Interleague play has been good to many American League teams over the years, but perhaps none more so than the Twins.
Two years ago, the Twins' rise started with interleague play, and perhaps history is repeating itself.
Nick Blackburn had a strong outing, allowing only three hits, and the Twins had a balanced attack to beat the Diamondbacks, who don't have nearly as much of a sting as they did early in the season.
Minnesota scored six runs in the seventh, and it all started with a surprise -- Joe Mauer bunting for a hit. Justin Morneau, Delmon Young, Brian Buscher, Brendan Harris and Alexi Casilla had hits in the inning.
If you watched the highlights of the game, you might be surprised that Mauer didn't run like a catcher. He scored from first on Morneau's double -- the guy can motor. (Remember he was rated a top quarterback prospect and had a scholarship offer from Florida State.
Harris and Michael Cuddyer were the only Twins with more than one hit, but only Carlos Gomez went hitless. Everyone else had at least one hit.
The Twins are more of a big-rally team than a power team. It's worked reasonably well, but you'd like to see more homers from Morneau, Mauer, Cuddyer, Young and Kubel. Maybe they'll hit more homers in the second half of the season.
The teams now have identical records of 39-36. The Twins drew to within two and a half games behind the White Sox, who lost to the Cubs. Arizona remained four and a half games ahead of the Dodgers.
The loser of the game was Micah Owings -- you know, the pitcher who's such a great hitter. I think he needs to concentrate more on his pitching. His ERA is 5.11 (though he was undone by some poor relief work, with Chad Qualls giving up three runs).
The AL Central is by no means a two-team race. The Indians and Tigers are each six and a half games behind the White Sox. The Indians might make a run -- and they better or it's likely C.C. Sabathia will be gone.
ESPN's Buster Olney says the Brewers and Cubs are the most likely teams to make a run at Sabathia. Surprisingly, he thinks the Yankees won't be in the running, though they clearly don't have enough good pitching.
The Tigers have been making a run after a terrible beginning. They and the Twins have won eight of their past 10 games.
Longtime Twins reliever Juan Rincon is now officially a free agent, by the way. He had refused a minor-league assignment. I'm sure someone will be interested, though I think he's well past his prime. Most everyone is thin in the bullpen.
