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DETROIT -- The Twins have had their backs against the wall for nearly the past month, so the feeling of being in a must-win situation is nothing new for the club.

It's just that the urgency is more intense now since the Twins are literally one loss away from elimination.

Following Detroit's 7-2 win over the Twins on Wednesday night, the Tigers' magic number is now two. That means a loss by the Twins in Thursday's series finale would allow Detroit to clinch its first American League Central title since 1987.

So the Twins will turn to Scott Baker with the hopes of a win that would allow their postseason hopes to live for at least another day.

"I'm not a great math guy but I know tomorrow is a must-win," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I guarantee our guys will come out to play. They have all year. We've tried. That's one thing that hasn't gone away is them busting their tails. It hasn't been pretty all year, and we've had some stretches where it doesn't look good. But the attitude and getting after the game hasn't stopped this year."

The Twins have found a way to stay alive to this point in the season despite numerous setbacks and the team's inability to get over the .500 mark most of the year.

As recently as Sept. 6, the Twins trailed the Tigers by seven games in the division. But they were determined not to give up -- even as they saw many of their players lost for the season due to injury. At that point, the club had already lost three of its starters in the rotation. But over the past three weeks, the Twins also learned they would be without third baseman Joe Crede and perhaps their most critical run-producing bat in the lineup -- 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau.

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