Minnesota wins 3 of 4

Jim Leyland's wisdom on the non-existence of pitching momentum held true, as Scott Baker couldn't build on Duensing and Pavano's success nor on his own personal run of effective pitching. He cruised through four innings, with an rbi double that Jason Kubel played into a triple marking Baker's only mistake. Until the fifth that is. The lead-off walk to Gerald Laird is what really hurt Scott. All the hits didn't help either. There was no doubt about any of those hits. Whatever the Tigers did to adjust, Baker was unable to respond.

I tried as hard as I could to avoid any Vikings updates, but wearing my AD jersey to the Twins game undid me, as everyone who saw it thought it best to spoil whatever surprise awaited in the DVR. You can imagine how I felt overhearing "10-7 Lions" and "Adrian Peterson fumble" from the loudmouths behind me.

The Twins batters responded as long as they could, but Nate Robertson (NATE ROBERTSON) stumped them with his 86 mph fastball. It was all they could do to scratch out a single run in separate innings. I had a feeling that Washburn being scratched would be a bad thing, and I think I was right. I can't imagine such a Cuddfire, Kubel noodle, and Spaneurysm all on the same day. I hope it doesn't happen in Chicago.

The tide turned after halftime, eerily similar to last week, as HalfDay found some daylight for the go ahead touchdown. The question still remains though: will the defense come up with those key turnovers against a quality offense? The 49ers aren't a powerhouse, but their running game exploded against the Seahawks. Maybe the Lions and Browns have underrated O-lines/RBs. I doubt it. For whatever reason, the Vikes' vaunted run defense just surrendered 129 yards rushing to THE LIONS. The Niners will be a real test for the entire team. We'll see if they're up for it.

Francisco Liriano plays the voodoo doll of the Twins season. As his (never good) fastball was crushed and the walks piled up, the Twins struggled in mediocrity. Then in August he really hit the wall, before falling off the map to the disabled list. Well he's back, just like the Twins' season. And just like their early season struggles, he gave the Tigers the breathing room to avoid the late inning heroics of the prior nights. The winning streak is over, but just as the Twins lost "momentum," they can gain it right back just as quickly.