Twins 6, Orioles 3

For the second time this month, the Twins went into Oriole Park at Camden Yards with Matt Garza (W 3-5, 5.32 ERA) on the hill, but this time it was their very last road game of the regular season. During 5.2 innings of work on Sunday, Garza gave up 3 runs on 6 hits, struck out four batters and walked three.

Minnesota gave Matt an early lead in the first when Joe Mauer (3 for 5, 2 RBI) scorched his 12th home run of the year on a line drive shot over the left field wall with Luis Castillo (3 for 5) on base. Mauer still leads the Majors with a .347 batting average, widening the gap on Derek Jeter, who went 2 for 4 with an RBI, batting .339 in the Yankees' 11-4 loss to Tampa Bay. Jeter isn't the only Yankee Mauer has chasing him now, though. Second baseman Robinson Cano has now had enough at bats this season to qualify for the title as well and is hitting .341 after going 2 for 4 with a solo homer on Sunday.

Mauer's highlight reel

Adam Loewen (L 6-6, 5.30 ERA) tossed six innings, giving up 3 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits, striking out eight and walking one, but the Twins managed to find holes in his otherwise decent pitching performance. After Joe's two-run shot in the first, he led off the third with a base hit before being forced out at second on a Michael Cuddyer (1 for 4) grounder. Cuddy moved to third on a Justin Morneau (2 for 5) single, and was driven in by a Torii Hunter (1 for 5, RBI) base hit. After Rondell White (0 for 3) reached due to a fielding error by second baseman Brian Roberts, Phil Nevin (1 for 3, 3 RBI) scored him on a sacrifice fly, giving the Twins a 4-0 lead.

Garza didn't allow a run until the fourth, when Miguel Tejada (2 for 3, 2 RBI) hit his 23rd bomb with one out in the inning. After a walk, a double, and a coaching visit to the mound, he ended the inning, forcing Jeff Fiorentino to fly out. Trouble came in the sixth for Matt when Tejada showed he had the young pitcher figured out with another blast to left, cutting the Twins' lead in half. Two batters later, Corey Patterson hit one over the wall in the opposite direction to bring the O's within one. After a walk put Fiorentino aboard, Juan Rincon (3.04 ERA) came in to replace Garza and got Raul Chavez to ground out.

Brian Burres (3.18 ERA) and Todd Williams (4.82 ERA) pitched a scoreless seventh for the O's and Dennys Reyes (0.91 ERA) with Pat Neshek (2.38 ERA) kept them from scoring in the bottom of the frame. Russ Ortiz (8.13 ERA) replaced Williams in the eighth and nailed Rondell with a pitch. Of course, Lew Ford stepped in to replace the already hobbling left fielder before Nevin smashed his first home run as a Twin to right center, adding two runs to the lead. Congrats Philly!

Jesse Crain (3.62 ERA) pitched a perfect eighth and Automatic Joe Nate (1.68 ERA) recorded his 35th save of the season with a flawless ninth, striking out two. The Twins completed their winning road trip going 7-3 with a 42-39 away record on the season. Pretty impressive considering they were 12 games below .500 on the road at the All-Star Break.

VS.

Minnesota heads back to the Metrodome Monday to take of Kansas City in a four game set. Boof Bonser (6-5, 4.36 ERA) will look for his 7th win of the year, facing Jorge De La Rosa (5-5, 6.66 ERA) and the Royals. With seven games left in the season and Detroit having the day off, the Twins have the opportunity to gain a game on the Division leading Tigers before they host Toronto on Tuesday. Minnesota remains 1.5 games behind Detroit, who clinched a play off spot with their 11-4 win over KC, while Chicago stomped Seattle 12-7, staying 5.5 games back in the Wild Card - the dark cloud of elimination hovering only two losses away.

MVP Action for Sunday, September 24...

Justin Morneau: 2 for 5 | .323 avg | 133 RBI | 33 HR
Derek Jeter: 2 for 4 | .338 avg | 96 RBI | 14 HR
David Ortiz: 1 for 4 | .286 avg | 134 RBI | 53 HR (tied Babe Ruth's mark for road homers in a season Sunday)
Jermaine Dye: 0 for 2 | .316 avg | 119 RBI | 43 HR