Power, confidence evident in rout of Royals

By the time Jason Kubel stepped in for his first at-bat Sunday against Royals starter Luke Hochevar, the Twins were fairly certain they were facing another elimination game, and perhaps their Metrodome farewell.

The Tigers had a four-run lead in Detroit, with ace Justin Verlander on the mound. The Twins had Carl Pavano, pitching on three days' rest.

But after Hochevar walked Denard Span and Joe Mauer, Kubel did something he's done so many times this season, turning a hanging breaking pitch into a towering drive to right field.

The largest Twins crowd in 16 years didn't seem to believe it at first. A dull buzzing sound could be heard as the ball carried, but once everyone realized it was a home run, there was a massive roar, with thousands of Homer Hankies twirling.

Kubel hit two three-run homers off Hochevar, and though the Tigers won, the Twins survived some tense moments to defeat the Royals 13-4, forcing another one-game tiebreaker to determine the American League Central title.

At 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Twins have another game at the Metrodome, as they'll play a Tigers team they chased all season before both teams finished with 86-76 records. Tuesday's winner will face the Yankees in the AL Division Series, beginning either Wednesday or Thursday. The Yankees have the right to select which date by virtue of having the AL's best record, and most people expect the club to opt for Wednesday.

The Twins are 16-4 in their past 20 games, so Kubel said it didn't bother them to see Detroit leading Sunday. Did the Twins think they could lose?

"I didn't feel it," Kubel said. "Nothing against the Royals or anybody else, but the way that we're playing, it kind of feels like it did in '06, when we won just about every game. Everybody's stepping up and making it happen."

Kubel's second homer gave him 27 for the season, and stretched the lead to 7-0. Hochevar (7-13) lasted just three innings, as his ERA swelled to 6.55.

Soon, the announced crowd of 51,155 -- largest since Opening Day in 1993 -- started the strange chant of "Let's go, White Sox." Chicago trimmed Detroit's lead to two runs in the eighth inning, but the Tigers held on for a 5-3 victory.

Then, Kansas City started making things uncomfortable for the Twins, trimming the lead to 8-4 in the sixth inning off Pavano (14-12). The Royals loaded the bases against relievers Bobby Keppel and Ron Mahay, bringing Billy Butler, Kansas City's best hitter, to the plate representing the tying run.

Manager Ron Gardenhire summoned righthander Jon Rauch, later saying, "That's a shaky feeling for a manager, to be walking out there telling him, 'Let's go, buddy, you've got to get a big out.' And boy did he make a big pitch there at the end."

Rauch froze Butler with an 87-mile-per-hour slider, and umpire Rick Reed called strike three, drawing another huge ovation.

Later, Rauch shrugged off the magnitude of that moment.

"It wasn't Greinke vs. Mauer," Rauch said.

But how about that roar?

"It's an exciting experience to be part of something like this, being in a place where the fans are so avid about their team," said Rauch, who arrived in a trade from Arizona on Aug. 28.

After Rauch's strikeout, the Twins pulled away, as Orlando Cabrera hit two run-scoring doubles and Michael Cuddyer added a two-run homer in the eighth. Delmon Young also hit two home runs for the Twins.

When it was over, the players trudged back onto the field for the ceremony celebrating 28 years in the Metrodome. The Twins trailed Detroit by seven games on Sept. 6, and if the Twins win on Tuesday, they will become the first team to win a division title after trailing by three games with four to play.

"It feels good to come back," said center fielder Denard Span. "But it won't mean anything if we don't win Tuesday."