A trio of leftovers as the Twins head into the season's final weekend:

COULD HAVE USED HIM: Jordan Schafer hyperextended his right elbow while swinging a weighted bat in the on-deck circle 10 days ago, and it might have cost the Twins the game on Thursday. Without Schafer, manager Ron Gardenhire had to use Chris Herrmann in left field, and his place in the lineup hurt the Twins repeatedly. Schafer is 3-for-8 in his career against Tigers starter Max Scherzer, but far more important, he's a more accomplished offensive player than Herrmann, who owns a career batting average of .191. In the second inning, Scherzer walked a pair of hitters, but got Herrmann looking by blowing a 96-mph fastball by him. Two innings later, Oswaldo Arcia was on third base, but Scherzer stranded him there by whiffing Herrmann again. And in the sixth inning, with Scherzer's pitch count climbing above 100, Kurt Suzuki led off with a solid single. But Scherzer blew another fastball by Herrmann for strike three, and the inning amounted to nothing. Maybe a healthy Schafer collects a hit, or puts the ball in play, during one of those at-bats, and the Twins add another run or two.

NAGGING INJURY: Speaking of Schafer, he sounded a little bewildered that his elbow is still bothering him. "I've been trying to battle through it, but it just hasn't gotten better yet," he said. "Let's see how I feel tomorrow." The utility outfielder is only 4-for-23 since suffering the injury, so it might be hampering him.

FINISH WITH A FLOURISH: Trevor May didn't exactly outduel Max Scherzer on Thursday, but it sort of seemed like it, especially since he walked only one batter (and it was intentional) to Scherzer's four. But the rookie ended with a flourish. After giving up a two-out double to Victor Martinez in the sixth, and putting J.D. Martinez on once the count got to 3-1, May engaged in a 10-pitch battle with Nick Castellanos. May clearly wanted to keep the Tigers within one run of the Twins, and finally, with a 3-2 fastball, he got Castellanos to swing through a pitch. "To come and get that big strikeout there to get out of that inning was huge for him," Gardenhire said. "That's a great way to end the season. He's pitched a lot of innings, and that's a great way to go about your business at the end. It was an important out, and now he leaves on a good note here."