Down to the Wire: Twins, Tigers Deadlocked Entering Season Finale

On September 6, the Detroit Tigers held a seven game lead over the Minnesota Twins. Then, all hell broke loose. They started playing mediocre, while the Twins, at the time an even .500 (68-68), caught fire.

Since that day, Detroit is just 15-14, while Minnesota has managed to go 16-8. Translation: The Twins stood just a game back of the Tigers in the American League Central entering the second to last game of the season.

To keep their momentum going, they had to find a way to defeat Kansas City Royals ace Zack Greinke, which was a near impossible task. Greinke happens to be the favorite American League Cy Young, with 16 wins, a 2.06 ERA, and an ability to command his full repertoire of pitches.

If that’s not enough, he defeated the Twins in his last start, dominating over seven innings. So, a lot was against Minnesota heading into this must-win game.

But not everything, as they boasted their own ace, Nick Blackburn. He didn’t let the pressure, nor his counterpart get to him, and pitched to the best of his ability. He matched Greinke inning for inning, as neither team scored through five. It appeared just one run would win. But, as the final four frames showed, it took a lot more than that.

Greinke, for only the fifth time all season, struggled. He was done in by one horrible frame, the sixth inning. Nick Punto, a .230 hitter, worked a eight-pitch walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, then took third on a groundout.

Joe Mauer, the best hitter in the American League, faced the best pitcher in the American League with a chance to plate the game’s first run. He fouled off the first two pitches, both fastballs, then stayed alive by fouling off the third pitch, a slider with sharp, late break. He layed off the same pitch to extend the at-bat.

Greinke then tried to go in with a fastball, attempting to tie Mauer up, but made a rare mistake. The pitch stayed over the plate and Mauer ripped it into left-field for an rbi-single. Ron Gardenhire later referred to that at-bat as one of the greatest moments he’s experienced as the Twins manager.

Jason Kubel had a similar at-bat: he fell behind 1-2, layed off a slider, then feasted on a fastball, launching it deep down the left-field line. Willie Bloomquist scampered over, leaped, and watched the ball nick his glove, drop, and bounce into the stands. He made a good effort, but had he let it drop, the ball may have fallen foul.

Michael Cuddyer looked to take advantage, but was hit by a fastball before he could. This loaded the bases for Delmon Young, who proceeded to empty them with by socking the first offering into the right-center gap. Jose Morales capped off the two-out rally by singling in Young. Four runs had scored, an amount that appeared to be more than enough given the Royals porous offense.

This season, Greinke has been given the least amount of run support in the American League. His offense has scored a total of thirteen runs in his eight losses. Their job, somehow, was to make sure one bad inning didn’t lead to a ninth loss. This was their version of the playoffs, a chance to have an effect on the outcome of the division.

Determined to keep Greinke’s record intact, the Royals offense showed signs of life. They scored a run in the seventh on a home-run by Mike Jacobs, then, with Greinke out of the game, helped his ninth no-decision of the season by tying the game on a two-run home-run in the eighth by Alex Gordon and a run-scoring double-play by Mitch Maier.

The Royals could have grabbed the lead if not for Maier’s rally-killer, and their inability to do so proved costly, as Cuddyer untied the contest in the bottom of the frame with one swing, clubbing a solo shot off reliever Dusty Hughes. With that, the Royals lost another one of Greinke’s starts, and, again, the Twins managed another victory.

The Tigers watched the game intensely from the clubhouse, and cringed once Cuddyer’s game-winner reached the seats. Their contest against the Chicago White Sox was but an hour away. They knew now they had one choice: win. If they couldn’t, they had to settle for the alternative: the division would be tied with momentum squarely in the Twins favor.

On the mound for Chicago was Freddy Garcia, a former member of Detroit. He had added motivation, and it showed. The Tigers went down quietly inning after inning, while their starter, 25-year-old Alfredo Figaro, logged only 1 1/3 innings before being replaced.

Figaro, making his third career start and first since June 27, was on a short leash. He allowed a home-run to Carlos Quentin to begin the second inning, then a walk and a single before striking out Alexei Ramirez for the lone out he recorded in the frame.

He proceeded to walk .151 hitter Brent Lillibridge to load the bases. As Lillibridge trotted to first, Tigers manager Jim Leyland walked out of the dugout, signaled to the bullpen, took the ball from Figaro, and watched the young righthander walk dejectedly off the mound.

Scott Podsednik drove in the White Sox second run with a RBI-groundout off Figaro’s replacement, Fu-Te Ni. Two runs, and all Garcia would need.

Chicago supplied him with a third run in the third and a fourth run in the fifth, while Detroit still remained scoreless. Garcia mowed a desperate and struggling Tigers offense down with ease, and allowed the lone run they would collect in the eighth inning.

Boos reigned through Tigers Stadium as their team went down without a fight, while cheers thundered through the Twins clubhouse. Once Matt Thornton induced a groundout off the bat of Gerald Laird, reality sunk in: Minnesota was now tied for the division lead, with a great chance to steal the crown from Detroit, a team that thought their September 6 lead was comfortable.