MINNEAPOLIS -- After spending much of the first half of the season in the cellar, the Minnesota Twins became an afterthought in the American League.Minnesota is giving the rest of the AL something to think about now as a playoff spoiler with some minor league call-ups getting more of a chance in the lineup.Tyler Duffey pitched six effective innings and Minnesota took advantage of two misplays by center fielder Carlos Gomez in a three-run fifth that sent the Twins past the Houston Astros 3-1 on Monday night.Eddie Rosario had three hits for Minnesota, which won for the seventh time in nine games.With 50 games, weve got to keep playing. Kind of enjoying what were doing right now, for the most part, manager Paul Molitor said. I think theres a lot of energy, guys are having fun, a lot of joking going around, which is good as long as the focus is where it needs to be.Since July 2, Minnesota has gone 21-12 and leads the majors in runs, hits, doubles and triples. The victory Monday pulled the Twins ahead of Tampa Bay and out of last place in the overall AL standings.Minnesota is still last in the AL Central.Gomez, the former Twins outfielder, let Jorge Polancos single skip by him for a two-base error that allowed one run to score. Then he lost a fly ball off Juan Centenos bat, turning it into an RBI triple.Danny Santana followed with a run-scoring single.The first one was hit really hard and I missed (it) in my glove, and the second one, I (didnt) know where the ball was, Gomez said. We lost the game because of that. I feel worse than anyone in this clubhouse.Duffey (7-8) permitted one run on four hits and struck out eight to win his second straight start. Three relievers combined for three hitless innings, and Brandon Kintzler finished for his 10th save in 11 chances.I feel like Ive been a lot more consistent, Duffey said. Thats the biggest thing -- my arm slot, release point, everything like that feels really good. Felt strong, and stuff was going where I wanted it to.Polanco, called up from the minors when the Twins traded All-Star infielder Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco, has hit .378 with six RBI in nine games since being recalled.Meanwhile, Molitor said Rosario will get a look in center field after the team sent Byron Buxton to Triple-A on Sunday. Rosario has hit .461 with four RBI in six games as the starting center fielder.Those guys are picking us up, Molitor said of Polanco, Rosario and Santana. Cant say enough about Polanco so far, just the quality of at-bats and what hes doing for us.Collin McHugh (7-9) gave up three runs and 10 hits in seven innings, losing his third straight start. The Astros have dropped 10 of their past 13 games and are averaging 2.28 runs during that stretch.FINDING A SPOTPolancos offense hasnt been much of a question mark for the Twins, but the organization has tried to find the right position for the 23-year-old Dominican infielder. Hes spent time at second base, third and shortstop.After five straight games at third, Polanco moved to shortstop on Monday with third baseman Trevor Plouffe returning to the lineup. Minnesota is unsettled at shortstop after trading Nunez. Eduardo Escobar has received most of the playing time at the position since the trade.Maybe one of the better games Ive ever seen him play at short, Molitor said of Polanco. He was clean, finished, threw with confidence. It was a good night for him all-around.TRAINERS ROOMPlouffe started at third base after missing 32 games with a broken rib. He went 1 for 4.UP NEXTHector Santiago (10-5, 4.37 ERA) makes his first home start for the Twins on Tuesday night. The left-hander was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline and gave up four runs on five hits over five innings in his Minnesota debut at Cleveland. Houston counters with RHP Mike Fiers (7-5, 4.34), who tied a season high with seven strikeouts but took the loss against Toronto in his last appearance.Nike Air Vapormax Flyknit Greece .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. nike vapormax plus γυναικεια . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.vapormaxgreece.com/nike-vapormax-plus-greece.html . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. nike vapormax skroutz γυναικεια . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. nike vapormax plus Προσφορες . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings.INDIANAPOLIS -- When I was younger, like a lot of folks, I spoke out on anything I had a strong opinion about -- even when it would have been best to just keep my mouth shut.As I got older, I became more diplomatic. More thoughtful. More calculating. There are times when the best thing to say really is nothing. Not everything is worth arguing over.Also because you realize no matter what you say, the vast majority of your fellow humans arent listening and dont care anyway. I dont mean to sound defeatist. Its just that I think with age comes a kind of resignation that, to a degree, were all shouting into the wind.But you know what? Even if thats all Im doing -- shouting into the endless, howling hurricane that is the Internet -- I support the WNBA players who kneeled during the national anthem at Wednesdays Indiana-Phoenix game. And?all the leagues players who are speaking out and peacefully protesting the mistreatment of black citizens in this country. Like other athletes who are doing this, they hope to spark not just dialogue, but substantive changes that are necessary.WNBA players are among the best-educated and most worldly professional athletes I have encountered. Most of them have spent a lot of time playing overseas, and they care very deeply about many issues. The Black Lives Matter movement and the overall topic of racial injustice is not some kind of fad, or a chance to show off as some ridiculously accuse.Ive covered the WNBA since its inception in 1997, and womens basketball since I was a college freshman in 1984. Ive spent most of my adult life writing about female athletes, and a large percentage of those women have been black.There have been times when Ive questioned if I was always the right person to do some stories Ive done. Not because I didnt care enough or wasnt invested enough. But because I wondered if my life experience was such that I might not have been the person that black women related to well enough to fully share their lives.I grew up in a very small town in Missouri, and went to a high school of about 800 total students, probably 98 percent of them white. Heck, it might have been 99 percent. I went to Mizzou in the 1980s, where it was not uncommon to have entire classrooms of white students every day. I dont recall working with any black journalists at the student newspaper.The black students I knew mostly were athletes. I admired them, and I really liked talking with them. But I wasnt sure how well I was truly getting to know them. I wondered, Do they trust me? Do they think Im fair to them? Do they think I understand them?All these years later, I sometimes still assk myself those questions.dddddddddddd But Im so grateful and thankful that Ive been able to tell their stories of winning and losing, of peaks and valleys, of great joy and, unfortunately, some deep sorrows.Heres the bottom line: There would not be a WNBA -- and I wouldnt have this career -- if it were not for the toil, the strength, the ability and the courage of black women. So what they care about, I care about. What they worry about is a concern to me. When they speak, I listen. Its my job, but its also at the very core of why I wanted to do the job in the first place.Yes, were all human beings, and to an extent share the same experiences. But race continues to be a factor in how many people are treated, how they live and how they feel they are perceived.I dont pretend I can know exactly what its like to walk in anothers footsteps, but I can empathize. Such as when a player like Phoenixs Kelsey Bone, who kneeled Wednesday, said that she worries about her father, her brothers, her uncles, her cousins, her friends.What happens if I get a phone call? she said. If one of them is next?Many WNBA players have had these concerns all their lives, and they have reached a point where they cant stay silent. Or as Phoenixs Mistie Bass, who also kneeled Wednesday, put it, My heart was just too heavy to stand today. I did this to say, Enough is enough. I think people are starting to see athletes coming together of all races.Even if the WNBAs platform isnt nearly as big as, say, an NFL platform, the fact that you see a team do like Indiana did -- kneel all at once -- thats powerful.Bass was not critical of those of her teammates who did not kneel. She spoke passionately about her support for law enforcement, and that this is not an attack on police, or the military, or the flag, or patriotism.I understand what shes saying, and it totally makes sense to me. But on topics like this, emotions run incredibly high, to say the least. There will be those who condemn the WNBA players for their actions, or mock them by saying nobody cares about the league, or both.Im not going to change those minds, or even dent them. Thats not the point.But just as you figure out when its best to stay quiet, you also figure out when it really matters to say something. I support what the WNBA players are doing, and I respect their choices -- those who decided to kneel, and those who didnt -- because I respect them as caring, intelligent people who are trying to make the world a better place for everyone. ' ' '