Minnesota catcher Joe Mauer went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs in the Twins' 11-2 rout of Baltimore Thursday night. It was the 14th time the 23-year-old star has had at least three hits in a game -- he had a five-hit performance against the Dodgers on June 27 -- and Mauer pushed his average to .361 on the season on Thursday. Yes, he's on course to become the first American League catcher ever to win a batting title, and those chasing him for the AL lead may be close to conceding. Second behind Mauer is the Yankees' Derek Jeter, who trails by 26 points at .335. There are two other marks that won't be secured as easily, but they are in reach for Mauer. The highest single-season batting average by an AL catcher is .357 by Mickey Cochrane for the 1930 Philadelphia Athletics, so that 76-year-old record is on the line. So is the all-time single-season batting mark for a big league backstop -- the .362 average posted by Mike Piazza for the Dodgers in 1997. The last 5-6 weeks of the season will be a grind, especially for a catcher, but Mauer could be the guy. He'll have to improve upon his .324 average in August during the final month if he's going to creep ahead of Piazza's all-time record.