Two weekends to go and things are much clearer in the AL Central where the Twins will have to collapse against the Detroit Tigers over the next week to lose the title after sweeping the White Sox at home.

Close to 40,000 fans created another playoff night atmosphere as Minnesota starter Kyle Lohse turned the game over to JC Romero from the left side in the seventh, who yielded to LaTroy Hawkins and his 98 MPH heat in the eighth, who then gave the ball to “Everyday Eddie ” Guardado for his 38th save.

Bartolo Colon pitched gamely, but Jacques Jones smacked two homers and all of a sudden with a rotation of Brad Radke, Eric Milton, Kyle Lohse, Johann Santana, and Kenny Rogers plus a hot bullpen, this team looks like it can make some noise again in the playoffs.

Let’s put it this way, the Twins won’t sneak up on their opponent like last year, this team will be well known by the time the playoffs start in twelve days.

Jack McKeon stubbornly went after Jim Thome with the game on the line and the big firstbaseman burned him with a game winning homer. Poor managing in one of the Marlins key games of the season. Late in the game, Chad Fox a righty on the hill and on a 3-2 count a hanging slider to one of the best power hitters in the game.

Jack, if you would have read the Daily Dish on Tuesday I warned you to stay away from this very confrontation.

Oh well, on to Atlanta tonight where Russ Ortiz, stuck on 19 wins forever, goes against power pitcher Josh Beckett in a game both teams need.

The Marlins are trying to hang onto their lead until the Phillies come into Miami on Tuesday for another showdown series, while Atlanta tries to stay ahead of the Giants for homefield, if the two should meet in the NLCS.

Click below for more!How about the resurgence of Wilson Alvarez? Another solid performance keeping the Dodgers within hailing distance of the wild card. This weekend the Giants are in LA and wouldn’t you know it they have a chance to knock the Dodgers into football season by winning the weekend series. Seems we have been here dozens of times over the years.

The old Kevin Brown has had the Giants number in the past, this Kevin Brown finds a way to lose to SF, it has been this way for at least two seasons now. The Giants throw Dustin Hermanson who is getting way too much consideration for a spot in the Giant’s playoff picture.

The Reds throw John Hale, who pitched beautifully beating Carlos Zambrano last Sunday in a 1-0 game, tonight at the Vet against Randy Wolf, perhaps the surest pitcher the Phillies have.

Rheal Cormier shut the door on the Marlins in a very dominating fashion Thursday, I’d make him my closer, he has good stuff, is a veteran, and doesn’t seem to mind the pressure.

The Cubs lost 1/2 game to the Astros who smoked Colorado behind the two hit pitching of Wade Miller. Today the Astros throw their other ace Roy Oswalt against Matt Morris in St. Louis in the only game between these two that should resemble a pitchers duel this weekend.

Ernie Banks Hall of Fame Cub shortstop loved to say “It’s a beautiful day, let’s play two”, unfortunately he didn’t mean in Pittsburgh on Sept. 19th in the heat of a pennant race.

The Cubs throw Carlos Zambrano and Juan Cruz plus Mike Remlinger and company to try to quiet the Pirates who are 71-81 even after unloading half the team in trades.

Josh Fogg is capable of shutting the Cubs down, but Solomon Torres will need alot of help to get a win.

Anyway, Cubs better be prepared to hit the ball because the Pirates aren’t going down easily.

Tim Hudson pitches the A’s most important game tonight as he tries to bury the Mariners in the West. A win by Seattle allows them to fantasize about a sweep in Oakland, something that just won’t happen even if two rookies are starting the games on Saturday and Sunday for the hometeam.

In June I said the Mariners were catchable when they were seven ahead of Oakland, today I’ll tell you they will be beatable in the West after this weekend.

Ryan Franklin is the Mariners hope tonight, he pitched well against the A’s earlier in the year, but he gives up too many homers and with the nightly fog on vacation, the ball should be lively tonight, not good for a fly ball pitcher like Franklin.

A’s need to get healthy and not overwork Keith Foulke. Just watch the scoreboard and hope the Red Sox hang on, so the A’s don’t have to open up against the Twins again. Tim Hudson versus Brad Radke is too much deja vu for me.

The Red Sox move into Cleveland this weekend and throw John Burkett against the Tribe. It’s Pedro and Lowe and let the bullpen go! Any other starter for Boston throws the game to the baseball gods. The Curse of the Bambino is alive and well so be careful tonight. What’s up with Nomar’s slump?

Eric Milton makes his second start, this time against Jeremy Bonderman (I thought he was through for the year as a starter). The hankies will be out in full force as the Tigers inch closer to the ’62 Mets.

Jamie Wright has pitched well for KC and he can pound another nail into the White Sox coffin tonight in Chicago against one of the better lefties in the league in Mark Buehrle.

Chicago can just hope for a miracle from the Tigers and keep winning or else it was a helluva comeback for the Sox after a horrid start to the season. In fact, Jerry Manuel was on his way out as late as July 17th before the Sox pulled it together.

So who would you rather face if you are the A’s? The Red Sox or the Twins in the first round. Last year, the choice was Minnesota over the Yankees and you know how that worked out.

This year I’ll take the Red Sox. They don’t have a lefty to fear on the whole staff. The bullpen is a huge hole, needless to say, an adventure every time out. The karma of the Sox may also lead to their downfall, Nomar can’t buy a hit and Manny won’t run out a hit.

Minnesota has pitchers who give the A’s trouble all over their pitching staff. They have lefties in the rotation, in the pen, on the bench, and also selling peanuts in the stands. Plus they have that Metrodome which is like kryptonyte to the A’s just as it was to Superman.

So, good bye Minnesota nights, I’ll take Fenway Park and the view any old day(think of the Green Acres theme song here). Root, root, root for the Red Sox, if they don’t win it will be a shame for the A’s.

Something about both the Phillies and the Marlins that leads me to believe the NL wild Card race will go down to the last day and will include one other team in the picture from the Central.

Now, lets sit back and watch how the weekend unfolds.