Twins clinch AL Central title again

• Twin Cities

Twin Cities

Talk about it

MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins clinched their second straight American League Central division title last night. The Twins came from behind to beat Cleveland 6-4 in Minneapolis – but they didn’t clinch until later in the evening, after the Chicago White Sox lost at Oakland 7-2.

The Twins scored four runs in the eighth inning to become the first in the Majors to secure a playoff spot. Orlando Hudson’s RBI double capped off the rally. Also, it was the 800th career victory for Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire. He’s led the Twins to six division crowns in their last nine seasons.

The White Sox loss was their eighth in a row. Mark Buehrle dropped to 12-12 as he gave up five runs on 11 hits in six innings. Trevor Cahill struck out seven in six innings to get the win for the “A’s.”

___________________________________________________

The Twins win last night was the 800th victory in the managing career of Ron Gardenhire. Gardenhire called the win meaningful in that it represents an organization's commitment to winning. He says "800 is a lot of wins." Gardenhire trails only Tom Kelly on the all-time managerial wins list for the Twins. Kelly won 1,140 games and two World Championships in his career. Gardenhire reached 800 wins in 166 fewer games than Kelly.

____________________________________________________

Twins catcher Joe Mauer missed last night's game again with a sore left knee, but received some good news prior to the contest. The MRI exam he underwent earlier in the day showed no structural damage to the knee. The test did show inflammation in the knee, so Mauer is considering getting a cortisone shot to help with the pain. If he gets the shot, he'll likely rest four- or five-days, which manager Ron Gardenhire says would be beneficial anyway.

____________________________________________________

The three-millionth Twins fan of the season passed through Target Field's turnstiles last night and during today's game the team will set a new single-season attendance record. The Twins host the series finale against Cleveland today. First pitch is 12:10 p-m.

Tags: minnesota sports, proam, baseball, twins