The AL Central is still up in the air and the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers are stuck in a game that means everything to one team and very little to the other.

The Minnesota Twins? They get to sit back and watch.

Minnesota and Chicago each won on what should have been baseball's final regular-season day to remain within a half game of each other in the AL Central. That means Detroit heads to Chicago on Monday for a makeup game, with a White Sox win setting up a one-game playoff with the Twins on Tuesday for the division crown.

"It's kind of an ongoing joke that it seems like nobody wanted to win the Central, so this is kind of probably the way it should go down, going into a game tomorrow when the season's supposed to be over," Twins closer Joe Nathan said.

Scott Baker scattered four singles over seven shutout innings, pitching the Twins past the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on Sunday to preserve their half-game lead. Backed by four double plays, Mark Buehrle led the White Sox to a 5-1 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Gavin Floyd will take the mound Monday for Chicago against a familiar foe - the Tigers' Freddy Garcia, who won three postseason games for the White Sox in 2005.

"I'm sure the last thing those guys want to do is get on a plane, but they are professionals and if I was them and had to get on a plane and come here, I'm going to make it hurt," said the White Sox's Paul Konerko. "We better be ready to play."

Coming off a 121-pitch outing, Buehrle (15-12) made his third start on short rest this season and his second in September. He allowed the Indians one run and nine hits in seven innings, struck out six and walked one, throwing 111 pitches.

"Down in the bullpen I was a little shaky. I came into the game and everything was working, everything felt fine. My arm felt good," Buehrle said. "Felt loose."

Jhonny Peralta's second-inning homer put Cleveland ahead. But Bryan Bullington (0-2), starting because 22-game winner Cliff Lee was scratched with a stiff neck, couldn't hold it - much to the Twins' chagrin.

Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire tried to put some lighthearted pressure on his White Sox colleague Ozzie Guillen after the game.

"It's up to them. It's all on their shoulders now," he said. "I don't have to make a pitching move. I don't have to pinch hit anybody tomorrow. It's all on Ozzie's butt, so go get 'em Ozzie and let's see what happens."

Delmon Young's two-run single and Joe Mauer's two-run triple gave Baker (11-4) some extra insurance, and Jose Mijares and Nathan finished the final two innings against the Royals to give Minnesota an 88-74 record - far exceeding almost every forecast.

Brandon Duckworth, brought up from the minors last month, made his seventh start for the Royals and needed 116 pitches to complete six innings. Duckworth (3-3) walked four and hit two more, but he yielded only two hits.

"Regardless of how it works out, I'm very proud of the team," said Baker, who matched a career high with nine strikeouts and went 4-0 in his final six starts. "We battled and won a lot more games than people thought we would. Despite the situation, we should be very happy with how things have gone so far."

Title: News at Noon Date: September 29th, 2008 A quick look around the region, nation and world on the events of the day for Monday, Sept. 29, 2008. VIEW PRESENTATION »