The most important development of the Twins' evening didn't even happen in Kansas City, as Jake Peavy, Gordon Beckham and the White Sox shut the Tigers down, 2-0. The Twins, with some help from the Kansas City pitching staff, did what they were supposed to do, beating an inferior opponent by a final of 9-4, and moving within two games of Detroit.
Carl Pavano did his Carl Pavano thing, scattering 8 hits over six innings, getting into real trouble only when he had to face Billy Butler. Butler, who finished 4-5, accounted for all the Royals scoring with two home runs off of Pavano, who notched his fourth victory as a Twin.
Meanwhile, the Twins hitters basically just waited for Robinson Tejada to implode. Michael Cuddyer, continuing his torrid September, pulled a down-and-sorta-away pitch into the left-center bleachers to give the Twins both their first hit of the game and a 2-1 lead in the 4th. Come the 5th, the rest of the squad was rewarded for their patience, as they drew not one, not two, but three bases-loaded walks to pull away from the Royals for good. I've said it before, I'll say it again: it just has to suck to be a Royals fan.
Butler's second home run did narrow the lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the 5th, but the Twins answered with two runs in the top of the 7th, including a very welcome run-scoring triple from Delmon Young. And that was that.
Other notes:
- That bum Mauer went 0-for-2 with three BBs.
- This being the Royals, the Twins scored their first run on a wild pitch. This being the Royals, said runner (LNP) scored from 2nd base.
- Jon Rauch and Matt Guerrier flirted with danger, but escaped unharmed. Joe Nathan never saw the mound.
- When Delmon Young gets around on a ball, it really does go a long bleeping way. His garbage time HR in the 9th was a rocket. It would be so nice if he did that more often.
- Denard Span, it's good to have you back.
All in all, as satisfying a night of baseball as you could ask for. Enjoy your weekend, kids. It's a pennant race, for pete's sake. Awesome.