Minnesota Twins clinch AL Central title with win over Los Angeles Angels

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins clinched the AL Central title Friday night with an 8-6 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.

Alex Kirilloff homered and drove in three runs, and Minnesota held on late to win the division crown for the third time in five seasons under manager Rocco Baldelli.

Pablo López (11-8) pitched six innings for the Twins, allowing three runs and five hits with seven strikeouts. Jhoan Duran gave up a run in the ninth but got the final out with the bases loaded to secure his 27th save of the season.

After the Twins squandered an early 3-0 lead, Kirilloff’s 10th homer snapped a 3-all tie in the sixth and Minnesota won for the sixth time in eight games. Kirilloff became the 12th Twins player with double-digit home runs this season, setting a club record.

With lines from a recent college football game played at Target Field still visible, the crowd was eager to celebrate another extended fall for the Twins. It’s their 15th trip to the postseason since the Washington Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961 and became the Twins.

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Of course, the playoffs haven’t been kind to Minnesota. The Twins have lost 18 straight postseason games, mostly to their postseason nemesis, the New York Yankees.

Minnesota hasn’t won a postseason game since 2004, taking the first game of the Division Series 2-0 in New York with Johan Santana on the mound. Under Baldelli, the Twins were swept in two games by the Houston Astros in a 2020 first-round series and swept in three games by the Yankees in the 2019 Division Series.

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Minnesota added on with a four-run seventh, highlighted by RBI doubles from Kyle Farmer and Jorge Polanco.

Davis Daniel (0-1) took the loss as the bulk pitcher behind opener José Suarez. Daniel was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake earlier in the day and gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings in his second career major league appearance.

Los Angeles has lost eight of nine, limping to the finish of another disappointing season with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani on the injured list. Logan O’Hoppe hit a two-run shot in the eighth for his 12th home run of the season.