Jason Kubel hit a pair of three-run homers as Minnesota beat Kansas City 13-4 Sunday, putting the Twins into a one-game playoff with the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central title. The Twins and Tigers, who beat the White Sox 5-3, will meet Tuesday with the winner earning a postseason date with the New York Yankees. Scott Baker will start the tiebreaker for the Twins against Detroit rookie Rick Porcello. The teams get a day off because the Minnesota Vikings host Green Bay on Monday night. Delmon Young added two solo home runs and Michael Cuddyer also homered for the Twins, who overcame a three-game deficit by winning their final four games. Minnesota won 16 of 20 to reach the playoff. Alex Gordon homered for the Royals, who fell behind 8-1 but rallied to bring the tying run to the plate. Luke Hochevar (7-13) was hit hard. Tigers 5, White Sox 3: At Detroit, Justin Verlander earned his 19th win and Ryan Raburn homered twice as slumping Detroit beat Chicago to force a one-game tiebreaker with Minnesota for the AL Central title. Magglio Ordonez also homered as the Tigers won for only the third time in eight games. Fernando Rodney got the final four outs for his 37th save. Yankees 10, Rays 2: At St. Petersburg, Florida, Alex Rodriguez homered twice and drove in an AL-record seven runs in an inning, keying a 10-run burst that sent the playoff-bound New York Yankees over Tampa Bay. Rodriguez hit a three-run homer off Wade Davis (2-2) in the sixth. He added his 18th career grand slam later in the inning. The major league record is eight, set by Fernando Tatis when he hit two grand slams in an inning for St. Louis in 1999. A-Rod tied Mark McGwire for eighth on the career list with 583 homers. It also gave him at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs for the 12th straight season despite missing the first month with a hip injury. Other results: Reds Sox 12, Indians 7; Angels 5, Athletics 3; Mariners 4, Rangers 3; Orioles 5, Blue Jays 4, 11 innings. Hoover lifts Phillies Paul Hoover hit a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning as the defending World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies prepared for their title defense with a 7-6 victory over the Florida Marlins in the National League Sunday. The Phillies (93-69) host the Rockies on Wednesday in the opener of their best-of-five division series. Hanley Ramirez got the day off and finished with a .342 average to become the first Marlins player to win a batting title. He also is the first NL shortstop to win the batting crown since Dick Groat in 1960. Chris Coghlan had three hits for Florida (87-75), bolstering his bid for NL Rookie of the Year. Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley were among the resting Phillies starters. Dodgers 5, Rockies 3: At Los Angeles, Vicente Padilla struck out 10 batters in five innings as the NL West champion Los Angeles finished the regular season with another victory over the wild-card Colorado. The Dodgers took sole possession of first place for good on April 19 with a 14-2 win over the Rockies, won the season series 14-4 and finished three games ahead of Colorado. Los Angeles clinched its second straight division title Saturday night with a 5-0 victory. The Dodgers (95-67) host St. Louis on Wednesday in their postseason opener. Nationals 2, Braves 1, 15 innings: At Atlanta, Alberto Gonzalez drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the 15th inning as Washington closed the season with a seven-game winning streak. Other results: Giants 4, Padres 3, 10 innings; Brewers 9, Cardinals 7, 10 innings; Mets 4, Astros 0; Diamondbacks 5, Cubs 2; Reds 6, Pirates 0.
