Notes from a day in baseball: • 1. Ya, How 'Bout Them Twins? You Betcha. Like Marge Gunderson questioning Jerry Lundegaard down at the car dealership, the Twins simply will not go away. Minnesota is just one game behind Detroit for first in the AL Central, after the Twins beat the Indians 9-4 on Thursday. Didn't Detroit have a 10-game lead about a month ago, when we predicted … ah yeah, that.
• 2. Beaches. Meanwhile, the Dodgers' once majestic lead in the NL West is now nearly extinct in the wild, in part courtesy of the Chicago Cubs. Aramis Ramirez got his 100th RBI on the tail end of a three-run homer, as Chicago beat LA 6-5. The Dodgers are only a half-game ahead of second-place San Diego, which beat the Reds 4-2. Well, it should all be over soon, as the Dodgers and Padres begin a four-game series today. • 3. Stupid Rodrigo Lopez … We apologize in advance to Orioles fans for this post. We are very sorry that you had to hear it here; the Red Sox left 15 men on base, going 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position … and still beat Baltimore 6-5. • 4. You Messed With The Wrong Light-Hitting Backup Catcher. Jose Molina muscled up for his 13th career home run, as the two-run shot provided the Angels with a 2-1 win over the Rangers. • 5. No Offense, But Does It Really Matter? Sorry for quoting "Invincible," but the NL wild-card race drove us to it. Chuck James pitched seven shutout innings, Andruw Jones hit his 34th homer, and the Braves beat Philadelphia 4-1 to drop the Phillies into a second-place tie with the Giants for the NL wild card. Both are 2 1/2 back of the Padres.
