It’s all come down to this.

For the second straight season, the Twins are playing in Game 163 but this year the group seems a bit looser, perhaps something that a little bit of experience will do for you.

The Twins certainly seem happy to be playing in the Dome. Sure, the home field advantage is great but it was also 46 degrees and pouring rain when I arrived at the Metrodome today. Next year, the club won’t have the roof to their advantage anymore.

Here are a few interesting facts from the Twins game notes today:

— Since the All-Star Break, the Twins are 41-32 while the Tigers have gone 38-37. The Twins have outscored the Tigers over that time (379 runs to 320), but Detroit has the advantage in ERA (4.53) compared to the Twins (4.71).

— Joe Mauer leads the AL batting race by 14 points going into his final day. Mauer’s average is sitting at .364 while Ichiro finished the season at .352. Mauer will join a select group of players who have won three-or-more AL batting titles including Nap Lajoie, Ty Cobb, Harry Heilmann, Ted Williams, Carl Yastrzemski, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, George Brett, and Wade Boggs.

UPDATE: The turf in right field is doing OK, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. There are often a few soft spots following a football game due to the bleachers being unrolled out in right field. But Jason Kubel said it wasn’t anything that he couldn’t handle.

There were quite a few Twins players in attendance for Monday night’s Vikings-Packers at the Metrodome. Among those who watched the game from field level were Denard Span, Joe Nathan, Nick Punto, Delmon Young, Jesse Crain and Carl Pavano. The group received a huge ovation from the crowd when they were shown on the jumbotron and Nathan said they couldn’t walk up and down the aisles without getting plenty of high-fives from fans.

As for Gardenhire, he watched the game at home. He had plenty of interest, not just because he’s been a long-time Brett Favre fan.

“I had a lot of fantasy players playing, and I lost,” Gardenhire said.

So what did he think about Favre’s performance.

“He was my fantasy quarterback,” Gardenhire said. “He just didn’t give it to Adrian enough for me.”

Tigers (86-76)
1st place in AL Central, tied
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Carlos Guillen, DH
Ryan Raburn, LF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Gerald Laird, C
Ramon Santiago, SS
Pitching: RHP Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.04)

Twins (86-76)
1st place in AL Central, tied
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Delmon Young, LF
Jose Morales, DH
Matt Tolbert, 3B
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Scott Baker (15-9, 4.36)

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