It's do or die time.

Twins @ Tigers
Game 4 of 4

1b: Cuddyer
2b: Punto
3b: Harris
Ss: Cabrera
RF: Kubel
CF: Span
LF: Young
C: Redmond
Pitching: Baker, Rauch, Mahay, Guerrier, Mijares, Nathan

PRE-GAME:
Already having a heart attack. Hoping to not let Detroit clinch their first title in 22 years, since I'm stingy and don't like to share things.  Like ALC titles from year to year.

TOP OF 1st:

Span is out very quicky.  Ohhhh, no.

Joe "Apparently I Tip Pitches" Mauer is the DH today.  Um.  Pops up for the 2nd out.

Uh, 1-2-3 inning.  I'm scared.

BOTTOM OF 1st (0-0):

Jim Leyland cracks me up.  My dad tells me stories of back in the day when you could smoke in the dugouts, and if the Tigers were down, he'd be chain-smoking pack after pack and screaming at the players.  MY HERO!

The sun in Detroit is insane today.  Hopefully it blinds all the Tigers in the outfield.  I mean, GOOD GAME! BEST WISHES! SPORTSMANSHIP!  

Okay, so MLBlogs censors your naughty-talk, so I'm going to have to come up with some substitutions for swears.  Such as: SON OF A BENCH, why has Baker given up two hits and let runners get on the corners?

Eh, Baker strands the runners.  Okay, Shake-N-Bake, keep that up.

TOP OF 2nd (0-0):

Agh, Kubel's thrown out at 1st.

I'm wearing my Crede shirt, which makes me miss my little ginger-snap.  He was one of my favorite Twins ... all five games that he actually played.

And Harris doesn't even put up a fight.  Oh and then Granderson, AKA The Beast, catches Reddy's hit.  I may need to just pretend this game isn't happening.

BOTTOM OF 2nd (0-0):

WOW.  Looks like we picked up some Little League player named "Young" for the outfield.  Nice.

So far it looks like Baker's trying to give away the game.

Wow, the hecklers in Detroit are INTENSE.

Tigers score the first run, unsurprisingly.

TOP OF 3rd (0-1, Tigers):

Oooh, Span nailed by a pitch.  He looks PIST.

"You gotta know that Punto can fly."  On the back of a unicorn, perhaps?

Mauer bats in Little Nicky and ties the game.

Whoa, Cuddy bats another in ... do I smell a rally?

Fly ball brings in Dreamyburns.  

Aw ship, Cuddy's thrown out at third.  But hey - hello lead?!

BOTTOM OF 3rd (3-1, TWINS):

Everyone looks like a super-dork with both eye-black and sunglasses.  I'm looking at you, Kubel and Punto.

I'm still laughing at all these stories about Mauer stealing signs.  I think that these two stories have a pretty good rebuttal to all of it.

Uneventful.

TOP OF 4th (3-1, Twins):

Throw gets by Inge and Harris takes 1st.  And Reddy gets a hit!  And Baby Nick moves them to 2nd and 3rd with a sac bunt!  WORD!

Oh, nice, Span hits Harris in from 3rd.  4-1!

BOTTOM OF 4th (4-1, Twins):

Baker nails Thames with a pitch.  Only his arm, but I don't see Bake do that sort of thing often.

Thames takes out his slide on Cabrera - O-Cab and Thames are having words.  Oy.  Replay shows he obviously misses the bag and tries to slide into Cabrera.

Bases loaded with two outs.  PUT HIM AWAY, BAKE!  And Reddy catches a straight-up pop! LOVE IT.

TOP OF 5th (4-1, Twins):

Apparently Cabrera is still upset in the dugout, explaining what happened.  In reality, watching that replay a few times, Thames is blatantly trying to slide nowhere NEAR the bag and HARD into O-Cab.  Luckily he hopped over Thames' body on time.

Whoa, very quick 1-2-3 inning.

BOTTOM OF 5th (4-1, Twins):

Double-play, babies!

And Thames comes up for another piece from Baker.  The funny part is Bert was hinting that maybe Thames needs to get nailed by a pitch again ... haha.  Another pitch sails by his face ... Redmond has to tell him it was off-speed.

If Baker so much as taps Thames' cleat with a pitch, there will be blood.  But he gets him looking, so uh, no brawls this inning.

TOP OF 6th (4-1, Twins):

I have a feeling some Twin is gonna get beaned this inning.

Or not.

BOTTOM OF 6th (4-1, Twins):

O HAI BIG RAUCH. OK BYE BIG RAUCH.

Ma-hay-hey?  Jesus.  But he holds it down for a scoreless inning.

TOP OF 7th (4-1, Twins):

Little Nicky spanks one into left.  HELLO.

Oh, nice.  Span drills it into right for a double and Punto moves to 3rd.  Jim Leyland out to the mound again ... haha.

Heard some heckler yell, "Cuddyer with a K, baby!"  Kuddyer?  That IS mildly amusing.  And he does strike out.

Now's the time to shine, Kubel.  Bases loaded!

AHAH.  Some guy on Twitter: "I'm certain Cuddyer struck out because of the guy yelling 'Cuddyer with a K, baby...Cuddyer with a K!'"

Aw, Kubel with a K strikes out.

BOTTOM OF 7th (4-1, Twins):

Whoooaaa, Le Warrior, what are you pitching here?  

Oh you're KIDDING.  Guerrier, Harris, and Cuddyer go after a pop up over the mound - Harris and Cuddyer call Guerrier off, he doesn't hear and Harris grabs for it, DROPPING IT.

Oh boy Leyland on the field after a double play where Santiago gets doubled off. 

TOP OF 8th (4-1, Twins):

Young gets a nice single to start the 8th.  

Span up with two runners on.  I like where this is going ... and Leyland makes a pitching change, putting Seay in.  WHO?

Full count, aaaand ... WALKED!  

Bases loaded for Cabrera.  AND HE HITS IT OFF THE WALL!  THREE RUNS SCORED!

OH MAN, Mauer bats Cabrera in.  Seven run lead?  If we gotta ...

So all the bad things I've said about the White Sox?  Yeah I take it all back.  Sweep the effing Tigers this weekend.  Win your faces off.

BOTTOM OF 8th (8-1, Twins):

So you're SAYIN there's a chance!

... A chance of another error despite Harris taken off of 3rd and replaced by Tolbert?  Yes.

Mijares replaces Le Warrior.  

Oh boy ... Leyland in the ump's face about Mijares almost nailing a batter and getting a warning.  This should end well ...

He's ejected, and the Tigers are crawling back with 2 unearned runs.

TOP OF 9th (8-3, Twins):

Young gets nailed in the knee by the first pitch! Laird is ejected.  Delmon is PISSED, and points angrily toward the Twins' dugout.

BENCHES CLEAR!  But no punches thrown.  God, I'd give it all to see Joe Nathan punch out Verlander or Nick Punto headbutt ANYONE.

BOTTOM OF 9th (8-3, Twins):

J-Nate up in this weird game.  Shut it down.

A walk.  Oh, God.  I think Nathan needs a vacay.  

And with a fly ball caught by Young, we win!

FINAL:  8-3, Twins 

VERDICT:

Double you tee eff.  This is probably one of the most tense, weird games I've EVER seen involving the Twins.

I offer this gem from Journey:

DOOOON'T STOP, BE-LIEEEE-VIN!

Ahh, nostalgia: