Twins' Baker almost perfect

MINNEAPOLIS -- Three outs from history, Scott Baker jogged out to the mound and calmly took the ball for the ninth inning -- a perfect game dangling right there in front of him.

Nervous? Not this cool Cajun from Louisiana.

"What did I have to be nervous about?" Baker asked. "I pitched a great game, no matter how it worked out."

First Baker lost his bid for a perfect game, then one out later fell short of a no-hitter. Still, he led the Minnesota Twins over the Kansas City Royals 5-0 in the second game of a day-night doubleheader Friday.

Baker (8-6) entered the ninth inning with a chance for just the 18th perfect game in major-league history. But with 24,986 cheering in the Metrodome, he went to a 3-0 count leading off on John Buck.

Buck took a strike before the next pitch went inside and plate umpire Jim Wolf called ball four.

"I thought the first one was borderline," Baker said. "But the umpire did a fantastic job."

Esteban German grounded into a forceout and Mike Sweeney, activated from the disabled list between games, pinch hit and blooped a two-seam fastball to left-center for his first hit since June 16 -- and his third hit in 4 career at-bats off Baker.

"It's been so long since I had a hit in the big leagues I was going to ask him for the ball," Sweeney cracked.

Baker, a 25-year-old right-hander sensed immediately that the ball would fall in for a hit but recovered to get the 1-hitter, retiring David DeJesus on a flyout and Mark Grudzielanek on a lineout.

"Unfortunately it didn't work out tonight, but it's still a great game, I can't complain," Baker said.

Baker (8-6) struck out a career-high nine and threw 111 pitches in just his second complete game in 44 major-league starts. When he took the ball in the ninth inning, Baker had retired 38 straight Royals, dating to his start against Kansas City on July 30.