In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Twins had a 3-1 lead and set Joe Nathan to the mound — who is one of the best closers in baseball. To begin the inning, Mark Teixeira hit a single. The next batter was Alex Rodriguez, a player with a lackluster history in clutch situations. But that wasn’t the case on Friday night. Rodriguez hit a two-run blast to tie the game.

After surviving a no-out, bases loaded jam in the top of the 11th inning, Teixeira came to the plate in the bottom of the 11th with the score still tied 3-3. The Yankees star first baseman then hit a walk-off homer to push the Yankees to a 2-0 lead over the Twins in the series.

The Yankees will try to end the series on Sunday when Andy Pettitte takes on Carl Pavano.

Alex Rodriguez was a hero (Image: Zuma Press)

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Yankees Stars Lead New York to Victory

On the mound, C.C. Sabathia was very good. He pitched 6.2 innings and gave up only one earned run while striking out eight batters. The relievers allowed only one more hit the rest of the way.

At the plate, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez led the way. Jeter was 2-for-2 with three runs, two RBIs and two walks. Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs.

For the Twins, it’s been an emotional week. A day after winning a tiebreaker against the Detroit Tigers that went to extra innings, the Twins had to begin their postseason play. After taking a 2-0 lead over the Yankees, it seemed as if Minnesota ran out of gas.

The two teams play again on Friday. AJ Burnett will start for the Yankees, while the Twins will go with Nick Blackburn.

Derek Jeter and the Yankees got off to a good start (Image: Zuma Press)

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Yankees Drop Twins in Game 1

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)

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Twins Beat Tigers to Make Playoffs

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)

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Twins Closing in on the Tigers

After Gerald Laird put the Tigers up 1-0 with an RBI single in the second inning, the Twins went on a tear. They scored the game’s next eight runs, with the biggest hit being a three RBI bases clearing double by Orlando Cabrera in the eighth inning.

Twins starting pitcher Scott Baker was very good. In five innings, he gave up five hits and no earned runs. With the win, he improved his record to 15-9 and lowered his ERA to 4.36.

The Tigers still lead the AL Central by two games. Without any help, the Tigers can clinch the division if they can beat the Chicago White Sox twice in the upcoming series. Minnesota, on the other hand, enters a series against the Kansas City Royals.

Orlando Cabrera - Minnesota Twins (Image: Zuma Press)

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Minnesota Twins Stay Alive with Win

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)

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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)

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Tigers Avoid Sweep, Beat Twins

On the season, Rauch has a 4.14 ERA in 58 appearances. He has a record of 2-2 to go along with two saves and 12 holds. Since the All-Star break, Rauch has an ERA of 3.68.

The Twins can desperately use Rauch’s arm in their bullpen. Closer Joe Nathan has been fantastic and Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier have been very good, however the depth basically ends there. Rauch gives the Twins another relief pitcher who can eat an inning when needed.

In return, the Diamondbacks will receive a player to be named. Currently 20 games back in their division, Arizona isn’t worried about winning games the rest of the 2009 season. On the other hand, the Twins are just 4.5 games back in the AL Central.

Jon Rauch - Minnesota Twins (Image: Zuma Press)

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Minnesota Twins Trade for Jon Rauch

On the game, Pujols was 2-for-2 with two runs, four RBIs, two homers and two walks. He’s now hitting .328 with 28 blasts, 74 RBIs, 59 runs and an on-base percentage of .450. He’s leading the entire big leagues in homers, RBIs, runs and on-base percentage.

Against the Twins, Pujols hit a two run homer in the first inning to put the Cardinals a 2-0 lead. After Brendan Harris hit a bases clearing single with the bases loaded in the second inning, Pujols hit another two-run blast in the third inning to put the Cardinals up for good.

With the win, the Cardinals are 41-35. The loss dropped the Twins to 38-38.

Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

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Albert Pujols Smashes Two Homers in Win

Ichiro and Ken Griffey Jr. key the Mariners victory (Image: Zuma Press)

Griffey, who was batting cleanup, is now hitting .224 on the season with six homers and 16 RBI. He’s also scored 16 runs and has an on-base percentage of .335.

Ichiro, a day after his 27-game hitting streak came to an end, was also a hero. He went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. He’s now hitting .354 on the season, which is good enough to be tied for second in the American League.

With the win, the Mariners are 27-29. The loss dropped the Twins to 28-29. The two teams end their series on Sunday afternoon.

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Ken Griffey Jr. Leads Mariners to Victory