*On July 12, the Twins were 12 games out of first with a record of 49-40 and had gotten there with a long winning streak in June. Since then, they have continued on, going 46-26, while the Tigers were 33-37 and the Sox were 33-38.
* Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome punished AL Central pitchers with the long ball this year. Dye hit 22 HRs in the division while Thome popped 20.
*Javier Vazquez has had back-to-back 12 strikeout games. If he turns the trick again today, he will be the first pitcher in five seasons to do so.
*Scott Podsednik has tallied 40+ steals for the 4th straight season which matches Carl Crawford of Tampa Bay and trails only Juan Pierre's six season string.
Copyright 2006 STATS LLC