Pic of the Week

David Price reacts after striking out George Springer to
escape a bases-laded jam in the seventh inning Saturday.

I was hoping, as a Twins fan, that the Astros would win that game Saturday, and beat the Red Sox again today, and that the Yankees would further cooperate by winning their games in Toronto. That would have forced those teams into a Game 163 to decide which was the division champ and which would play the Twins in the wild-card game Tuesday.

That, I figured, would stretch out the pitching staffs of either team and give the Twins some slight advantage.

Didn't happen. The Red Sox won, and thus clinched the AL East.

Price -- who has had a controversial season in Boston, complete with a long stint on the disabled list and an altercation with team broadcaster Dennis Eckersley -- is going to be working out of the Boston bullpen this month. The hope (or expectation) is that he can do for the Sawx what Andrew Miller did last year for Cleveland -- relieve early or late and overwhelm opposing hitters in key moments.

It worked Saturday.