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Twins’ bats come up short in nightcap
MINNEAPOLIS — It was a long day on Monday for Scott Diamond. But that did not stop the Twins’ left-hander from enjoying it.
Diamond gave the Twins just about all they could have asked for on Monday night in his Major League debut. Unfortunately for Diamond and the Twins, the offense could not get anything going in a 6-3 loss to the Indians in the nightcap of a doubleheader.
“It’s been a fun experience, and I really had some fun with these guys today,” Diamond said. “I thought it was pretty good. I was able to challenge a lot of hitters and keep them off balance for the most part. I gave up a couple big hits, but for the most part I’m pretty satisfied with it.”
Pitching for the first time in 12 days, Diamond went 6 1/3 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits, with a strikeout and two walks. He held the Indians without a hit for the first two innings, and kept them off the scoreboard until the fifth.
When he exited in the seventh, Diamond got a huge ovation from the crowd at Target Field.
“It was unbelievable,” Diamond said. “It’s what every kid dreams of, especially being my Major League debut, it was really exciting. It’s awesome to have that kind of crowd here.”
Before he let Diamond walk back to the dugout, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire made sure to tell Diamond to take in the moment.
“I said, ‘You did a heck of a job, enjoy this. These people are going to be cheering for you when you walk off. You’ll never forget this moment,'” Gardenhire said.
It would have come as no surprise if Diamond showed some nerves early in the game, with it being his big league debut.
But Diamond said the nerves subsided once he warmed up in the bullpen, and he looked very comfortable, as he retired the first six batters he faced with five groundouts and a flyout.
“I thought he was great. I know he had some nerves running. We’ve all been there,” said Twins catcher Joe Mauer. “I was impressed with him throwing his breaking pitches for strikes. He threw the ball well, and some good pitches, but they had a couple balls off the bat and things like that. But that’s what good teams do to win. I thought he pitched great.”
After the Twins took a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Mauer, the Indians answered with a pair of two-out runs in the fifth, as they strung together a double, a walk and two singles.
Mauer went 3-for-4 in the game, matching his 3-for-4 performance in the first game of the doubleheader. The six-hit day improved his batting average thirty points, raising it to .290.
“I was just trying to keep it simple and not do too much,” Mauer said. “On days like this, with the heat and things like that, you get a little more fatigued and you maybe stay within yourself a little bit. It was good to get a couple hits and get on base, but I’d rather take some wins.”
Right-hander Fausto Carmona picked up his fifth win of the season for the Indians, as he pitched for the first time since July 2, after going on the disabled list with a strained right quad.
Carmona gave up just two runs on seven hits, with a strikeout and a hit batter to secure his first win since June 15.
The Twins lost consecutive games for the first time since losing six in a row from June 22-27. They also dropped back to seven games behind the first-place Indians.
“From now on, just about every series against our division is important for them and for us,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “We know that those guys are in it, and they’re going to be in it. The title runs through Minnesota. They’ve been the best team in our division over the past few years, and they won it last year.”
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, 7/18
Morneau set to begin baseball activities
“He’ll take some grounders,” McWane said. “Swinging a bat will be the last thing, but he’s ready to take ground balls, play catch and run around.”
Morneau had the surgery on June 29 and was expected to be out at least six weeks, a timeframe that would have Morneau back in action for the Twins no earlier than mid-August.
His current progress seems like it may be ahead of schedule, but it remains unclear whether it actually is.
“Maybe a little,” McWane said, “but it’s kind of early to say until he starts swinging.”
Twins decide to be cautious with Baker
MINNEAPOLIS — After Scott Baker felt stiffer than expected on Sunday, he and the Twins’ coaching and training staff decided it would be best not to push things by pitching on Monday.
If Baker had pitched the first game of the doubleheader against the Indians as scheduled, the situation could have gotten worse than it is already. Any issues with his elbow after that outing would have eliminated the Twins’ ability to backdate his trip to the disabled list.
“We all sat down and had a long conversation,” said Twins head trainer Rick McWane. “We all decided it was in his best interest not to push it and give it a couple extra days. We’d already invested 12 days or whatever it was in this, and we didn’t want to have him go out there and throw, because then you’re talking another 15 days.”
Baker’s current plan is to rest for a couple days before throwing another bullpen session. The Twins will reevaluate the right-hander at that point and decide on the next step.
McWane also gave updates on outfielders Denard Span and Jason Kubel, both of whom are rehabbing injuries with Triple-A Rochester.
Span and Kubel started Sunday’s game for the Red Wings, with Span going 0-for-3 batting leadoff and playing center field. Kubel was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while batting in the No. 3 spot as the designated hitter.
They’re both scheduled to play again Monday in Rochester.
“Span did fine last night. He’s going to play another five innings in the outfield today,” McWane said. “Kubel is going to play outfield today for nine innings. He had no problems yesterday.”
Thome’s mammoth blast, No. 596, lifts Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — Not many people can hit a baseball farther than Jim Thome.
In the sixth inning on Sunday, he reminded everyone of that fact by crushing home run No. 596 into the second deck in right field, a blast that was measured at 490 feet.
Thome’s seventh home run of the season propelled the Twins to a 4-3 win over the Royals in the series finale.
Thome’s three-run shot topped his previous Target Field record blast of 480 feet, which hit off the flag pole beyond right field last September.
“He clocked it, I heard,” said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who has been battling an illness and was forced to watch the game from the clubhouse.
It was not Thome’s longest career home run — he once hit a 511-foot blast with the Indians that remains the longest in the history of Progressive Field. That home run, on July 3, 1999, also came against the Royals.
Of course, 490 feet is still a pretty impressive blast.
“Ridiculous. I stood up immediately,” Twins starter Brian Duensing said. “I knew it was gone when he hit it; I didn’t know it was going to go that far.
“That’s why it’s so fun watching him hit, because you never know when it’s going to happen. When he gets them, they’re usually big situations or very large home runs. Today was both.”
Thome crushed a 3-2 slider from Royals starter Felipe Paulino about halfway up in the second deck. It was the 596th home run of Thome’s career putting him just four shy of becoming the eighth player in Major League history to hit 600 or more career homers.
The lefty slugger hit it while still recovering from a sprained left big toe, and at age 40, health issues are the only thing keeping Thome from hitting mammoth home runs on a daily basis.
“I’m not going to win any races,” Thome joked about the status of his toe. “I never did anyway. It’s coming along good.”
Joe Nathan came on in the ninth for his second straight save in the series, the first time since Oct. 2-3, 2009, that Nathan recorded saves in consecutive games.
Nathan has made nine consecutive scoreless appearances, allowing just three hits with seven strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings of work. He sits three saves shy of tying Rick Aguilera on the Twins’ all-time list.
Thome’s blast gave the Twins just enough offense to support Duensing, who picked up his seventh win of the season. The left-hander went 6 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts.
Duensing settled in nicely after opening with three long innings, retiring 10 straight Royals hitters from the third to the second out in the sixth.
“We just said, ‘Let’s keep going at ’em,'” Duensing said. “I was a little shaky early, and I think part of that was the All-Star break. I threw bullpens when I got back, but being off the mound in a game situation that long … it took me a little while to get it going.”
After Thome handed Duensing a 4-1 lead, he surrendered a two-run blast to Jeff Francoeur in the seventh. Francoeur’s home run was his 13th of the season, a 418-foot blast to left. Duensing was taken out after facing one more batter, and the Twins’ bullpen retired the Royals in order over the final 2 2/3 innings.
Both teams scored in the first inning in similar fashion before going scoreless until the sixth. Melky Cabrera and Alexi Casilla each doubled with one out, and Alex Gordon and Joe Mauer each drove them in with singles.
With their second straight win and the fourth in five games, the Twins moved to within five games of first place in the American League Central for the first time since April 23. The Twins also are five games under .500 for the first time since they were 9-14 on April 28.
As the first-place Indians head into town on Monday for a four-game series, the Twins have a big opportunity to gain even more ground this week.
“Maybe this momentum will carry us over into the next two series,” Thome said. “You don’t win every ballgame, but the thing this time of year is you want to win series. And that’s what we’re trying to do.”
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, 7/17
Twins put Baker on DL, promote Diamond
“He was really unsure whether he was going to be able to go in this start,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He thought he could pitch, but he didn’t know the ramifications after he pitched, how that would come into play, if he’d be really sore and end up having to miss starts after it.”
In place of Baker, Anthony Swarzak will start the first game of Monday’s doubleheader against the Indians. He was originally scheduled to pitch the nightcap of the twin bill.
Diamond, a lefty who is 4-8 with a 4.70 ERA for Triple-A Rochester this season, will make his Major League debut in Game 2 of the doubleheader.
A 2010 Rule 5 Draft selection by the Twins, Diamond will take the 40-man roster spot once occupied by Eric Hacker.
“We’ll give [Diamond] a chance to kind of regroup, sit around here, see what it’s all about, get a feel for a few more things,” Gardenhire said. “We’re facing the Cleveland Indians and he’s being thrown into a fire here, so we’ll see how he does. He’s a nice-looking young pitcher.”
Baker was scheduled to make his first start since July 5, when he exited the game after just five innings due to a right elbow strain.
Instead, he’ll be on the DL until at least Friday with the move retroactive to July 7.
“He wanted to pitch, but it just wasn’t going to work out,” Gardenhire said. “He was very unsure of how it was going to turn out. You can’t have uncertainty out there.”
Span will stay in center field upon return
MINNEAPOLIS — When he returns from the disabled list, Denard Span will be the Twins center fielder.
When asked if he had given any thought about how the outfield would look when Span returns from the DL after being sidelined for six weeks with a concussion, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he would not take away Span’s starting spot due to the injury.
“Denard’s our center fielder,” Gardenhire said.
“You’re talking about a personality here that feels he belongs in center field, too. You have to weigh a lot of things. He’s earned his right to play center field.”
With Span out, rookie Ben Revere has done an excellent job filling in, both at the plate and in the field.
Gardenhire indicated he would like to keep Revere in the lineup, but would not do so at Span’s expense.
“We’ll just let it play out, see what happens,” Gardenhire said. “If I have to make changes I would — but I’d talk to Denard about that [first] — to keep everybody’s bats in the lineup. We’ve already seen Revere can play right field, too.
“So, if I have to keep his bat in the lineup, which I would love to, it’s not going to be easy, but we’re just going to have to figure it out. Whatever makes us win, whatever makes us go. Right now Ben’s been making us go.”
Gardy, Nishioka let it ride for World Cup
MINNEAPOLIS — With their respective nations squaring off in the FIFA Women’s World Cup final, manager Ron Gardenhire and infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka made a friendly wager on the game.
There is no money riding on the game between the United States and Japan, but the loser of the bet will have to wear a T-shirt of the winner’s choice.
“It’s a very exciting day for both of us,” Gardenhire said. “Our women versus his women. Pretty neat.”
The Twins skipper said he already had a shirt in mind for Nishioka.
“I wish I could trash talk in Japanese right now, ’cause he’d hear it all,” Gardenhire said. “He’s going to have to wear, ‘I love American women.’ I don’t know what he’s got for me.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Cuddyer sets up Nathan to save Twins’ win
MINNEAPOLIS — As he ran out Saturday from the bullpen, Joe Nathan entered his first ninth-inning save situation since April. Thrilled to see Nathan back in the closer’s role, the Twins crowd gave him a huge ovation with music blaring in the background.
Entering in the ninth inning with a lead provided a distinct difference for Nathan, who admitted he had to calm himself down a bit.
“Yeah, especially running in, it got a little louder than normal,” Nathan said. “Usually, it’s like advertisements going on in the eighth inning. So yeah, you’ve got to calm down a little bit more.”
Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up just one hit as he picked up his first save since April 8, and the Twins came away with the 4-3 victory over the Royals.
Getting a save in his first day back in the closer’s role since mid-April was a big moment for Nathan, who has been excellent since returning from the disabled list in June.
“I’ve been through that Tommy John surgery, and he came back really well,” said Twins starter Carl Pavano. “He had a little bit of a hiccup, which we all have in that surgery and now he looks like he’s returning to himself. And I think he’s feeling pretty good about it.”
Nathan’s save was the 250th of his career in a Twins uniform, putting him four saves away from tying Rick Aguilera for first on the Twins’ all-time list.
Facing the middle of the Royals’ order, Nathan only made one bad pitch, which resulted in a single to right by Eric Hosmer. Nathan got the other three batters he faced to pop out.
“He had a good slider,” said Royals manager Ned Yost. “His fastball’s down from what it used to be, but it still looks crisp. His breaking ball looks a lot sharper to me, but I hadn’t seen him for a long time.”
Nathan got the save opportunity thanks to a big hit in the eighth inning by Twins All-Star Michael Cuddyer.
Following a pair of singles by Alexi Casilla and Joe Mauer, Cuddyer stepped to the plate with two on and one out, facing All-Star reliever Aaron Crow. Cuddyer delivered with a single of his own into the gap in right field, scoring Casilla easily from third to put the Twins on top for good.
After the game, Cuddyer was asked if it ever gets old to come up in those situations.
“Never, from the time I was six in my driveway envisioning it ’til now, it never gets old,” Cuddyer said. “Especially when you succeed.”
Cuddyer fell behind Crow after chasing a slider out of the zone, but connected with the 1-2 pitch for the RBI single.
“Yeah, I was looking for the slider,” Cuddyer said. “Sometimes when you’re looking for the pitch you chase it no matter where it is, and that’s what I did on the 1-1. The two-strike one, I was able to get it up a little bit and fortunately was able to throw it out in the outfield.”
With the win, the Twins climbed back to within six games of first place in the American League Central and just six games under .500.
Ben Revere got things started for the Minnesota offense, leading off the first with a single and stealing third base before scoring on a groundout to second. Delmon Young then followed with an RBI double, scoring Cuddyer from first base.
Catcher Drew Butera also homered in the fourth for the Twins, his second of the year.
Pavano delivered a solid start for the Twins, allowing three runs on six hits over seven innings. The right-hander held the Royals scoreless until giving up a two-run home run to Alcides Escobar with two out in the fifth.
The Royals also added a third run off Pavano in the sixth to tie the game.
“I thought my stuff was alright tonight,” Pavano said. “I thought I made some good pitches, I thought I second-guessed myself a little bit. Me and Drew talked after the game, I definitely beat myself a couple times, that cost me some runs.”
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, 7/16
Gardenhire falls ill, leaves game early
Ullger expected the skipper to be back on Sunday after getting some rest.
Nathan replaces Capps as Twins’ closer
MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Nathan is once again the Twins’ closer.
After watching Matt Capps blow his seventh save of the season Friday night, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson decided to make the change.
“To be back in this role is good,” Nathan said. “It’s where I want to be.”
Nathan converted on his first opportunity, tossing a scoreless ninth in Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Royals for his first save since April 8.
Nathan opened the season as the closer, recording saves in each of his first three chances. But after blowing two saves in April against the Rays, the former All-Star relinquished the role.
Capps took over from there, recording 15 saves in 22 chances.
In each of his last four appearances at home, Capps has struggled, blowing two saves and being pulled from two other games before he could do so. While he was not necessarily surprised by the move, Capps admitted he was not happy with being demoted.
“Disappointed is a very good way to put it,” Capps said. “But it is what it is. That’s about all I’m going to say, I guess.”
Gardenhire said Capps would be used in the eighth inning as a setup man for Nathan.
If Nathan is unavailable to close a game, Gardenhire said lefty Glen Perkins could see some chances as well, but Nathan is the Twins’ No. 1 option.
“Perk is going to be a setup guy like Capps, and Nathan’s going to close,” Gardenhire said. “I don’t think we want to start messing with Nathan’s head by screwing around with him if it calls for a save. We just got done telling Nathan he’s in there … so that’s where we’ll go.”
Twins may adjust roster for twin bill
MINNEAPOLIS — With a doubleheader against the Indians on Monday in the middle of a stretch of 19 games in 18 days, the Twins could make a roster move to add an extra pitcher.
Manager Ron Gardenhire said it would depend on who they used in the next two games out of the bullpen, but a roster move was definitely not out of the question.
“We were talking about it, we might make an adjustment here,” Gardenhire said. “It’s a good possibility we might go with an extra pitcher for those two games.”
The biggest issue with making a move is that any position player sent down to make room for another pitcher would not be able to return to the big league club for 10 days.
And if the Twins play the doubleheader with only 12 position players, they would have just a three-man bench and there would be a good chance every one of them would get in one if not both games.
With that in mind, Gardenhire noted that utility man Luke Hughes was the team’s third catcher if needed.
“He’s catching bullpens and doing all those things,” Gardenhire said. “He’s caught before. We’re trying to work our way through it.”
Gardy wants Kubel, Span at full strength
MINNEAPOLIS — Manager Ron Gardenhire wants to see both Denard Span and Jason Kubel get plenty of swings at Triple-A Rochester before they return to the Twins.
Pointing to left fielder Delmon Young as evidence of what an extended rehab assignment can do for a hitter, Gardenhire said that he does not want them to come back unless they’ve shown they’re ready at the plate.
“We’ll go through a week of playing games, see how everything goes with both of them,” Gardenhire said. “Six to 10 games, I want to see them get at least 30 to 45 at-bats.
“If they’re not swinging good after six games and they’re both still scuffling along, we’ll add on. … I can’t afford to bring people up here and let them work their way back into shape here. We have to get ’em ready down there.”
Span is scheduled to play five innings in center field on Sunday for the Red Wings, his first game action since going on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion in early June. Kubel will play nine innings as the designated hitter.
Twins head trainer Rick McWane gave a brief update on the Twins’ injured players, and noted that time off during the All-Star break was a big help for Kubel and his sprained left foot.
“As soon as the break was over, he came back Wednesday and showed a huge improvement running around the outifeld,” McWane said.
Right-hander Kevin Slowey (abdominal strain) is scheduled to pitch again Wednesday, with no pitch count restrictions.
First baseman Justin Morneau continues to do well after having surgery on June 29 to relieve a pinched nerve in his neck, and will be reevaluated on Monday.
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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