Duensing, Cuddyer help Twins trim Tigers division lead

Minnesota Twins within three games of the Detroit Tigers in the race for the AL Central division crown. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia) " title="Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan" width="400" height="410" />

Joe Mauer and Joe Nathan celebrate a win that brought the Minnesota Twins within three games of the Detroit Tigers in the race for the AL Central division crown. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

One strike away from victory, Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan fired a fastball to Detroit Tigers’ pinch hitter Aubrey Huff that was off the plate outside by a good foot. Despite the obvious ball, boos defeaned the Metrodome. The fans, knowing their Twins were ahead 3-0 and on the verge of cutting into the Tigers four-game division lead, balked at the close pitch in anticipation of what could be.

If Minnesota is going to make the playoffs, they have to beat Detroit for the AL Central crown. They entered the series opener against the Tigers four games behind with 16 games left. Seven of those, including this all-important game, are against Detroit. Though they have a realistic chance of overcoming the deficit and expect to do so, many throughout the media have prematurely given them little chance to accomplish their goal. They, including ESPN’s Tim Kurkijan, made this case: Justin Morneau, their top slugger, recently went down with a season-ending back injury, they are barely over .500, none of their starting pitchers with a significant amount of starts have an ERA under 4.43, and, with Morneau out, their lineup has a huge hole that should be difficult to fill.

As it turns out, Morneau doesn’t appear too difficult to replace. Michael Cuddyer manned first base in his stead against the Tigers, while Joe Mauer, the Major League’s top hitter, formed a new tandem in the middle of the order, welcoming Jason Kubel, who has 23 homers on the season, to the cleanup spot.

Rookie pitcher Brian Duensing took the mound for Minnesota. After spending a majority of the season pitching in middle relief, the 26-year old lefthander was inserted into the rotation in late August and has yet to disappoint; in his five starts prior to this one, he allowed a total of six runs. Two of those starts were scoreless efforts that amassed seven or more innings. He didn’t last seven innings against the Tigers, but nonetheless managed to continue his brilliance by notching his third shutout.

Cuddyer and Kubel backed his 6 1/3 scoreless innings of four-hit ball, doing their part to fill the void. Duensing retired eleven of the first 12 hitters he faced, then in the bottom of the fourth inning, Kubel laced a changeup from Detroit’s 20-year old phenom Rick Porcello into right field for a one-out single, and Cuddyer followed with a smashed two-run homer to right to break the scoreless tie.

The doubters were, for the time being, wrong, as Duensing pitched effectively for a usually ineffective pitching staff, while the supposed gaping hole was adequately filled by Cuddyer and Kubel. They helped the Twins grab a 3-0 lead, but if Nathan hadn’t turned the boos that rained on home-plate umpire Jerry Layne into cheers, the efforts by these three unsung heroes would be all for naught.

The Tigers had the situation they asked for: two runners on base with a chance to tie the game with one might swing by Huff. But, this they did not ask for: they were down to their last strike and in serious danger of having their divisional lead shrink even further.

Tension rose as Nathan missed for ball-three, but the 33,000 on their feet could soon breathe a sigh of relief. He threw a high fastball, a power hitter’s dream.  Luckily for him and the many anxiously awaiting a positive ending, Huff didn’t get good wood on the tantalizing pitch. He sawed it off, and managed to only softly line it 60-feet, six-inches, the length from the plate to the pitching mound, where Nathan was standing. Nathan stuck out his glove and snagged the liner, ending the game to secure a much-needed victory for Minnesota.

With that, the Twins have now won five straight, while the Tigers have won only three times in their past ten games. The tides are turning, and, no matter what the skeptics say, Minnesota, even without Morneau and a consistent pitching staff, can not only continue to make Detroit nervous, but take the division for themselves.