Minnesota Twins Jake Odorizzi pitched the Twins to the doorstep of their first American League Central title since 2010. In doing so, he showed off his dominant recent form that could go a long way to anchor an inconsistent starting rotation in the postseason.The only blemishes on the right-hander’s night came at the very beginning and end of an otherwise brilliant outing, when he allowed one run in the first inning before he was suddenly removed before the seventh inning with cramping in his left hamstring. Between, he was unhittable -- literally -- in the middle innings as he pitched the Twins to a 4-2 win over the Tigers on Tuesday night at Comerica Park. • Box score Odorizzi finally got some late run support in the seventh inning with a two-run single by Willians Astudillo and a two-run double from Eddie Rosario that moved the Twins’ magic number to clinch the division to two.
Minnesota Vikings Kirk Cousins is coming off one of the worst games of his career Sunday in Green Bay and by far his worst performance as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. Cousins was 14-of-30 for 230 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, two fumbles (one lost) and a passer rating of 52.9, which was the third lowest of his career as a starter. It seems whenever the Vikings ask Cousins to be the hero, he falls flat on his face. Instead of being a gunslinger who carries a team, it's clear that he's always been better as a game manager.
Minnesota Timberwolves It’s good to see Towns get some national love, something that he should get more of. The guy is 23 years old and is the best offensive center in the NBA. He’s coming off a season in which he averaged 24.4 points and career-highs of 12.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. He shot 51.8 percent from the field and 40 percent from the 3-point line on 4.6 attempts per game.
Minnesota Wild What Jared Spurgeon lacks in physical stature he more than makes up for in what he means to the Wild both on the ice and off. On Saturday, he was rewarded with a brand new contract extension, one that comes in at seven years and $53.025 million. The average annual value of the deal ($7.575 million per season) makes him the highest paid player on the team and assigns him the kind of financial value that he's consistently brought to the franchise since joining the team as an unlikely free agent in 2010. The deal begins next season and could keep Spurgeon in a Wild sweater through the end of the 2026-27 season.
