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Twins notebook, 7/1
Thome belts home run No. 594
MINNEAPOLIS — With the two injuries that have forced him to miss nearly 40 games this season, Jim Thome hasn’t even had time to think about reaching 600 home runs.
Even if his focus is just on staying healthy and contributing, the Twins slugger moved one step closer to that milestone on Friday, as Thome hit career homer No. 594, a three-run shot that just got over the fence in left field in a 6-2 win over the Brewers.
After missing so much time, Thome said it felt good to put one in the seats.
“It does, especially being on the DL and being in Florida trying to get back, and still trying to kind of get a feel here and get back going,” Thome said. “Anytime you can do something, especially the way the guys have been playing, and contribute and help out, is good, no doubt.”
Thome hit an 0-1 curveball from Brewers starter Yovani Gallardo, giving the Twins a 3-1 lead. After missing 20 games with a left quad strain, Thome homered in his fifth game back from the disabled list.
Thome last homered on May 23 against the Mariners, when he hit two balls out of the park in his first game back from a DL stint for an oblique strain.
It was Thome’s fifth home run of the season, putting him six away from being the eighth player in Major League history to hit 600. Thome would be the first to reach the mark since the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez last season.
“Everyone gets excited when Jim Thome comes up, and he crushed that ball in the seats and that’s a big huge boost for us after we got down quick in the ballgame,” said Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire. “That’s kind of what we are hoping for as we go along here. If we can keep those guys healthy, some of those things can happen.”
Young takes batting practice at Target Field
MINNEAPOLIS — For the first time since spraining his right ankle, Twins left fielder Delmon Young took batting practice on Friday at Target Field. If everything continues to go well this weekend, Young will begin a Triple-A rehab assignment next week.
Young, who left during the fifth inning at Miller Park last Saturday after being injured, took part in both early BP and the Twins’ regular pregame batting practice session, and he also ran the bases.
“He’s feeling great,” Twins head trainer Rick McWane said. “He’s going to do the same thing tomorrow, and the plan is for him to travel to Rochester on Sunday and start a rehab assignment with Rochester next week.”
McWane also gave updates on right-hander Kevin Slowey, currently on the disabled list with an abdominal injury. The 27-year-old threw 3 1/3 innings on Thursday night for the Fort Myers Miracle.
Slowey also will travel to Rochester on Sunday. He is scheduled to start Tuesday for the Red Wings, McWane said.
Twins center fielder Denard Span also continues to make progress in his recovery from a concussion sustained on June 3 in Kansas City.
“Denard came out early, did some long toss, did some running [and] had a good workout,” McWane said. “We still hope to get him on the field taking batting practice at some point, although we don’t have a date right now.”
Humphries, Kardashian take in the opener
MINNEAPOLIS — After waiting out a two-hour rain delay, former Minnesota Gophers forward Kris Humphries threw out the first pitch on Friday at Target Field.
Humphries, an all-Big Ten honoree and 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, was named Minnesota Mr. Basketball as a senior at Hopkins High School in 2003. He spent the last two seasons with the New Jersey Nets, and previously played for the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz.
Joining Humphries to watch the Twins take on the Brewers was his fiance, reality TV personality Kim Kardashian. The two were visited in their suite during the rain delay by a pair of Twins, closer Matt Capps and catcher Drew Butera.
Before the game, Kardashian tweeted: “Hi Minnesoooota! Heading to the twins game tonight! This should be fun!”
De La Rosa shines, gets no support from bats
MINNEAPOLIS — His third pitch of the game aside, Rubby De La Rosa was dominant on Wednesday against the Twins. But with no support from the offense, the Dodgers lost, 1-0, at Target Field.
Twins leadoff hitter Ben Revere crushed a 1-1 fastball from De La Rosa into the gap in right, cruising into third base with a standup triple. Revere then scored the game’s only run on a soft grounder back to the pitcher.
De La Rosa tossed a career-high seven innings, giving up just one run on six hits. He struck out four and allowed two walks.
“I was trying to get ahead and have them swing at the first pitch,” De La Rosa said through an interpreter.
De La Rosa fell behind in the count a number of times Wednesday — including the first four batters he faced — but he frequently followed a first-pitch ball with a strike. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said the biggest thing that De La Rosa did right was attacking the strike zone and limiting the number of walks.
Out of 95 pitches — not counting the intentional walk to Revere — De La Rosa threw 80 fastballs, mixing in just seven changeups and eight sliders.
The right-hander threw 69 strikes on the day, inducing eight swings and misses. In doing so, De La Rosa left quite an impression on the Twins.
“He made some of us look pretty bad at times,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “So that says a little bit about how much De La Rosa’s ball was moving.”
Only one Twins hitter — Revere — had more than one hit against De La Rosa. He also retired Minnesota in order the second time through the lineup.
“He’s more of a thrower than a pitcher at this point, but that’s kind of a compliment. He has great stuff, electric stuff,” said Twins right fielder Michael Cuddyer, who grounded out three times against De La Rosa.
“He has a great fastball and could probably go out there and throw 95 percent fastballs and get guys out. The ball is moving all over the place, and once he figures out where it’s going on a consistent basis, he’ll be that much better.”
The Dodgers’ offense opened the game with three straight swinging strikeouts, and things did not get much better after that. Los Angeles managed just six hits and had more than one baserunner in an inning only once, with two singles in the second.
It was the eighth time this season the Dodgers were shut out, and their second 1-0 loss. The other came on May 17 against Josh Collmenter and the D-backs.
Entering Wednesday, the Dodgers had a National League-leading .281 team batting average. Even with that, the team has remained inconsistent, finishing with a 10-16 record in June.
“At times, it looks OK; at times, it doesn’t,” Mattingly said of the offense. “I think somebody told me before the game we were the best [hitting] team in baseball in June. I don’t know what that tells you, but [we’re] still not being able to put up enough runs to put wins together.”
Twins right-hander Scott Baker bounced back from a rough outing in Milwaukee over the weekend, striking out nine and walking one over 7 1/3 shutout innings. It was the third outing of seven or more innings by Baker in June.
In his last four trips to the hill, Baker is 3-1 with a 1.45 ERA and 30 strikeouts.
“I know he kind of likes to play with that fastball up in the zone,” Mattingly said. “That’s not necessarily a surprise, but it obviously looks good to hit. He’s able to pitch up there. He kind of changes planes, he’s got a good breaking ball it looks like, and for the most part, [he] throws strikes.”
All but one hit allowed by Baker was a single, with Matt Kemp’s sixth-inning double the only exception.
Kemp could have done more with the two-bagger, as he slowed around first, thinking he was out and even removing his helmet before replacing it and easing into second. He still advanced to third on his 22nd stolen base of the season, but James Loney could not drive him in.
After putting up 25 hits and 15 runs in the opening game of the series, the Dodgers managed just four runs and 13 hits in dropping the last two contests. With the loss Wednesday, they dropped to 10 games under .500 for the second time this season, but nonetheless remained positive after the game.
“We’re not frustrated,” Kemp said. “We have a lot of time left, we’re going to keep playing, keep battling, and we’re going to try our best to turn this thing around. We’ve got faith in ourselves.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Dodgers can’t rally after Lilly struggles
MINNEAPOLIS — After matching a club record with 25 hits on Monday night for their second straight win, the Dodgers looked like they might be on the verge of putting together a winning streak.
But after a complete performance in Monday’s victory, with good pitching, hitting and defense, the Dodgers couldn’t keep the Twins off the board on Tuesday and could not string together enough hits of their own as they lost, 6-4, at Target Field.
“It’s kind of really been our story, for the most part. We’ve been able to put a couple games together, [or] three, it looks like we might get something going here and there, and then we just seem to fall back,” said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. “Obviously, we’re going to need to win tomorrow and keep trying to put this thing together.”
It started on the mound, where left-hander Ted Lilly had just one inning in which he did not allow a run, giving up six on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings. Lilly allowed at least one hit in every inning, and multiple hits in the first, second and fifth.
Lilly did not strike out a batter for just the third time in 302 career starts. The other two times came on Sept. 23, 2005, at Yankee Stadium and May 18, 2001, at Seattle. In his last three starts, Lilly is 0-3 with a 10.43 ERA, giving up 17 earned runs on 23 hits, including four home runs.
The big hit came in the fifth, when Twins first baseman Luke Hughes knocked Lilly out of the game with a two-run homer that broke a 4-4 tie.
“It was in, but it was up, and it just didn’t come out very good. I think if I finish that ball a little better and the location’s the same, maybe he pops it up, usually,” Lilly said. “Sometimes the balls that are hit like that are leaked back out over the plate. He kept it fair, and it cost us the game.”
One night after former Twins prospect and Australia native Trent Oeltjen had four hits and was a double shy of the cycle, his fellow countryman, Hughes, came through in a big way for the Twins.
“It was great to watch Trent Oeltjen do his thing last night — it was bittersweet watching him get four hits against us — but tonight was a fantastic opportunity, getting a chance to face Lilly for a third time,” Hughes said. “He got me out the first couple at-bats, but I was lucky enough to square one up and get it over there.”
In the top of the fifth, the Dodgers had tied the game with three runs on a home run, two singles and two walks. Second baseman Aaron Miles hit the solo blast, his first of the season, and Andre Ethier delivered two runs with a single that just got through the infield.
But the offense would not score again, as it managed just three more hits on the night.
The Dodgers had a chance in the seventh, with singles by Jamey Carroll and Casey Blake, but a couple of calls went the Twins’ way to keep Los Angeles off the board. Left fielder Tony Gwynn appeared to have beat out a grounder to short, but was called out, and Carroll looked to have scored on Blake’s single before being called out at the plate.
Twins lefty Brian Duensing gave up four runs on four hits and four walks over five-plus innings with three strikeouts. Duensing dominated the first time through the Dodgers’ order, but he was not much better than Lilly in the end.
“To be honest, it was hard to tell yourself to let them put [it] in play after last night, when every single one of them put [it] in play and put [it] in play hard,” Duensing said. “But I thought the chances of that happening were slim, so I went after them, especially early. But then it got away from me a little bit, and I lost that feeling.”
The Twins took an early lead with an RBI single by Joe Mauer in the first. They added a pair of runs in the second inning with two singles, two stolen bases and an Alexi Casilla double. Minnesota added a run in the fourth inning, the second of the night scored by former Dodgers outfielder Jason Repko, and two in the fifth on Hughes’ home run.
At the midway point of the season after Tuesday’s loss, the Dodgers sit 10 1/2 games behind the first-place Giants, and are nine games under .500.
“We know the situation,” Mattingly said. “Tonight, you feel like you get back in the game and you’re hoping to get something going, but as far as putting some wins together … it’s just not being consistent, really.
“We haven’t been able to consistently put it together, where we’re getting that pitching and we’re swinging the bats.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Dodgers notebook, 6/27
Broxton takes step back, Furcal progressing
MINNEAPOLIS — Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton underwent an MRI exam on Monday after feeling pain in his elbow while playing catch Sunday at Class A Rancho Cucamonga.
Broxton, who was previously on schedule to return this weekend, also was set to see Dr. Neal ElAttrache after having the MRI.
“It definitely wasn’t a good thing,” said Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. “The fact that he took a lot of time off, slowly came back, [pitched] two outings, and then have maybe a day and a half, two days later he’s having elbow [issues] and it’s doing the same thing. …
“That’s not a good thing and it kind of shifts the rehab to a point where we’ve got to find out what’s going on again.”
Mattingly also gave a quick update on shortstop Rafael Furcal, who also is on a rehab stint with Class A Rancho Cucamonga.
Furcal (strained left oblique) went 2-for-3 on Sunday with three runs scored in the Quakes’ 13-1 victory over the Lancaster JetHawks.
“[He] was good,” Mattingly said. “He DH’d yesterday, he’s going to play short today. No real reports on his swing or anything like that, just the fact that we know he did well.”
Guerrier makes first return trip to Twins country
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Twins right-hander Matt Guerrier made his return to Target Field on Monday for the first time since signing a three-year, $12 million deal with the Dodgers in the offseason.
Guerrier, who posted a combined 3.38 ERA in seven seasons with the Twins and led the American League in appearances in 2008-09, was happy to return to Minnesota, saying there were no hard feelings about leaving.
“It’s good to be back,” Guerrier told reporters. “It’s exciting to see everybody and to come back and see a couple of the changes that’s been done here. It’s different, but exciting.”
Guerrier, who has a 4.50 ERA in 38 innings this year, talked to several of his former teammates during early batting practice, including right-hander Joe Nathan. Nathan said he’s scheduled to meet up with Guerrier after the game, and had nothing but positives to say about his former bullpen mate.
“We miss him on both ends,” Nathan said. “He’s obviously a great guy in the clubhouse and kept guys loose by smiling. Obviously, there’s what he does on the field. He was leading the league in appearances and all that, so guys like that are very hard to replace.”
Mattingly, Kershaw address bankruptcy filing
MINNEAPOLIS — Prior to Monday’s game at Target Field, manager Don Mattingly answered questions about the Dodgers filing for bankruptcy for five minutes before getting to any queries related to their play on the field.
The Dodgers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court earlier Monday — which sets in motion the beginning of legal proceedings that will decide the future of Frank McCourt’s ownership — was the main topic of discussion in the visitors’ dugout.
But even as the club’s off-the-field issues have overshadowed what the Dodgers have done on the field, Mattingly insists it’s still business as usual at the ballpark, and the team’s struggles through 79 games are not related to the ownership situation.
“I honestly believe that,” Mattingly said. “I know there’s a lot going on and a lot of talk about it. And again, I think it’s an area that, to really say that that’s not getting a hit with runners in scoring position or making a pitch with a guy in scoring position or any of that … I think it’s just not true.”
The Dodgers entered their Interleague series against the Twins with a 35-44 record, sitting 9 1/2 games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants.
Left-hander Clayton Kershaw, like his manager, sees no correlation between the off-field issues and the on-field play.
“I really don’t think so,” Kershaw said. “You see the guys in this room, you see guys like Matt [Kemp] and Andre [Ethier] and James [Loney] is hitting really well right now … we’ve got all the pieces. And that’s almost the frustrating part is that we’re not just stringing the wins together like we should.
“But I definitely don’t think what’s going on out there is resulting in a poor team on the field. I think we’ve got good players. We should be playing better than we are, and the good news is we’re not quite halfway there yet, so we’ve still got a shot.”
Mattingly and Kershaw both noted that an e-mail from Peter Wilhelm, the Dodgers’ chief financial officer, was forwarded to everyone on the team, letting them know the club would continue to operate as usual within the organization.
Kershaw said that as a team, they “definitely like to focus on baseball,” and that he hopes the whole situation will be figured out soon.
“I think that’s what everybody wants, whether it’s Mr. McCourt or baseball or us. Everybody wants it just to be settled,” Kershaw said. “That’s kind of what everybody’s going for, it’s just everybody has differences of opinion on how to get there.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. MLB.com reporter Rhett Bollinger contributed to this report. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Pavano struggles as Twins are swept by Brewers
MILWAUKEE — A six-game National League roadtrip finally ended on Sunday for the Twins, but not before their fifth straight loss, a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Brewers at Miller Park.
It was Minnesota’s seventh consecutive loss to Milwaukee, finalizing the Brewers’ second straight sweep of the Twins.
“I hear they’ve struggled a little bit offensively, but we don’t see it,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “We see some pretty good hitters all the way up and down that lineup, to tell you the truth. Right now, I wish we struggled like they were struggling.”
In the first inning of the trip, the Twins’ offense looked pretty good, as it scored eight runs on nine hits on the way to its eighth straight victory. In the ensuing 53 innings, the Twins were outscored, 30-9.
Minnesota now sits nine games behind first-place Detroit.
“For us right now, because of the injuries, everything’s got to be going on all cylinders,” said Michael Cuddyer. “Our hitters have to pick up our pitchers, and our pitchers have to pick up the hitters. That’s the way that we went on our streak, and that’s the way we’re going to have to win. That’s it.”
Right-hander Carl Pavano got the win in a 9-2 victory over the Giants on Tuesday, but he couldn’t end the Twins’ losing skid on Sunday. After four scoreless innings, Pavano gave up five runs, including a two-run home run to Ryan Braun in the fifth and RBI doubles in the sixth by Jonathan Lucroy and Brewers starter Chris Narveson.
It all started with a triple to left field by Lucroy that could have been a double, if Jason Repko had fielded it cleanly. Pavano retired the next two batters, but Nyjer Morgan followed with an RBI single before Braun crushed an 0-1 pitch to right-center.
“He can really hit the ball, we’ve all known that for a long time,” Gardenhire said. “He covered that fastball pretty good. I think it was up just a little bit, but man, he hit the heck out of that ball.”
Pavano finished with five runs allowed on eight hits over six innings, with five strikeouts and one walk. He took his sixth loss of the season, despite recording his 1,000th career strikeout in the fifth inning.
“That’s a tough loss,” Pavano said. “My job today was to go out there and end this losing streak, and I wasn’t able to do that.”
Jim Thome, who pinch-hit in the seventh, reached a milestone of his own by recording his 1,637th RBI, putting him ahead of Ernie Banks for 28th on the all-time list.
In addition to helping his own cause at the plate, Narveson was impressive on the mound, giving up just two runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings, with seven strikeouts against two walks. Narveson improved to 5-5 on the season with a 4.42 ERA.
Not only did the Twins lose five of six games on the roadtrip, they also added two more injuries to the long list they had already compiled this season. The Twins have now used the disabled list 16 times this season for 13 players.
“It’s tough to go out there and win and even compete when you’re missing some of your best players,” Braun said. “I think when they get everybody back healthy, obviously, they’re a much better team.”
Of the nine hitters in the Opening Day lineup for the Twins, only three — Alexi Casilla, Danny Valencia and Cuddyer — have avoided stints on the DL. Through 76 games this season, the Twins have used 39 players, including four catchers, four shortstops, five second basemen, six left fielders, five right fielders and 11 designated hitters.
But that doesn’t mean anyone is going to take it easy on the injury-plagued Twins.
“I don’t really care,” Brewers slugger Prince Fielder said. “That’s the team that’s out there, so you have to try to beat them.”
Gardenhire has also used 70 different batting orders and 66 different defensive lineups in 76 games. The most common of each has only been used three times.
When the Twins won 15 of 17 games earlier this month, they executed well, and it didn’t seem to matter who they put on the field. On this trip, they looked more like the Twins ballclub that was 20 games under .500 and 16 1/2 games back at the beginning of June.
Especially in Milwaukee, sloppy defense and mistakes cost the Twins. In their five straight losses, the Twins have committed seven errors, which allowed four unearned runs to score.
“It looked like we were chasing a mouse around out there,” Gardenhire said. “I hate sloppy baseball. … Those are plays you just have to make. And it just shows right up on the scoreboard when you don’t make ’em; all these runs start going up.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Twins notebook, 6/26
Mauer to start working out at first base
MILWAUKEE — Had they been playing by American League rules, Joe Mauer likely would have been in the Twins lineup on Sunday as the designated hitter.
With DH not an option in the Twins’ final Interleague road game of the season, Mauer was out of the lineup for the day game after Saturday’s night game. And that’s part of the reason why Twins manager Ron Gardenhire would like Mauer to get comfortable at first base.
“Yeah, definitely, if he could play first base, he probably would be playing first base today,” Gardenhire said. “Or third base, or somewhere. That’s why I want to explore all the options we have to keep his bat in the lineup as much as we possibly can, especially when all these people are hurting.”
When the Twins return home after their series with the Brewers, Mauer will put in some work at first base to get comfortable with the new position.
Gardenhire said Mauer is still working his way back behind the plate, but should have more time to get acclimated to first base when the Twins are back home. He also said he’d like to have Mauer work with special assistant to the GM — and former Twins manager — Tom Kelly at first base, but has no plans for that as of yet.
“I’d love to, but I don’t think Joe’s ready for that one,” Gardenhire said. “TK’s as good … as I’ve ever been around, as far as teaching people at first base — absolutely.”
Gardenhire prefers a week’s rehab for Kubel
MILWAUKEE — Twins outfielder Jason Kubel (left foot sprain) is getting close to a rehab stint, and his manager would like it to include as many as seven games.
Ron Gardenhire said Kubel could play as few as four Minor League rehab games, but he’d prefer to see Kubel get about 28 to 30 at-bats over a week of games at either Class A Fort Myers or Triple-A Rochester.
“I’ve seen guys come back with 15 or 20 at-bats, and I just think — you’ve been out a month, 30 at-bats is probably a pretty good thing,” Gardenhire said. “I know we originally talked about four days, but when we get home, I’m going to maybe talk about a little bit more.”
Kubel ran the bases with no issue on Saturday, and was scheduled to do the same on Sunday.
Twins head trainer Rick McWane also gave updates on Denard Span (concussion), Kevin Slowey (abdominal strain) and Delmon Young (right ankle sprain).
McWane said Span was scheduled to work out on Sunday at Target Field and is still slated to be evaluated when the team returns home.
Slowey threw 35 pitches in two innings with no problems on Saturday night, allowing two runs on three hits with four strikeouts for the Fort Myers Miracle. His next outing is scheduled for Wednesday.
“He is going to pitch on the 29th, three to four innings, 50 pitches,” McWane said. “We haven’t decided where he’s going to pitch.”
Young, who left Saturday’s game after injuring his ankle in the fifth inning, will have an MRI on Monday after the Twins return home.
Tosoni doesn’t mind quick turnaround
MILWAUKEE — When he learned that he had been recalled and added to the Twins’ 25-man roster on Saturday, Rene Tosoni had to scramble to get his laundry done. He had only been home four hours, and had plenty to clean before catching a flight at 6 a.m. on Sunday.
Of course, he didn’t mind, since it meant Tosoni would be back with the big league club again just one day after being optioned. Tosoni flew from Milwaukee to Rochester and back, logging just over 1,200 miles in less than 24 hours.
“When I got called up, I was in Columbus, and I’ve been living in hotels since,” Tosoni said. “Traveling kind of sucks, but it’s all right. I’m happy to be here.”
Tosoni didn’t even see anyone with the Red Wings, who were in Syracuse on Saturday before returning home Sunday.
After not getting much sleep Saturday night, Tosoni spent about five hours traveling Sunday morning, leaving Rochester, N.Y., at 6:10 a.m. ET and arriving in Milwaukee at 10:07 a.m. CT.
Said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire: “That trip going down is never as fun as the one coming back.”
Twins ink fourth-round pick Summers
MILWAUKEE — The Twins announced on Sunday that they have signed right-hander Matt Summers, their fourth-round pick out of UC-Irvine.
Summers, the 18th Draft pick signed by the Twins from the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, is the second-highest pick signed behind second-rounder Madison Boer, also a right-hander.
Previously drafted by the Yankees, Summers was the Big West Pitcher of the Year in 2011. He was 11-2 with a 1.72 ERA, striking out 96 batters in 109 2/3 innings in 16 starts. He tossed the fourth no-hitter in school history against Long Beach State.
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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