The Minnesota Twins could clinch the American League Central Division as soon as Thursday after they beat the Reds 5-3 in come-from-behind fashion Wednesday in Cincinnati.
Minnesota managed just three hits and one run – a solo homer by Willi Castro – against Reds right-hander Hunter Greene, who struck out 14 batters in a dominant seven innings. But when the Reds went to the bullpen, the Twins started to hit the ball.
After Castro's homer off Greene in the seventh, the Twins scored once in the eighth and trailed 3-2 in the ninth before Kyle Farmer's game-tying RBI single followed by Jorge Polanco's two-out, two-run single to give the Twins a 5-3 lead.
Griffin Jax earned the save in the ninth as the Twins improved to 81-72 and lowered the magic number to clinch the division to two.
That means any combination of Twins wins and Guardians losses equaling two will give Minnesota the Central championship. At the time this story was published, the Guardians were losing to the Royals 4-2 in the fifth inning. If the Guardians lose today and lose tomorrow against the Orioles, the Twins will clinch.
Minnesota was without Royce Lewis, who is day-to-day after suffering a hamstring injury on Tuesday night, and Carlos Correa, who was placed on the injured list to rest the plantar fasciitis in his foot.
The Twins are off Thursday before hosting the Angels on Friday night.
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