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//  Saturday, July 31, 2010

163

Monday, October 5, 2009
Posted by Eddie Carroll

For the other 28 teams across Major League Baseball, 162 games was enough to determine who would and wouldn’t be playing in October.

The Tigers and Twins, however, will need one more tomorrow afternoon.

A year ago, the Twins were in the same situation, when they went up against the White Sox in a one game playoff to decide the A.L. Central champion.

On September 30, 2008, Minnesota travelled to Chicago and lost a 1-0  pitcher’s duel between John Danks and Nick Blackburn. The only run came on a homer off the bat of Jim Thome, as the Sox advanced into the postseason, and the Twins went home.

But this time around, the Twins have the advantage.

After last season’s tiebreaker, Minnesota obviously has experience – if you believe in that sort of thing.

More importantly, the Twins have been one of the best teams in baseball since the start of September. They’re 19-11 over their last 30 games, and are fresh off a sweep of the Royals this past weekend.

Detroit, on the other hand, staggers into the tiebreaker. On September 6, the Tigers led the Twins by seven games in the division. Since then, they are just 10-15. They’ve lost two series against the Royals, two series against the White Sox, and have blown multiple opportunities over the last week to clinch the division.

As if squandering their division lead wasn’t enough, the Tigers will have to travel to Minnesota for the tiebreaker.

Whereas last season, when game 163’s location was decided by a coin toss (won by the White Sox), this year it was decided by head-to-head results. Minnesota is 11-7 against Detroit in 2009.

To throw another twist into the A.L. Central’s chaotic finish, the Packers play the Vikings later tonight – in the Humphrey Dome, where the Twins also happen to play.  

Because of this, there was no choice but to push the Tigers/Twins tiebreaker back to Tuesday, just one day before the postseason begins.

Here are some other important notes before tomorrow’s decisive game:

  • The scheduled starters are Minnesota’s Scott Baker and Detroit’s Rick Porcello. Baker is 15-9 this season and has been outstanding since the All-Star break, going 8-2 with a 3.21 E.R.A. Nonetheless, he is just 1-1 against the Tigers this year with an E.R.A. near seven, and has actually preferred pitching on the road.  
  • Porcello, meanwhile, is just 20 years old, but has shown incredible consistency during his rookie season.   The lanky right-hander is 14-9 with a 4.04 E.R.A. He’s 1-2 against the Twins, but has a very solid 3.09       E.R.A. in those starts.
  • The Twins are considerably better at home. They are 48-33 in Minnesota compared to just 38-43 away from the dome.
  • 2-7. The Tigers record at Minnesota this year. Like the Twins, the Tigers are also a much better home team overall – they’re just 35-46 away from Comerica Park.
  • Three straight years of tiebreakers. In 2007, it was the Rockies over the Padres. In 2008, it was the White Sox over the Twins. In 2009, it will be…

Whether or not you consider tomorrow’s game an extension of the regular season, or a nice little extra piece of playoff baseball, the consequences remain the same: Win or go home.

Losers pack your bags, division champs board a plane to New York.

The Yankees await.

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