Series win has Twins beyond wild-eyed

Pulling within 6½ games of Detroit left the team setting its sights higher up the ladder.

By Joe Christensen, Star Tribune

Last update: August 21, 2006 - 12:12 AM

Forget the wild card race.

Taking two of three from the Chicago White Sox this weekend left the Twins believing they can still overtake Detroit for the division title.

Johan Santana pitched seven strong innings for his 15th victory Sunday, as the Twins pounded Chicago 7-3 before an announced crowd of 42,537 at the Metrodome.

Minnesota moved one game behind Chicago in the wild card race and 6½ games behind the Tigers, who dropped a third consecutive game to Texas on Sunday and now have lost nine of 12.

Do the Twins really have a chance to catch Detroit?

"I think we do," shortstop Jason Bartlett said. "The White Sox are going to Detroit [this week], and we're going to Baltimore. So we'll try to pick up three there, and we head to Chicago again [next weekend]. We control our own destiny right now."

The Twins fell 12 games behind Detroit a day after the All-Star break, and the deficit was 10½ games as recently as Aug. 7.

No wonder Torii Hunter did a double take. "Say what? We're 6 ½ [behind the Tigers]?" he said. "Man, if they don't win this thing, I'll be upset. I'll be mad at them."

Hunter smiled, then offered a theory about Detroit's slump.

"There's a lot of pressure when you've got the lead like that," he said. "You try your best not to get caught, and the next thing you know you get mentally tired late in the season."

The Twins looked anything but tired Sunday, showing the high-energy style that has helped them post the best record in the majors since June 8 at 47-18.

Bartlett ignited the crowd with his hustle in the third inning, when he singled and took second base after White Sox left fielder Pablo Ozuna tried to nab Jason Tyner at third base.

On his headfirst slide into second, Bartlett suffered a stinger in his neck as he ran into second baseman Tadahito Iguchi's leg. Bartlett, who is batting .350, slumped in pain for an extended moment but remained in the game.

"It scared him a little bit; it scared me a lot," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "To see him get up and say he's OK, it made me feel really good."

Three batters after the injury scare, Tyner and Bartlett scored on Mike Redmond's single to right-center field.

The Twins stretched out a 4-1 lead that inning against White Sox starter Javier Vazquez.

Santana (15-5), who is 9-0 at home this year and 6-0 after the All-Star break, handed a 5-1 lead to the bullpen in the eighth. When Chicago scored two runs that inning off Juan Rincon, Hunter answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning.

The Twins finished 5-5 on their longest homestand of the season, drawing 367,806 fans -- the most for any 10-game homestand in team history.

Gardenhire complimented the crowds, agreeing that it felt like a playoff atmosphere. Six more weeks like this, and Minnesota could again experience the real thing.

"It's not over, believe me," Gardenhire said. "There's a long ways to go here ... and it's going to be some great baseball."

Joe Christensen • jchristensen@startribune.com

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