 2009 Baseball