MLB Insider: AL Central a three-horse race that could go to the wire

There are rarely used phrases in the Kansas City Royals lexicon these days, verbiage such as "magic number" and "playoff tickets."

Cleveland fans are wrapped up in the return of LeBron James and arrival of Johnny Manziel, yet their baseball team fights to remain in the postseason race.

The Tigers are confused, wondering when their savvy and experience takes over and vaults them to another division title that was so widely expected entering the season.

"We have injuries, we've been up and down all year," Detroit outfielder Torii Hunter said. "But we can do this. We need to do this."

We're down to the final weeks of the regular season, and the American League Central has three teams with varying degrees of chances to make the postseason.

Royals

Kansas City has taken another step after finishing in third place in 2013 and has a real shot at winning its first division title since 1985. The Royals have to use cunning and guile to score at times, but their defense is excellent and they have one of the best bullpens in baseball.

"Those [bullpen] guys come out and they can make it a five-, six-inning game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, "plus you have some pretty good starters and they are athletic on defense. Defensively, they are the best. K.C. has some advantages. They one thing that has slowed them down is streaks. They have to start away from streaks this time of year."

Tigers

Detroit was picked by almost all prognosticators as the division favorite at the beginning of the season and led by seven games on July 24. But the Tigers' flaws have caught up with them. It is not a strong defensive team, recently committing four errors in one game. The bullpen has been an issue. And, despite trading for ace David Price and reliever Joakim Soria, the pitching staff has not been consistent and they enter Sunday looking up at the Royals.

"Although they are a little beat up and have lost some key players, they still have experienced players who can carry it," Gardenhire said.

Indians

Cleveland entered Saturday 4½ games out of a wild-card spot, but it has stayed close enough to be considered contenders. Righthander Danny Salazar is starting to tap into his enormous potential. Outfielder Michael Brantley and righthander Corey Kluber have had breakout seasons. One hot week and the Indians will be in the thick of the race.

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The Twins will have a role in the race. While they are done playing the Royals (going 8-11), they have six games remaining against Cleveland and seven against Detroit.

They finish the season with four games at Detroit, where the Tigers could be in a "win-and-in" mode, just as Cleveland was at Target Field a year ago. The Twins are expecting a charged atmosphere.

"Those last four games in Detroit look like they are going to be pretty big," second baseman Brian Dozier said.

Central intelligence

The Royals' approach to September call-ups is different this season. Rookies have defined roles as Kansas City fights for the playoffs. Terrance Gore is one.

The 5-7 outfielder has swiped 168 bases in 185 attempts during his minor league career.

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White Sox slugger Jose Abreu appears to be a lock for the AL Rookie of the Year award — but he might have to hobble his way to it. The Cuban sat out Tuesday's game against the Twins because of various soreness.

He then left Wednesday's game because of a sore right hamstring and told reporters his left hip was bothering him. On Tuesday, he had a wrap around his back.

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Justin Verlander is getting over his problems, and they're not related to pictures with Kate Upton getting loose on the Internet.

He was on the wrong end of the Tigers' 7-0 loss to Cleveland on Wednesday and is 12-12 with a 4.80 ERA, but he was throwing 95 miles per hour in the seventh inning, a sign his arm is coming around.

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Indians righthander Danny Salazar was brilliant Wednesday, averaging 96 mph — averaging — while throwing his first shutout of his career.

The timing couldn't have been better, with Cleveland clinging to playoff hopes as they play host to the White Sox this weekend.

The 3-2 pitch

Three observations ...

•  The return of Michael Wacha raises the stakes in the NL Central for the Cardinals. The Brew Crew, losers of nine in a row before beating St. Louis on Friday, is in trouble.

• A big surprise contender: the Mariners. Signing Robinson Cano to the huge deal will be a mistake, but not now as he leads Seattle.

• Jose Altuve has to get some MVP consideration. He will have over 200 hits and 40 doubles and is top 10 in WAR.

... and two predictions

• Victor Martinez will catch Jose Abreu and win the OPS (on base-plus-slugging percentage) title.

• I predicted a 75-87 record for the Twins at the start of the season. My revised prediction is now 71-91.