Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins: Loser Goes Home!

There are few things in baseball more entertaining than the one-game playoff, and tonight at 5 p.m., the Tigers and Twins will take the field at the Metrodome to see who gets to move on to play the Yankees and who gets to watch the playoffs on TV. The one-game playoff is always the exclamation point that punctuates a fantastic season ending. It's like an instant game 7, where no tactic is off limits, because after playing 162 games, this is the only one that counts.

Tonight's game will surely be no different. The Tigers come into this game having blown a seven-game division lead in a month, including three of their last four. A win in any of those three losses would have basically ended the Twins playoff hopes. But the Twins, on the other hand, have been on fire. Since September 1, they've posted a 20-11 record, have lost only four times in their last 20 games, and won their final four games to force the playoff game. All this despite injuries to Justin Morneau, Joe Crede, and Kevin Slowey. Detroit will start 20-year-old Rick Porcello (14-9), who has an ERA of 3.19 since August, while Scott Baker (15-9), with a 3.21 ERA since the All-Star break, will take the mound for Minnesota.

Of course, there are always the subplots, like the Twins wanting to say goodbye to the Metrodome with a good old-fashioned playoff run. Joe Mauer, pictured above, gets another day in the spotlight to prove he deserves to be the American League MVP. (His .364 batting average not only tops the MLB, but he's pretty much carried the Twins through the season by adding 28 homers and 96 RBIs while playing catcher.) Should the Tigers win, it will be interesting to see how Miguel Cabrera handles the champagne celebration considering recent events.

*Photo courtesy of Keith Allison via Creative Commons License