Touch 'Em All: Twins find solution to their woes

Minnesota - in last place, 22 games out - has figured out what went wrong this season and taken steps to fix it.

That's right - the Twins gave Rochester Red Wings manager Tom Nieto and hitting coach Floyd Rayford the heave-ho Friday. That should at least make the big club the AL Central favorites next season.

Nieto, a former Twins catcher, lost at least 90 games in two seasons as triple-A skipper. But injuries at the major-league level this season meant the Twins, just to field a full squad in Minneapolis, had to grab players such as Luke Hughes and Trevor Plouffe away from their apprenticeships on Lake Ontario.

"We haven't given them many opportunities because we've taken all their players," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "That's what seasons like this do. They end up costing people jobs ... so we all feel responsible."

When Ichiro Suzuki opened the Seattle Mariners 4-1 win over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday with a first-pitch home run in the first, it marked his fourth homer this season - all leading off the game. It was also his 36th career leadoff home run - out of just 94 career homers.

San Diego Padres righthander Corey Luebke gave up only three hits in 52/3 innings against Arizona Thursday, but two were solo home runs, to Paul Goldschmidt and Justin Upton. Luebke (5-9) allowed two runs, walked four, and struck out nine in the 4-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. Of the 11 homers Luebke has allowed this season, seven were Arizona's - and three were by Upton.

Things continue to go wrong for the San Franccisco Giants: Pitcher Jeremy Affeldt is out for the season after deeply cutting his right hand while grilling burgers for his kids on Thursday. He needed help from two friends, luckily both emergency medical technicians, who bandaged him up before he went to the hospital.