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Thursday's baseball highlights
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Twins stay alive
Scott Baker got plenty of run support and pitched the Minnesota Twins to a testy 8-3 victory over Detroit on Thursday, preventing the Tigers from clinching their first division title in 22 years.
Minnesota avoided elimination from the playoff race and moved to two games behind the first-place Tigers with three to play.
Tempers flared late in the game. Detroit manager Jim Leyland was ejected during a face-to-face argument with umpire Angel Hernandez in the eighth inning after Minnesota's Jose Mijares threw behind Adam Everett.
Both benches and bullpens emptied in the ninth after Tigers pitcher Jeremy Bonderman plunked Delmon Young in the leg.
O's end skid: Chris Waters gave up one run over five innings in his first start of the season and the Baltimore Orioles stopped a 13-game losing streak by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2.
Carpenter's good wood: Ace pitcher Chris Carpenter hit a grand slam and drove in six runs, getting the St. Louis Cardinals back on track with his arm and bat in a 13-0 rout of the host Cincinnati Reds. It was Carpenter's first career homer.
In the news
Johnson weighs future
Randy Johnson will take his time deciding whether to pitch next season. The 303-game winner said Thursday there's no rush and that health and his ability to start again could play a role.
The Big Unit, who turned 46 last month, has been relegated to relief late this season for the San Francisco Giants following two-plus months on the disabled list with a shoulder injury.
Sabean, Bochy returning: The San Francisco Giants are close to finalizing new deals for general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy.
The Giants will miss the playoffs for the sixth straight season but were in the NL wild-card race until being eliminated Wednesday night.
Arroyo denies charge: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo has denied accusations by the St. Louis Cardinals that he used pine tar on the ball.
St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan said the stain on the bill of Arroyo's cap was pine tar that helped him grip balls in Wednesday's 6-1 win. Arroyo said it was residue from mud used to rub baseballs at other ballparks.
What they're writing
Mariners get 82nd win
If Ken Griffey Jr.'s days are indeed winding down, he's going out with a grand flourish.
On a day that Griffey, Seattle's superstar of the past, hit his 629th career homer, 25-year-old Adam Moore, perhaps their catcher of the future, hit his first.
And Brandon Morrow was absolutely brilliant as the Mariners whipped Oakland, 7-0, for their 82nd victory of 2009, clinching a winning season. They are the 13th team in modern history to follow a 100-loss season with a winning record.
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