DETROIT -- Daniel Norris has seen what meaningful September baseball is like from the dugout and the bullpen. Now, hell get his chance to experience it on the mound.The Detroit Tigers second-year left-hander will start the opener of a four-game home series against Minnesota on Monday night. The Tigers wrapped up a three-game series against another contender, Baltimore, at Comerica Park on Sunday with their second consecutive loss, 3-1.The Tigers rotation also includes second-player Matt Boyd and rookie Michael Fulmer and theyre all pumped up by the playoff atmosphere.Weve been talking about it a lot, especially me and Boyd and Fulmer, Norris said. Its exciting to be here. Its exciting to have something to play for. ... Theres a different sense of urgency. We (as a team) have a swagger about us that we belong here. Its fun to come to the ballpark every day and know we have a chance to play into October and through it.The Tigers have an opportunity to strengthen their position in the race against a last-place team that they have dominated this season. Detroit is 10-2 against Minnesota.Norris (2-2) collected his last victory against the Twins on Aug. 25 when he allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings, his longest outing of the year.I dont think some of their struggles have to do with their hitting, Norris said. They have a very good lineup and you have to take them very seriously.He wound up with no-decisions in his last two outings, including a six-inning start against Kansas City last Sunday when he gave three runs on four hits. Hes tried to keep himself sharp with the extra days in-between starts by throwing two bullpen sessions.My main focus is just getting as deep as I can in the game, he said. Thats something at times Ive struggled with but I think Im getting better with it, just understanding my game and pitching towards that. As long as I go out there and keep us in the game, then Im doing my job.The Tigers batters have pummeled Twins pitching this season, averaging 5.9 runs per game while batting .315. Minnesota right-hander Ervin Santana, who will oppose Norris, is one of the few members of the staff that has successfully navigated through Detroits lineup.Santana limited the Tigers to one run in seven innings on July 20 in his only outing against them this season. Hes 9-3 with a 3.17 ERA in 17 career starts against Detroit.After finishing August with a 13-game losing streak, Minnesota is 4-6 in September, all against American League Central Division foes.Yet manager Paul Molitor is expected to return next season, as the teams ownership continues to back him.I think everyone in here realizes this has been a year where we had expectations that have fallen way short, Molitor said to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Sometimes people have to fall when those things happen. Ive been fortunate that Im in a position where theyre going to give me another shot to come back and try to do a little bit better the next time around.The biggest bright spot for the Twins has been second baseman Brian Dozier, who has 39 home runs. Hes hit three against the Tigers, though he only has a .174 average against them. Dozier has not homered in the last four games.Im sure once the offseason hits and I reflect on the offseason, (I can say), OK I had a decent year or whatever you want to call it, Dozier said to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. But doggonit, were on pace to lose over 100 games. Something is still off and it doesnt sit well with me.Twins first baseman Joe Mauer is questionable to play in the series because of a sore quad. Cheap Fake Shoes . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Wholesale Fake Shoes . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. https://www.fakeshoes.net/ .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. Discount Fake Shoes . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. Fake Nike Shoes . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Shakayla Thomas picked the right time to come up with her first double-double of the season.Thomas had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 10 Florida State pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat Michigan 76-62 on Saturday in the final day of the Paradise Jam tournament.Imani Wright added 19 points, Ivey Slaughter had 15 and Leticia Romero 10 for the Seminoles (6-1), who won their third straight game.We just had to come together as a team, and keep the momentum, Thomas said after her fourth career double-double. It was all about our momentum. We had it on the court, and all about staying positive. Even when we got down, we just got back on defense and started working.Katelynn Flaherty scored 18 points, Kysre Gondrezick added 17 and Hallie Thome 13 for the Wolverines (6-1), who fell behind in the second quarter but stayed close until the Seminoles opened the fourth quarter with a 16-8 run.Theyre a really tough team to guard, Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. But we did a great job of fighting through the fatiguee.dddddddddddd We did a much better job of rebounding the ball. Shakayla rebounded the heck out of the ball.Thomas layup with 2:54 left capped the run, putting Florida State up 69-56.We just went on a scoring drought, Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. I dont know if we got worn down a little bit or what. We started to press a little bit and started to force things instead of sharing the ball. We were in a great spot, we just didnt come out the way we needed to.BIG PICTUREMichigan: Snaps the Wolverines six-game winning streak, the second straight year theyve opened the season 6-0, and drops their record against No. 10 teams to 0-11.Florida State: Keeps the Seminoles unbeaten since losing to No. 2 Connecticut as they played the first of two straight games against Big Ten opponents.UP NEXTMichigan: At Georgia Tech in the Big 10-ACC Challenge on Thursday.Florida State: At Minnesota in the Big 10-ACC Challenge on Wednesday. ' ' '