First game of the series. Twins: 67-46. Toronto: 60-54.
Lineups
Minnesota Twins
Name POS AB AVG HR RBI OBP SLG
Castillo 2B 419 .291 3 43 .349 .377
Punto 3B 273 .311 0 31 .400 .418
Mauer C 374 .369 10 64 .448 .535
Cuddyer RF 367 .264 16 71 .355 .493
Morneau 1B 404 .322 30 101 .376 .604
Hunter CF 366 .276 15 59 .348 .451
Rabe DH 39 .308 3 7 .341 .538
Tyner LF 102 .314 0 7 .358 .324
Bartlett SS 169 .355 1 19 .423 .467
Toronto Blue Jays
Name POS AB AVG HR RBI OBP SLG
Rios RF 315 .317 15 58 .370 .540
Catalanotto LF 301 .312 7 48 .400 .465
Wells CF 424 .325 27 83 .385 .601
Glaus 3B 390 .267 31 85 .372 .559
Overbay 1B 420 .302 18 69 .361 .505
Hinske DH 189 .270 12 29 .355 .529
Molina C 295 .275 9 30 .312 .410
Hill 2B 377 .297 2 35 .353 .387
McDonald SS 148 .216 2 12 .272 .291
Pitchers
Name ERA IP H HR SO BB K/9 WHIP
Silva 6.37 118.2 172 24 49 17 3.72 1.59
Lilly 4.20 126.1 125 20 111 60 7.91 1.46
How about them Jays?
On June 30, Toronto was 45-34, 7 games back of Chicago in the Wild Card race and 1.5 games in front of the Twins. Over the next month they went 12-14, and while they were usurped by the Twins in the push for that precious fourth playoff slot, they had managed to pick up ground on both the Yankees and the White Sox, trailing each team by only 5.5 games. At 57-48 going into August, Toronto has gone 3-6 to start the month, leaving them 7.5 games back of the race-leading Twins. Over the past month and a half, they haven't done themselves any favors.
Starting tonight, they have what could be their last real chance to make a push and stay competetive in the sprint to the finish. With both Chicago and Boston still ahead of them in the Wild Card standings, a series vicotry against the Twins would go a long way in helping their dwindling chances. A series victory for the Twins, on the other hand, will keep the pressure on Sox both red and white.
The top half of the Toronto batting order is formidable, as positions one through six contain OBP's no lower than Hinske's more than respectable .355. Five of the six top hitters in the order are slugging over .500; formidable indeed. Don't forget they also have Russ Johnson coming off the bench (.342/.420/.513).
We'll need Carlos Silva to turn in another good performance tonight, or things could get ugly early. Good luck, Mr. Silva, and godspeed.