FINAL: Doug Fister earns his first career shutout, defeating the Twins 8-0. Miguel Cabrera went 1-for-4 with a home run, his 42nd of the season to tie Josh Hamilton atop the American League. Cabrera now leads the AL in all three Triple Crown categories.
More to come.
DETROIT -- With Josh Hamilton out for the weekend, at least, with a sinus problem, Miguel Cabrera's path to become baseball's first Triple Crown winner since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 looks even clearer.
Cabrera leads the AL in batting average (.333) and RBI (130) and has 40 home runs, trailing Hamilton by one. It'll be interesting to see how many hittable pitches Cabrera gets in Detroit's final 13 games. I know the Twins are going to be careful with him in their remaining six games with the Tigers because they are playing to win, knowing the integrity of the pennant race is far more important than the Triple Crown.
The Tigers are within 1 1/2 games of the White Sox again after Chicago lost in Anaheim late Friday night 6-2. In the MVP race, Mike Trout had another terrific game, going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two more runs scored. That's 120 runs scored in 128 games for Trout.
Update: Manager Ron Gardenhire had Jamey Carroll at second base on Friday against Detroit's Rick Porcello, before the rainout, but with the Tigers switching to Doug Fister, the swtich-hitting Alexi Casilla will get the start. Carroll is 1-for-8 lifetime against Fister, and Casilla is 3-for-11.
Update: Matt Capps, who has been rehabbing his right shoulder injury, will rejoin the Twins on Monday and could be available to pitch during the Yankees series.
Update: Here are Gardenhire's thoughts on potentially having to walk Cabrera: "We have to play to win. I can't manage that way [thinking about the Triple Crown]. I think everybody knows I have total respect for the guy, and I think he's the best player in our league, but when it comes down to winning, and there are a lot of other teams involved here, we have to do what's right for a baseball game.
