Twins' position: One game back of the idle Astros, who are on a 3-7 slide, for the second AL Wild Card spot. The Yankees are in the driver's seat for the top spot, four games clear of Houston. The L.A. Angels, also idle Thursday, are just a half game back of Minnesota. The rest of the competition looks to be falling by the wayside.

Twins games remaining: 11 (4 home, 7 road)

Games to watch today: 2

Texas at Oakland (2:35 p.m., No local TV): The Rangers have opened up a three-game lead over Houston in the AL West. So another win over the woeful A's means one game closer toward a Wild-Card-or-bust scenario for the once-destined Astros. Houston has lost its mojo, and watching Texas win another won't help any. Twins fans are pulling for the A's, just in case the Rangers end up sliding back into the wild-card mix.

Cleveland at Twins (7:10 p.m., FSN): The Twins pulled even alongside Houston in the loss column Wednesday and, "We're back to having a chance," manager Paul Molitor said. The Twins, 4-2 winners Wednesday, go for the three-game sweep over Cleveland at Target Field, a series that began with the winner having real hopes of a postseason berth. Minnesota can taste it while the Indians have tumbled to a half-game behind Baltimore at 4½ games out.

Here are the remaining schedules for the teams in the chase.

Twins

Houston

Los Angeles

Texas