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THEY SAID IT: Its been a happy hunting ground the last two years, a couple of incredible wins and tonight is worth about 10 (wins) I think. They showed a lot of grit our boys ... it was just a brilliant victory. - Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge after his sides stunning come-from-behind win over Sydney at the SCG.STATS THAT MATTER: 106 - the number of tackles laid by Port Adelaide in their 38-point win over Richmond. The Power effectively ended the Tigers finals chances at Adelaide Oval and it was on the back of their willingness to tackle.MAN OF THE ROUND: There were plenty of players who touched the ball more but its hard to argue against Western Bulldogs comeback king Jason Johannisen. In his first game since round four due to a severe hamstring injury, the speedy midfielder iced a memorable win for the Dogs with a nerves-of-steel set shot in the dying seconds against the Swans at the SCG.KEY MOMENT: Youd have to have a heart of stone not to be a little bit taken with the romance of a third generation of Silvagnis taking the field for Carlton. When Jack, son of Stephen and grandson of Sergio, broke through the banner in the long sleeves on Saturday night at the MCG a little bit of history was made. He showed encouraging signs with 15 possessions in a scrappy 12-point loss to Collingwood.TALKING POINT: Who wants a top-four spot? Adelaides hard-fought win over Melbourne moved them from eighth to fifth spot, with the Crows now one of a staggering six teams with 10-4 records. Hawthorn, a game clear on top, and West Coast, a game adrift in eighth, are the bookends for an extraordinary top eight, which promises an enthralling run to the finals.TRIBUNAL WATCH: Essendon veteran Mark Jamar looks set for a stint on the sidelines after he caught West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern in the face with a swinging elbow. David Zaharakis thump to the stomach of Jackson Nelson in the same game will also be looked at. Carltons Dale Thomas faces a nervous wait to see how the match review panel assesses his high bump on Collingwoods James Aish.KEY INJURIES: M Jamar (Ess, hamstring), M Leuenberger (Ess, knee), P McCartin (St K, concussion), M Rosa (GC, hamstring), J Weitering (Car, ankle), C Byrne (Car, knee).WHATS NEXT: The AFLs meandering run of bye weeks ends with a bang, with some mouthwatering match-ups in a full slate of games. Geelong host Sydney at Simonds Stadium on Friday night and North Melbourne travel to Perth to take on the Eagles on Sunday in a pair of games that will help shape the top four. MINNEAPOLIS -- During the previous decade, as Minnesota piled up division titles as a spunky overachiever, the organizations ability to produce fundamentally solid players and competitive teams without expensive power hitters or starting pitchers became known around baseball as the Twins Way.Theyve become the wayward Twins these days. Theyre on pace at the All-Star break to pass the club record of 102 losses.Like a lot of people, I dont look at the record too much anymore. Its kind of counterproductive for me, manager Paul Molitor said after historic, horrific first half of the schedule during which the Twins went 27-54.I try not to go down that road. Obviously I hope we have a better half, said Molitor, who in his first year running the team oversaw an 83-79 record that had the Twins in postseason contention until the second-to-last day on the 2015 slate.Having averaged 96 losses over the four years prior to Molitors debut, the 0-9 start this season that didnt get much better throughout April and May looked more like the trend. The optimism-fueling 2015 finish looked more like the outlier.Not where we want to be, said first baseman Joe Mauer, in his usual understated manner.What cant be overstated is the organizations persistent problem procuring and maintaining adequate starting pitching. Twins starters are 19-38 with a 5.26 ERA this season, ahead of only Cincinnati.The backbone of the Twins Way was durable starting pitchers who didnt walk many batters, trusting stout defense behind them to minimize potential damage from pitches to contact. The philosophy was formed around the time manager Tom Kelly took over in 1987, leading the Twins to their first of two World Series titles. There were lean years in the 1990s, but the club was in contention in Kellys last season, 2001, and kept it up under his replacement, Ron Gardenhire. The Twins won the American League Central division six times from 2002 through 2010.Since then, quality starters have simply stopped coming through the farm system.Kyle Gibson, the teams first-round draft pick in 2009, has settled in as a capable middle-of-the-rotation right-hander. Tyler Duffey has shown potential in 24 major league starts. Jose Berrios is waiting in Triple-A. But the dearth of starting pitching has prompted general manager Terry Ryan to dole out close to $200 million in free agent contraacts since he returned to his post nearly five years ago.ddddddddddddErvin Santana has been the best of a mediocre-at-best bunch, a group of five veterans whove combined for 78 victories over the last 4 1/2 seasons.Hopefully weve drafted and are starting to develop some people who are going to emerge in the near future and give us an opportunity to start building a staff where youd say, `All right, theyre going to be around here for a while, Ryan said.This is the sixth straight year that Twins starters have ranked in the bottom five in the majors in strikeouts. The overall struggles have triggered a shift toward development, Ryan said, from innings limits to drafting harder throwers.Less-than-desirable defense hasnt helped the starting pitchers, either, but sometimes theyve been at fault, too. Molitor ordered an early round of pitchers fielding practice before a recent game, the type of fundamental drills rarely seen during a season after spring training.Theres a lot of our game, our Twins baseball, this year that needs cleaning up, Molitor said that night. You can talk about base running and our defense at times. But the plays that are on the mound, our guys make good pitches and we get balls hit in the infield and were having mental lapses about covering bases or where to go backing up bases. It was just kind of my desire to get these guys focusing a little bit more and realize that they have more responsibility than just throwing a pitch. You let your guard down, and its easy to come back and bite you.The Twins have gone 7-3 in July while outscoring opponents a whopping 78-37, including seven games against league-leading Texas. Theyre likely to make some trades this month and next, clearly out of contention for 2016, but Molitor has expressed at least a mild satisfaction in recent progress shown by some of the young players who struggled so badly at the beginning of the season.Questions have been raised about Ryans future, given the ugly record. A new general manager could always make a change on the bench, too, so Molitors return isnt exactly guaranteed. For now, a recalibration toward development has given him a fresh perspective on the second half.Its a great opportunity to teach, Molitor said. ' ' '