The Closer: Finally, Some Power In Minnesota

Notes from a day in baseball:

• 1. The Island of Dr. Morneau. Justin Morneau became the first Twin to hit 30 homers since 1987 — jeez, haven't they heard of steroids in Minnesota? — to lead his team to a 4-3 win over the suddenly slumping Detroit Tigers. Morneau hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth. Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky and Kent Hrbek were the last Twins to hit 30 homers.

• 2. You Knew It Would Come To This. The Yankees are barreling toward the AL East finish line like an SUV full of loaded guns, hatchets and a compact disc of children's songs recorded by prison inmates, and even Randy Johnson and his 5.11 ERA are getting with the program. La Grande Unité thew six no-hit innings, and Bobby Abreu homered off of of Jon Garland (so long, eight-game winning streak) as New York defeated the Chicago White Sox 7-6. The Yankees are three games up on the second-place Red Sox.

• 3. A Royal Pain. If Manny Ramirez could manage to throw out a runner at the plate from short left, the Red Sox would not have taken another loss to the Royals — this one 5-4. But perhaps we're being too hard on Manny; we could not have made those two throws either. Or ... could we? Mike Sweeney's run-scoring single with two out in the ninth off of Jonathan Papelbon completed the two-run rally for the Royals.

• 4. Wearing Out Your Welcome. Mike Piazza blasted a couple of home runs — finally prompting New York fans to boo him — but it wasn't enough for the Padres. Pedro Martinez pitched the Mets to their fourth straight win, 4-3, at Shea Stadium.

• 5. The Return Of HR Huff 'N Stuff. Aubrey Huff took time out from being a character in a Charles Dickens novel to hit two home runs, with six RBI, as Houston routed Pittsburgh 14-1. Pitcher Roy Oswalt had his first career home run, as the Pirates allowed six homers in a game for the first time since 2002.