Sunday Insider: One pitch alters a race

When the credits roll at the end of the saga "The Wild, Wild West -- the Story of the 2010 NL Playoff Race," Twins rookie righthander Alex Burnett's name will be included.

And he should be listed fairly high, based on what he did June 17 at Target Field that impacted the NL playoff race.

It was unintentional, but a Burnett pitch hit Colorado star Troy Tulowitzki on the left wrist. An initial exam showed no break, but a later examination turned up a fracture.

Tulowitzki missed 33 games.

He returned to a team that was 51-48 and in fourth place the NL West. Tulowitzki hit .351 in August and is batting .371 with 14 homers this month after hitting two more Saturday in a rout of the Dodgers. Colorado, 31-18 since Tulowitzki returned, is right in the thick of the division and wild card races.

If Colorado's best player gets out of the way of Burnett's pitch -- or if the pitch doesn't get away from Burnett -- the Rockies could be looking down at the rest of the West and things would appear to be more in order.

"Actually, we were thinking about that the other day because we were watching Tulo go off," Burnett said. "J.J. [Hardy] was like, 'You're probably the reason they won't make the playoffs.' I definitely didn't try to do it. It has no effect on us, so there was no reason to throw it on purpose."

The Padres were once 27 games over .500. Many felt then that they were doing it with mirrors. It looks as if those mirrors have cracked as they lost their lead. San Diego remains in the hunt for the division title and wild card but doesn't have the mojo it had earlier in the season.

San Diego hasn't been that bad. It's just that San Francisco entered Saturday 36-24 since the All-Star break, the second-best record in the league. Rookie catcher Buster Posey is holding down the cleanup spot, and the pitching staff's 3.47 ERA since the break is the second-lowest in the league.

The only problem is that I feel like I'm dreaming when I watch the Giants because it looks as if I'm playing third base for them (have you seen Pablo Sandoval lately?). The Braves gave way to the Phillies -- which should have happened because the Phillies' starting pitching is excellent and they have a solid lineup. But Atlanta can still make the playoffs, entering the weekend as the wild-card leader.

The Giants, Padres and Rockies are fighting for the NL West title, with the two losers in that race battling the Braves for the wild card. The Twins and Rangers already are in the VIP line to the playoffs, with the Rays and Yankees determining who will win the AL East and who will be the wild card. So most of the excitement is in the NL right now.

Burnett was sent to the minors two days after hitting Tulowitzki and was called up earlier this month when rosters expanded. His eyes widened when he was told how long Tulowitzki was out of the lineup.