Rogers drops Cleveland as Twins win AL Central

Minnesota has now won back-to-back division titles.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Twins finished off the Cleveland Indians, then sat back and watched everything fall in place for their second straight AL Central title.
Minnesota's 4-1 victory over the Indians, the Twins' 10th in a row, was only the beginning Tuesday night as the real drama unfolded on the video board above the cheap seats.
First, the Twins watched New York beat Chicago 7-0 to eliminate the White Sox. Then minutes later, Detroit completed a 16-6 rout of Kansas City to give the Twins the title.
"I was watching the scoreboard the whole time," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I'm not going to lie."
Kenny Rogers came within one out of a shutout, and Eddie Guardado closed it out for his 40th save in 43 tries.
"I knew how much it meant," said Rogers, signed as a free agent in March when Eric Milton needed knee surgery.
Shannon Stewart drove in two runs and Cristian Guzman went 2-for-2 with a homer and two runs for the Twins, six games in front of Chicago and Kansas City with five to play.
Celebration
The whole team, already decked out in cream-colored T-shirts and hats declaring them 2003 AL Central champions, anxiously watched the Royals and White Sox in a beer-soaked dugout.
Center fielder Torii Hunter looked like a boxer before a fight, hopping up and down with a towel draped around his neck.
About half the crowd of 33,650 stuck around, too, roaring when the Tigers beat the Royals. Players hugged, pointed to their fans and watched Gardenhire walk around the infield holding the jersey of third-base coach Al Newman, who's recovering from a brain hemorrhage in a Chicago hospital.
Six of the seven crowds on the Twins' final homestand have been 30,000 or bigger.
"They picked us up," first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said. "We wanted to do it here."
Last year, the Twins won at Cleveland on Sept. 15 and waited in the clubhouse for New York to beat Chicago before uncorking the champagne. Minnesota wound up 131/2 games ahead of Chicago.
It wasn't the same story for the Twins, who survived baseball's attempt to eliminate them before last season and advanced to the AL championship series in 2002.
They overcame a 71/2-game deficit at the All-Star break this year, going 45-20 in the second half -- the best record in baseball.
"We fought each other, we yelled at each other, we did everything we possibly could to motivate each other," Mientkiewicz said. "We've been through a lot together."
Strong showing
Rogers (13-8), probably the odd man out of the postseason rotation, rolled through a lineup stocked with eight rookies. The 38-year-old left-hander's last shutout was a five-hitter against Seattle on April 19 last year.
Rogers gave up eight hits and struck out two. He gave up one-out singles to Jody Gerut and Alex Escobar in the ninth before Josh Bard hit a two-out single to make it 4-1.
The players couldn't help but watch the scoreboard during the game for updates from Chicago and Kansas City.
"My at-bats were terrible," said Mientkiewicz, who went 0-for-3. "I can't do two things at once."
Guzman sparked a two-run third with a leadoff single against Jake Westbrook (7-10). Stewart and Luis Rivas followed with back-to-back RBI doubles.
The Indians, who have lost 15 of 20 to fall a season-high 24 games under .500, were a part of Minnesota's celebration for the second straight season.
"It was an exciting game for them," Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia said. "We just wanted to prevent them from clinching, but they deserve it."
Westbrook gave up four runs -- three earned -- and six hits in seven innings. He walked three.