Twins lefthander Scott Diamond started the season strong. Now he's finishing strong, too.
Over the past six days, Diamond has held the Tigers to three earned runs in 14 1/3 innings, throwing a wrench into Detroit's postseason push.
Diamond opened the year with six starts for Class AAA Rochester, going 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 34 2/3 innings before the Twins promoted him on May 8. Adding those innings to the 168 he's pitched for the Twins, he's up to 202 2/3 for the season.
In 26 starts for the Twins, Diamond is 12-8 with a 3.54 ERA. He'll get one more start, in Wednesday's season finale in Toronto. Diamond hails from Guelph, Ontario, which is about 60 miles west of Rogers Centre.
"It's going to be pretty exciting," Diamond said. "I've never been able to pitch there. I'm definitely going to have some friends and family there, so it's going to be kind of a homecoming. I'm pretty excited about it."
RUN, MIGGY, RUN!
Miguel Cabrera went 2-for-4, raising his American League batting average to .327, while Joe Mauer went 0-for-2 with two walks, dropping his average to .322.
Cabrera might have cost the Tigers one run on the bases, however. With two outs in the sixth, he lined a ball high off the right-field wall, just missing his 43rd home run.