It took 163 games, extra innings and a win-or-go-home tiebreaker, but Joe Mauer and the Minnesota Twins can finally breathe easy—at least for one more day.
The Twins claimed the eighth and final playoff spot on Tuesday night, coming from behind twice to beat the Detroit Tigers 6-5.
Jason Kubel and Orlando Cabrera hit big home runs and Alexi Casilla drove home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning on a base hit to right field.
In knocking off the Tigers, they stamped their ticket to the Bronx to set up a showdown with the Yankees in the ALDS on Wednesday.
Apparently, the Minnesota Twins just weren't ready to play outdoor baseball on real turf.
It was the perfect way for the hometown Twins fans to say goodbye to regular season baseball inside the dome. But with the win, the Twins ensured they will take the field at least one more time.
Since coming back from being three games behind in the standings with four games to play, it came as no surprise that, after being tied after 162 games, the division—and the fate of both teams—would be decided in extra innings.
After throwing away a seven game lead at the top of the AL Central, the Tigers saw their season slide away in similar fashion. But with so many criticisms surrounding Detroit losing the division, tonight, it was all about the Twins winning it.
Surging
In reality, the game was a microcosm of each club's season. Detroit leading for so long with Minnesota staying in touching distance; the Tigers falling at the final hurdle and the Twins winning it all.
Early on though, it looked as though it would be the Tigers squaring off against the Yankees on Wednesday.
Despite taking the lead, the Tigers offense had all the hallmarks of a team which had fallen backwards into the tiebreaker.
Their inability to get runners home with men in scoring position came back to rear its ugly head again, no doubt leaving Tigers' fan wondering whether their lack of momentum would cripple all hopes of a return to meaningful October baseball.
It happened with first and third on and one out in the second inning; men on first and third with none out in the ninth, and bases loaded with one out in the twelfth.
Detroit wasted no time redeeming themselves though.
They took the lead in the third inning on Magglio Ordonez's RBI single and they muted the noisy Metrodome crowd on Miguel Cabrera's two-run jack in the same frame.
Ordonez scored Curtis Granderson from second base for the game's first run after the center fielder had drawn a one-out walk and kept out of a double play.
Baker then left a hanging 84-MPH breaking ball in the middle of the plate to the following batter and Cabrera crushed it to right-center field to give the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.
Comeback
The Twins chipped away at the lead in the home half of the inning, plating one run on a pair of hits and a throwing error.
After retiring nine in a row, Porcello gave up his first earned run of the night on a solo home run to Jason Kubel.
Kubel ran into a changeup up in the zone to cut the lead to 3-2, reigniting the Twins' hopes and prompting Jim Leyland to get men throwing in the visitors' bullpen.
The twenty-year-old Porcello—who was pitching single-A ball just last season—struck out a career-high eight Twins over five-and-two-third dominant innings.
He pitched with the poise of a veteran, left with the lead, but received a no decision long before the match reached its conclusion.
Zach Miner came in to relieve Porcello, who gave up a single to Delmon Young and then hit Brendon Harris to load the bases.
With each of the 54,088 sell-out crowd on their feet, Miner threw Tolbert a 2-1 fastball which the third baseman could only send into the waiting glove of Granderson who had drifted back a few paces in centerfield.
Insurance
Detroit looked to pad their lead in the top of the seventh inning, but a pair of Twins relievers ensured the hosts would go into the home half of the game still trailing by just the one run.
Brandon Inge led off the top of the inning with a walk against Baker, and Jon Rauch was brought in to face Laird who squared around to sacrifice the runner to second.
But Laird could only pop his bunt attempt up to Cuddyer, keeping Inge nailed to first with one away.
Denard Span then covered a whole bunch of ground in center to deny Ramon Santiago an extra base hit as the ball was slicing towards the alley in left.
Jose Mijares was called from the 'pen to face Granderson, who singled to right field past the diving Nick Punto and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire then summoned Matt Guerrier to try and retire Placido Polanco.
Gardenhire's mix-and-match approach was successful as Polanco grounded out softly to Cabrera for the third out of the inning.
Nick Punto led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a line drive single and Leyland stuck with Miner to face Span, even with the lefty ready to go and the speedy Punto on base.
Opting not to bunt, Span fanned on four pitches.
What happened next though produced what may have been the loudest cheer in the history of the Metrodome. At least for now.
Advantage Twins
Orlando Cabrera swung at Miner's first offering, a slider on the inner-half of the plate, dispatching it into the first row in left field to give the Twins a 4-3 lead.
It didn't take too long for the Tigers to silence the home crowd yet again.
Ordonez lined Gurrier's 1-0 fastball into the seats in left field to restore parity at 4-4.
Tigers' set-up man Brandon Lyon threw one-and-two-thirds of no-hit baseball to get the ball to Fernando Rodney. The closer pitched through until the end of the 12th, giving up one run on two hits and a pair of walks.
Twins closer Joe Nathan pitched one-and-one-third innings of scoreless relief to keep the Tigers in check, but it was his bullpen colleague who gave up the lead in the tenth inning.
Pinch-hitter Aubrey Huff was hit by a Jesse Crain 0-2 slider and Bradon Inge drove home pinch-runner Don Kelly with a two-out line drive double to left field.
That would be enough, right?
Wrong.
With the Tigers just three outs away from a trip to Yankee Stadium, Minnesota refused to let their season end.
Stubborn
Cuddyer led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a triple to center field after Raburn tried to make a shoestring catch instead of playing the ball on the hop and holding Cuddyer to a single.
The ball rolled all the way to the wall and after Rodney walked Brendan Harris, Cuddyer scored the tying run of the game on Matt Tolbert's RBI single.
Alexi Casilla, who entered the game as a pinch-runner for Huff, went from first to third on the throw, representing the go-ahead run.
If it wasn't for Ryan Raburn's cannon of an arm, he would have scored the winning run.
Nick Punto lined a shot to left, with Casilla advancing a few steps towards home before scampering back to the base to tag up.
His split second moment of hesitation cost him though, as an inch-perfect throw from the former college closer Raburn gunned down Casilla at the plate to save the Tigers' season.
Mahay and Keppel combined to blank the Tigers in the tenth and eleventh innings, and Keppel worked out of a bases-loaded jam with one out in the twelfth to set up a grandstand finale.
Carlos Gomez singled to left and advanced to second on Cuddyer's chopper to third.
Fernando Rodney, pitching his third full inning, intentionally walked Young, but Casilla took Rodney's 1-1 fastball to right field to send the Hubert H. Humphry Metrodome into a frenzy.
For now, the ugly garbage-bag-for-an-outfield-wall Metrodome still has a team who calls the place its home.
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