Here are three thoughts following the Twins' victory over Detroit.
TWINS HEAD TO CLEVELAND IN GOOD FRAME OF MIND: The Twins weren't cocky as they left Comerica Park on Sunday but felt they were headed to Cleveland to come away with at least three, maybe four victories. It's the last week of the season, and the Twins still have a chance at a wild card spot. ``Obviously it's a big situation for us to be in," third baseman Trevor Plouffe said, ``But I don't feel like we are pressing about it yet. I guess that might be a weird thing to say. We're just going out, trying to win series, trying to win these games. It's a great position to be in. I think, in my heart, it is going to come down to the last series. Hopefully we will be in a position where it is up to us." That means they need to sweep Cleveland this week.
GOOD FOR THE KIDS: Byron Buxton looked relieved to have finally hit his first major league home run. He put a nice swing on a Jose Valdez pitch and sent it into the seats in left. ``I'm just glad I got that out of the way and I try to keep moving forward." It wasn't the only first on Sunday. Miguel Sano hit the first triple of his career when he lined a pitch into the right-center gap in the ninth inning. Sano, who has been nursing a sore hamstring, twice stumbled slightly but was safe. ``I don't know what odds were higher, Buxton's first homer or Sano's first triple," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. ``We got them both out of the way." That kept the inning alive, and Max Kepler was able to make his major league debut. He struck out against lefthander Tom Gorzelanny. He took over in right field and caught the final out of the game. I got into it before the game on twitter with a fan who was mad that Kepler hadn't played yet. Well, the Twins have not had a comfortable lead for a while. These are the types of games Kepler will play in until the Twins are no longer in contention.
THE BUG: One thing to watch out for in Cleveland is if any more Twins get sick. A bug is moving through the team, and it forced Trevor Plouffe out of today's lineup - although he said he felt better today than on Saturday. This is not related to Logan Darnell's pneumonia earlier this month. The last thing the Twins need is for players to get sick during the biggest week of the year.
