The Minnesota Twins have a tough task, or at least a reality check tonight as they open a three game series against the San Francisco Giants. 

The Twins swept a two game set with the depleted Padres and are two games above .500 at 23-21.  The Giants are in first place in the NL West with a 29-18 record.  Kyle Gibson is scheduled to pitch for the Twins against Tim Lincecum for SF.  8:45 pre-game, 9:15 first pitch and you can hear the game on 1340 KROC AM.

Buehrle wins eighth...White Sox have a great Sale

UNDATED (AP) — Mark Buehrle won his major league-leading eighth game, Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista homered on consecutive pitches, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Boston Red Sox 7-2 to finish a three-game sweep. Toronto improved to 8-2 in its last 10 games, while Boston has lost seven in a row.

Buehrle is 8-1. He allowed two runs in the first two innings but settled down and finished with five strikeouts in his seven innings. He retired 11 of his final 12 batters.

The Red Sox went 0-6 on their home stand. It's the first time since June 1994 when they also lost six in a row at Fenway Park, that they were winless on a homestand of at least six games.

In other finals:

— The Chicago White Sox held off the New York Yankees 3-2. Chris Sale retired 18 of 19 batters over six scoreless innings in his return from an arm injury. Sale struck out 10 and improved to 4-0. He had missed a month because of a flexor strain in his arm.

— Shin-Soo Choo hit a two-run homer and Chris Gimenez had a career-best four hits to lead Texas to a 9-2 rout of slumping Detroit. Adrian Beltre drove in a two runs to help the Rangers hand the Tigers their fifth straight loss.

— Ryan Doumit's pinch-hit single drove in two runs, capping a three-run seventh inning that carried the Atlanta Braves to a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee.

— St. Louis doubled up Arizona 4-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Allen Craig drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double in the seventh.

— The New York Mets beat the L.A. Dodgers 5-3. Jonathon Niese hit an RBI double and also pitched seven innings for the victory. Zach Greinke's stretch of 21 straight starts allowing two or fewer runs ended.

— Pittsburgh beat Washington 3-1. Edinson Volquez allowed one run in six sharp innings and combined with three relievers on a five-hitter.

— Christian Yelich delivered two-out, run scoring single in the bottom of the ninth to give Miami a 4-3 win over Philadelphia. Yelich gave the Marlins their fifth walkoff win of the season.

— Cleveland outlasted Baltimore 8-7 in 13 innings. Carlos Santana doubled in two runs with two outs in the 13th for the Tribe.

— Sean Rodriguez hit a three-run home run with two out in the 11th inning to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics.

— Seattle beat Houston 3-1. Michael Saunders' infield single snapped a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning for the Mariners.

— The Chicago Cubs beat San Diego 5-1. Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer against his former team and Jake Arrieta pitched seven strong innings for his first victory.

— The game between the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants was suspended after the second rain delay with the score tied 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning. It will be made up when the Giants next visit Coors Field in September.

Fielder to have neck surgery, season's over

UNDATED (AP) — Prince Fielder is set to have neck surgery next week and will miss the rest of the season. Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels says that the herniated disk in Fielder's neck has gotten worse.

Daniels says the team will get a second opinion, but expects the diagnosis to be confirmed.

Fielder had played in 547 consecutive games, then the longest active streak in the majors, before receiving a nerve root block injection Saturday to treat his neck.

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