Starting Five: Minnesota Moves On, Up

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That the Twins are still surging.

Minnesota shook off a loss to the Tigers Sunday that pushed it three games back in the AL Central and routed the White Sox 7-0 to cut Detroit's edge in the division to 2 1/2 games.

Twins starter Nick Blackburn pitched one of his best games of the season, tossing seven shutout innings and striking out six to pick up his first road win since the end of May.

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"Being in a race like this makes it even more exciting," Blackburn said. "There's more pressure, but it makes us enjoy the wins even more."

From the Trainer's Room ...
Cubs wins leader Ted Lilly will miss his next scheduled start on Wednesday with tendinitis in his left shoulder. Jeff Samardzija will start in his place. Out of contention and closing in on mathematical elimination from the race, the team is being cautious with the left-hander, who has the lowest ERA of any Chicago starter at 3.02.

"If we needed him to pitch Wednesday, he would've pitched," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

Numbers Game ...
The Red Sox blew a chance to close to within four games of the Yankees in the AL East, and they did so in the ugliest fashion possible in a 12-9 loss to the Royals. Boston pitchers surrendered 11 walks in the defeat, the most the team has allowed in a game since giving up 13 in a 13-5 loss to the Yankees on Aug. 19, 2006 (during the infamous second Boston Massacre series that effectively knocked the Red Sox out of contention that year).

Kansas City hurlers allowed seven walks of their own, but their offense turned a 9-5 deficit into an 11-9 lead with a six-run sixth inning, the first time they have scored that many runs in a frame since Sept. 24, 2008. The Royals have won 11 of their last 14.

In Their Own Words ...
"Thank goodness for speed. That's a pretty routine double play ball for anyone else." -- Giants manager Bruce Bochy on pinch-hitter Fred Lewis, who beat out a potential double play at first with the bases loaded to help bring in the decisive run in San Francisco's 5-4 win over Arizona. The Giants are now four games back of the Rockies in the NL wild-card race.

Advance Scouting ...
With their showdown series with the Twins less than a week away, the Tigers will try to maintain their shrinking lead in the AL Central. Detroit sends the slumping Edwin Jackson to the mound against the Indians (7:05 PM ET) in Cleveland. Jackson, presumably the Tigers' No. 2 starter in the postseason should they qualify, is 2-2 over his last five starts, but he's posted a 6.03 ERA in that span.