MINNEAPOLIS - Torii Hunter is coming back to the place it all began.Hunter agreed to a $10.5 million, one-year contract to return to the Minnesota Twins, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the agreement had not yet been announced.A five-time All-Star outfielder who turns 40 in July, Hunter became a star with the Twins from 1997-07 before signing a $90 million, five-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels. He then signed a $26 million, two-year deal with Detroit.Congrats on @toriihunter48 going back home, tweeted Nationals outfielder Denard Span, a former Twins centre fielder who was mentored by Hunter at the start of his career.His agreement was first reported by USA Today.Even though Hunter has been gone for seven years, he always has had a special place in his heart for the organization that groomed him from an 18-year-old first-round draft pick in 1993 into one of the best defensive players of his generation. On trips back to Minnesota to play the Twins with the Angels and Tigers, Hunter always spoke fondly of his time with the Twins and was open to finishing his career at Target Field, the teams jewel of a ballpark that opened a few years after he left the Metrodome for Los Angeles.Now hes going to get that chance.In his second tour with the Twins, Hunter will be heavily relied upon to be the kind of hard-driving veteran a young clubhouse needs to set an example. The Twins have lost at least 92 games in each of the last four seasons, and the lack of leadership was a big concern for the front office and new manager Paul Molitor.During his first run with the Twins, Hunter was a vocal pillar in the clubhouse, and the team adopted his fiery mentality. He challenged teammates when he thought they were not competing, served as a team spokesman when results were poor and, most importantly, won seven of his nine Gold Gloves while providing consistent production in the middle of the Twins order.It will be a honour to play alongside my hero growing up, Twins outfielder Aaron Hicks tweeted.Hunter isnt the same defensive dynamo he was when he left for the big payday with the Angels, but he can still swing the bat. Last season he hit .286 with 17 homers and 83 RBIs for the Tigers, numbers comparable to the two seasons before then, as well. Last season Trevor Plouffe led the Twins with 80 RBIs.His salary with Minnesota matches the average of former Twin Michael Cuddyer in his $21 million, two-year deal with the New York Mets.Hunter will be slotted into the everyday lineup as a right fielder and perhaps an occasional designated hitter, providing a bridge to a group of highly anticipated prospects that include prized centre fielder Byron Buxton, considered by many in the organization to be the next Hunter. Oswaldo Arcia, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano are among the other young players who could benefit from Hunters presence.When Molitor took over for the fired Ron Gardenhire as manager, he spoke about the need for a strong-willed group of veterans to show the youngsters how to play the right way. Molitor did the same thing for the Twins in the final two seasons of his career, which overlapped with Hunters first two seasons in a Twins uniform.Hunters return also figures to help out Joe Mauer, the face of the franchise who has always preferred to lead by example and has never been comfortable with speaking up and holding teammates accountable.Now Hunter is back to take up that responsibility, and he has the resume, the paycheque and the on-field skills to pull it off.___AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report. Cheapest Running Shoes Store .com) - Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with just 12. Running Shoes Outlet . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. 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Chacin allowed one run over seven innings but Colorados bullpen gave up two runs, including Brandon Belts RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 10th, and the Rockies lost to the San Francisco Giants 3-2 on Monday night. "Chacin is putting together a great run and a great season," Weiss said. "His two-seamer is real good. His change-up has turned into a really good pitch for him ... (and) he can throw a slider to right-handers. Hes got all three working." D.J. LeMahieu singled and doubled to extend his career-high hitting streak to 11 games, and Nolan Arenado scored from second base on an infield groundout for the Rockies. It wasnt enough to prevent Colorado from falling to 0-4 on its six-game trip. San Francisco trailed most of the game until Belts RBI double in the eighth tied it at 2. Belt drove in the game-winner in the 10th after Angel Pagan hit a one-out single off reliever Adam Ottavino (1-3) and took third on Marco Scutaros single. Belt hit a 1-2 pitch over the head of left fielder Charlie Culberson for his second game-ending hit this season. "The last pitch, I didnt execute," Ottavino said. "I was trying to come up and in and I left it away. It comes with the territory. We really wanted this one and it stinks that we didnt get it." Despite beating Colorado, the defending World Series champions were eliminated from contention in the NNL West earlier in the evening when the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks.dddddddddddd Buster Posey hit his 15th home run of the season for San Francisco, which was kept in check offensively most of the game by Chacin. Chacin struck out five and walked one over seven innings, lowering his ERA in 12 starts on the road to 2.10. The right-hander retired 16 of the final 18 he faced and left with a 2-1 lead. Colorados bullpen couldnt make it hold up. Pagan reached on a one-out infield single off Matt Belisle in the eighth and took second when Arenados throw from third sailed past first base for an error. After Scutaros groundout moved Pagan to third, Belt doubled to right to drive in Pagan with the tying run. The Rockies scored their first run after a defensive breakdown by the Giants. Arenado doubled in the second and was headed for third on Yorvit Torrealbas slow roller between the mound and first base when he noticed no one covering home. Arenado quickly scampered home, and with no one covering, San Francisco first baseman Belts throw sailed to the backstop. After Poseys homer tied it, the Rockies made their own defensive gaffe. As fog drifted over the waterfront ballpark, Pablo Sandoval lofted a high fly ball to left centre. Colorados Corey Dickerson ran toward the warning track but inexplicably stopped and let the ball drop in as Sandoval raced to second with a double. Colorado went up 2-1 on Troy Tulowitzkis RBI single in third. NOTES: LeMahieu is batting .391 (18 for 46) during his streak. ... Colorado needs to win its final two games in San Francisco to secure the season series between the division rivals. ' ' '