Oswaldo Arcia

Rick Porcello allowed six runs in less than four innings, and the Detroit Tigers lost 11-4 to the Minnesota Twins on Friday night. The Tigers could have clinched the AL Central with a victory and a Kansas City loss, but neither of those things happened, and now Detroit leads the Royals by only one game with two to play.

Trevor Plouffe singled in Danny Santana in the 10th inning to give the Minnesota Twins a 5-4 comeback victory over Cleveland, further damaging the Indians' already slim playoff hopes.

That large early lead was long gone for the Detroit Tigers. They saw Kansas City's comeback slowly unfolding on the out-of-town scoreboard. No sweat. One big swing by Torii Hunter eased the pennant-race tension.

Oswaldo Arcia's two-run homer capped Minnesota's four-run fourth inning against Trevor Bauer, and the Twins dented Cleveland's playoff hopes with a 4-3 victory on Tuesday night.

When Steve Pearce went down with an injury, Orioles utility infielder Jimmy Paredes knew it was an opportunity to make his mark on a first-place team. And the 25-year journeyman, who made his first start for Baltimore against the Twins, came through on Saturday night.

The Kansas City Royals conjured up a little more late-game magic Wednesday night. This time, they didn't wait until the ninth inning.

Tyler Holt arrived at Target Field 25 minutes before the first pitch. The Cleveland Indians' rookie had a quick bite to eat, took a few swings in the batting cage and then got the biggest hit of his young career.

Erik Kratz homered twice after replacing an ailing Salvador Perez, and Jason Vargas pitched seven strong innings to lead the first-place Kansas City Royals to a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Chris Carter has been the hottest hitter in the majors since July 1. Carter homered twice and matched a career high with five RBIs to lead the Houston Astros over the Minnesota Twins 10-4 on Tuesday night.

Trevor Plouffe is certain that even though his Minnesota Twins are stuck in last place in the AL Central, they've stayed mentally tough. That's why the third baseman wasn't surprised to see his team rally an inning after losing a late lead and beat the Chicago White Sox 8-6 Saturday night.