Archive
Twins notebook, 6/17
Mauer back behind dish and batting third
MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Mauer was put right back in a familiar spot in the Twins lineup for the first time since April 12, batting third and playing catcher.
That still didn’t keep the 2009 American League MVP from feeling a little nervous.
“It’s been a long time since I stepped in the box,” Mauer said. “I tried to keep it simple tonight. A pretty tough lefty [was] out there tonight and I just tried to use the whole field and stay up the middle.”
Mauer didn’t waste much time getting his first hit in two months, either.
With a runner on and one out, Mauer hit a 92-mph fastball back up the middle, scoring Alexi Casilla from second base for his fifth RBI of the season.
“It was awesome,” Mauer said. “It was a good night.”
His other three at-bats did not go so well — Mauer finished 1-for-4 — but it still was a successful return for the St. Paul native as the Twins picked up the 6-5 victory.
Mauer said it felt good to be back in the lineup and behind the plate. Left-handed starter Brian Duensing said he and Mauer didn’t miss a beat.
“It felt the same,” Duensing said. “Seeing him back there just kind of felt like he’s been back there for a while. So it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.”
Even with his offense playing so well lately, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he had no hesitation about putting the four-time All-Star in his usual spot in the order right away.
“You get the people you started with, and if we get them healthy and on the field, we expect to win with that group,” Gardenhire said. “That’s what we’re trying to do, is get all of our healthy guys back on.”
For Mauer, it was his 710th career start batting in the three hole. He has just 96 combined starts in any of the other eight spots in the order, with 67 of those coming in the No. 2 hole.
Mauer had been batting second before hitting the disabled list two months ago, mainly due to the absence of Tsuyoshi Nishioka at the top of the order. Now, with Ben Revere leading off and Casilla swinging a hot bat in the two spot, Mauer is back in the three spot.
In nine games before going on the DL, Mauer batted .235, with a .289 OBP and .265 slugging, with a double and four RBIs. Mauer went 6-for-23 in seven rehab games with Class-A Advanced Fort Myers. He had two doubles, a home run and six RBIs for the Miracle.
Gardenhire put out his 64th different batting order Friday due to all of the Twins’ injuries. He has not used any one batting order more than twice this season, and the Opening Day lineup has not taken the field at home yet this season. But getting Mauer and Nishioka back should begin to make things easier on his filling out the lineup card.
“It’s not easy, but you just have to kind of ad lib a little bit,” Gardenhire said. “Kind of break the lineup up a bit and see what happens.”
Gardenhire: Perkins ready to go as setup man
MINNEAPOLIS — Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he would have no problem using lefty Glen Perkins in the eighth inning Friday night. He stuck to that, calling on Perkins to preserve a 6-5 lead against the Padres.
“It’s like I never left,” Perkins said. “That was good. Get right in there and get thrown in the fire, I like that.”
Perkins showed there was no need for him to be eased back in at all, pitching an impressive scoreless inning. After giving up a leadoff single, Perkins retired the last three batters he faced, two of them on strikeouts.
Before being sidelined by a strained right oblique, Perkins was the Twins’ most effective reliever in April and for the first three weeks of May.
He showed no sign of doing anything different in his return, lowering his ERA to 1.52 in 23 2/3 innings of work. Perkins has 24 strikeouts in 23 appearances.
“His fastball was jumping,” Gardenhire said. “He had a couple nice breaking balls, but the fastball was coming out of his hand, that was evident. The last guy he threw to, he really just let it fly, and said ‘Here it is.’ The ball was jumping out of his hand pretty good.”
Reliever Joe Nathan (elbow soreness) is scheduled to begin a rehab stint on Saturday with Triple-A Rochester, and could come off the disabled list as soon as next Friday in Milwaukee.
Gardenhire said he wants Nathan to pitch three times for the Red Wings in the next week, with the latter two being on back-to-back days.
Gardenhire suggested a potential schedule of Nathan making his first appearance Sunday, followed by back-to-back outings on Tuesday and Wednesday, with an off-day Thursday before returning Friday.
“He said he feels great, the arm feels as good as it could feel,” Gardenhire said. “We get three games out there, that’d be great. And then we’ll see where we’re at with him.”
Right-hander Kevin Slowey (abdominal strain) was scheduled for long toss on Friday and Saturday, as well as a full bullpen session Sunday in Fort Myers.
“He’s pretty optimistic that he can start facing some hitters sometime in this next week,” said Twins head trainer Rick McWane.
Twins notebook, 6/14
Morneau tries to hit, placed on disabled list
MINNEAPOLIS — First baseman Justin Morneau is the latest in a long list of Twins to hit the disabled list this season.
Morneau was placed on the 15-day DL with a left wrist strain and will have his wrist immobilized for 10 days, Twins general manager Bill Smith said after Tuesday’s rainout. The move is retroactive to June 10.
“We’re looking at this as a short-term event, but we will put him on the DL,” Smith said. “Rest, and they believe it will come around in that 10 days, plus a few days to get his range of motion back.”
The Twins will make an additional roster move before Wednesday night’s game to replace Morneau on the 25-man roster.
Morneau, who has not played since Thursday to rest his sore left wrist, had the MRI on his wrist looked at by a specialist, Dr. Thomas Varecka, who recommended a cortisone shot. After getting the cortisone shot on Sunday, Morneau hit in the cage on Tuesday and didn’t feel good.
“He came in today, said he felt pretty good, went down to the cage, took about 20 swings, and it wasn’t as good as we had hoped,” Twins head trainer Rick McWane said.
After the session in the cage did not go well, Morneau was sent to see Varecka, and that meeting resulted in the decision to put Morneau on the DL.
Nishioka may rejoin Twins on Wednesday
MINNEAPOLIS — It’s not official yet, but Tsuyoshi Nishioka could be back in a Twins uniform as soon as Wednesday.
Nishioka played nine innings at shortstop on Tuesday in Toledo for Triple-A Rochester, and is scheduled to travel back to the Twins Cities on Wednesday.
“What we want to do is let the doctors and trainers see him,” said Twins general manager Bill Smith. “They haven’t seen him in a long time. He’s been down in Fort Myers for a long time. So we want to let them see him before we do anything further.”
Nishioka went 0-for-4 on Tuesday, and batted .333 in three games with the Red Wings, going 4-for-12 with a double, an RBI and a walk. In four games with Class A Advanced Fort Myers, Nishioka also was 4-for-12, with a double, an RBI, two walks and a stolen base.
Before fracturing his left fibula against the Yankees on April 7 in New York, Nishioka played six games at second base for the Twins. He batted .208/.269/.519 with a double, two RBIs, two walks and a stolen base.
Since going down to Fort Myers, Nishioka has been working on turning double plays at both shortstop and second base, even spending some time with Hall of Famer Paul Molitor.
“Molitor did a lot of work with him,” Gardenhire said. “I talked with Moli today, and he said he actually moved around really good both sides. He’s moving around very well at shortstop, arm strength’s a lot better than Moli saw in Spring Training.”
Gardenhire and the Twins have said they plan to move Nishioka to shortstop when he returns, in part due to the nature of his leg injury. At shortstop, Nishioka will have a better view of the runner coming at him during a double play, rather than facing away from the runner while awaiting the throw as the second baseman.
In addition to working on his play at shortstop, second base and around the bag on double plays, Molitor gave Nishioka some advice on recovering from injuries, having dealt with a few during his career himself.
Molitor said he really didn’t get to see much of Nishioka before the injury, but he does like what has seen during his rehab work in continuing to adjust to the differences between baseball in Japan and the Major Leagues.
“He’s done very, very well,” Molitor said. “How well he’ll do as he comes back from not only a disappointing injury but also acclimating to Major League Baseball, I couldn’t tell you. But I do believe that, in time, he’s going to be a very good player.”
Waiting game may have affected Liriano
MINNEAPOLIS — On average, each half-inning on Sunday at Target Field lasted just under eight minutes. The bottom of the seventh took 29 minutes, 48 seconds.
Whether it played a part in breaking up Francisco Liriano’s no-hitter is up for debate, but it certainly didn’t seem to help.
“It didn’t bother me physically, but I started thinking too much about that no-hitter,” Liriano said after the Twins’ 6-1 win over the Rangers. “I tried to overthrow that inning and was trying to be too perfect. And I then [gave up] a hit when I got behind in the count.”
After an error by third baseman Luke Hughes broke up Liriano’s perfect game in the top of the seventh, the Twins lefty headed to the dugout needing six outs to complete his second no-hitter in 40 days.
Then the Twins’ offense came alive.
Leading off the seventh, Danny Valencia lined a single off the arm of Rangers starter Matt Harrison, knocking him out of the game. After the pitching change delayed the inning, reliever Mark Lowe was not quite as effective or efficient as Harrison had been.
As a result, Liriano sat in the dugout for nearly 30 minutes between pitches.
“It’s tough when you have one big long inning,” Valencia said. “It keeps him in, and it keeps him cooled off for a while. So I’m sure it’s frustrating, but no pitcher is obviously going to get mad about getting run support. At the same time, with what’s on the line for him from a personal standpoint, it’s probably something that’s not ideal in that situation.”
Lowe got Jason Repko to ground out, but an error on shortstop Elvis Andrus put Rene Rivera on first and brought Valencia home from second. Two batters later, Ben Revere struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch.
Alexi Casilla followed with a single to drive in Rivera, and Michael Cuddyer drove a three-run blast into the seats in right, putting the Twins up, 6-1, over the Rangers.
As the rally kept building, did the thought of getting Liriano back on the mound cross Cuddyer’s mind?
“[Heck] no. No, you score as many runs as you can, especially against a team like that,” Cuddyer said. “First and foremost you want to win. Obviously everyone wanted to see a no-hitter, everybody wanted to have that happen, but bottom line is, you want to win the game.”
After Cuddyer’s home run, the Twins kept hitting, though they did not plate anymore runs. Delmon Young and Hughes followed with singles before Valencia finally flied out to center field to get Liriano back on the mound.
When he got back out there, Liriano got to 3-0 on Adrian Beltre before giving up a single. A wild pitch and another single two batters later plated the Rangers’ only run.
“It’s almost like a rain delay there when you’re at 70-something pitches and you have to sit out for 30 minutes,” said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. “We kept telling him he had to get up and move around. And not only did he have 70 pitches, he had a no-hitter, too.
“So we told him to move around, because it was a long inning. So we were worried when he went out there. His first few warmup pitches weren’t pretty. And his first few pitches were rushed out there.”
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 6/12
Thome to start rehab work on Monday
MINNEAPOLIS — Eligible to return from the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, designated hitter Jim Thome will begin rehab work in Fort Myers, Fla., on Monday.
Thome, sidelined since June 2 with a strained left quadriceps, has made progress over the weekend since receiving an epidural on Friday. Before the Twins’ series finale with the Rangers on Sunday, Thome even took some swings in the cage.
“I’m feeling good,” Thome said. “I swung and had no issues today. Everything went good.”
Manager Ron Gardenhire said before Sunday’s game that if everything went well, the club would send Thome to Florida.
“He said he would really like to get to Florida and start getting in that heat and start doing his rehab down there and get back to swinging,” Gardenhire said. “He likes that program down there because it’s controlled pretty well, but he can get a lot of work in because there are so many bodies down there that are willing to try to do something.”
Until he begins working in Fort Myers, though, Thome won’t know whether he’ll be ready to return to the Twins when he becomes eligible on Thursday.
Even if it takes Thome a few extra days to return, the Twins should have a pretty formidable lineup when he does, with Joe Mauer and Tsuyoshi Nishioka expected back from the 60-day DL in the next week.
“I think it’s exciting, yeah,” Thome said. “Especially with as hard as those guys have worked down there, Nishi and Joe, and the rest of the guys here obviously have done a great job lately. So it’s kind of exciting to see where our team could go.”
Morneau, others making progress in recovery
MINNEAPOLIS — Hand specialist Dr. Thomas Varecka has not yet seen the MRI taken of Justin Morneau’s left wrist, but that should not delay Morneau’s scheduled return.
The MRI showed some fluid but did not reveal any structural damage. Morneau may receive a cortisone shot at some point, but he is expected back in the lineup on Tuesday after sitting out Saturday and Sunday and the Twins’ off-day on Monday.
“[Varecka] probably will see it [on Monday],” said Twins head trainer Rick McWane.
McWane also gave updates on the rest of the injured Twins, though there are no major changes for any of them.
Relievers Kevin Slowey (abdominal strain) and Joe Nathan (elbow soreness) continue to work in Fort Myers, Fla., at extended spring training. Slowey was scheduled to throw off a mound on Sunday, and Nathan is set to face hitters on Monday.
Tsuyoshi Nishioka (fratured left fibula) and Glen Perkins (strained oblique) are with Triple-A Rochester in Toledo, with Perkins having thrown a scoreless first inning on Saturday, allowing one hit. Nishioka was scheduled to play on Sunday, and Perkins will throw two innings on Tuesday night in Toledo.
Nishioka is expected to return sometime this week, and Perkins could be back soon as well.
Center fielder Denard Span, on the seven-day DL with a concussion, is “getting better,” McWane said.
Eligible to return on Tuesday, Jason Kubel continues to feel better every day.
“He’s still doing well hitting, [but] he’s still a little bit sore running around,” McWane said. “We’re just progressing him as he tolerates.”
Twins notebook, 6/11
Perry inducted into Twins Hall of Fame
MINNEAPOLIS — One of only three Cy Young Award winners in Twins history, right-hander Jim Perry was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Perry, the 1970 Cy Young Award winner, was honored in an on-field pregame ceremony before the Twins played the Rangers at Target Field.
“I’ve been really looking forward to a day like today,” Perry said. “It’s great to be with the group, the other Minnesota Hall of Famers.
“Minnesota, my family really, they still call it home up here.”
Past inductees joining Perry for the ceremony included Rick Aguilera, Gary Gaetti, Tom Kelly, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew and Bert Blyleven.
A teammate and rookie during Perry’s Cy Young season, Blyleven introduced Perry before his induction speech. Perry said after the ceremony he planned to be in New York on July 24th for Blyleven’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
“He still calls me ‘Dad’ and he calls my wife, ‘Mom,'” Perry said of Blyleven. “That’s the way Bert is all the time.
“I was here in October, I said, ‘You’re not in the Hall of Fame yet, but when they come up in January, you’ll be on that and I’m going to be there when you’re inducted.'”
After Oliva and Carew unveiled Perry’s plaque, Perry tossed a ceremonial first pitch to his former teammate and manager, Frank Quilici.
The ceremony also honored the deceased members of the Twins Hall of Fame, including Harmon Killebrew, who recently passed after batting esophageal cancer. Perry said Killebrew was the first person to greet him when he arrived in Minnesota back in 1963.
“I really missed having Harmon, I thought Harmon would be here,” Perry said. “The last time I saw him, he was doing pretty good, but that changed real quick.”
Perry, 75, is the older brother of 72-year-old Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. Between the two of them, the Perry brothers won 529 games and three Cy Young Awards, as Gaylord won the honor in 1972 with the Indians and in ’78 with the Padres.
The Perry brothers are the second-winningest brother combination in baseball history behind Joe and Phil Niekro, who had 539 victories between them.
Nishioka moves up to Triple-A Rochester
MINNEAPOLIS — Twins shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka moved a step closer on Saturday to returning to the big league club, joining Triple-A Rochester on the road in Toledo.
Nishioka flew from Fort Myers to Toledo in the morning and was expected to be in the Red Wings’ lineup on Saturday night, according to Twins head trainer Rick McWane.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said before Saturday’s game that he was happy to hear Nishioka was headed to Triple-A.
“I talked with him on the phone, told him what we’d like him to do, and he had no problem with that,” Gardenhire said. “He’s excited to go up in a new place, a new venue, and get after it.”
In four games at Fort Myers, Nishioka batted .333, collecting four hits in 12 at-bats, including a double and an RBI. Nishioka also stole a base, walked twice and struck out twice.
As he moves from Class A to Triple-A, Nishioka will face much better competition, while also dealing with an increase in fans and media that will better prepare him for a return to the Major Leagues.
If everything goes as planned, Nishioka should make his return to the Twins during their current homestand.
“It’s a big move when we have to do something like that,” Gardenhire said. “But that’s what we want. We want him to get some swings against some [Triple-A] pitching. He should be able to join us by midweek.”
Twins buried by early struggles against Rangers
MINNEAPOLIS — In the clubhouse, Brian Duensing sat facing his locker with his head down. After yet another tough outing and a 9-3 loss to the Rangers on Friday night, the Twins’ lefty was not in a hurry to talk about it.
When he did, Duensing was asked if it was the most frustrated he had been after a start this season.
“I’ve had so many,” Duensing said. “Yeah. This is real frustrating. The baseball team, we’re playing well now. To go out and basically not give us a chance right away is very frustrating. I don’t know, I’ve got to find a way to get it done. I’m not getting it done right now, and I know that.”
It was a cold, rainy night at Target Field, and sloppy playing conditions were accompanied by a sloppy second inning that was too much for the Twins to overcome. Bad weather is nothing new for Duensing.
After a strong first month of the season, Duensing’s struggles started May 7, when he had his start cut short after two innings due to a rain delay. He gave up just one run on three hits, but took the loss as the Twins were shut out, 4-0.
Three days later, Duensing pitched two innings in relief of Francisco Liriano after a 64-minute hail delay. Duensing allowed two runs on three hits as the Twins lost, 10-2. Things really got bad in his next four starts, though.
Over 20 2/3 innings of work, Duensing allowed 21 runs on 28 hits, going 0-3 with a 9.15 ERA in his last four May starts. He finally appeared to have turned the corner in his last start, tossing eight scoreless innings against the Royals.
“Last outing was good, I felt confident, threw everything for a strike, every pitch was sharp,” Duensing said. “Then I came out today and didn’t have it at all, it was the complete opposite. It’s frustrating.”
As the rain started to come down in the top of the second, the Rangers started to pile up runs. Duensing surrendered six hits in the inning, which led to seven runs, three of which were earned.
After opening the inning with a walk and a strikeout, Duensing gave up a single to Mike Napoli that was followed by a Jason Repko error in center field that plated the first run of the game. Another single scored the second run before an Alexi Casilla error allowed another runner to reach base.
“Tonight it was just, here he is out there in another mess, trying to pitch through it,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I don’t want to make excuses for him, [but] the mound was terrible, the ball was up. Their guy was going through the same thing, we just couldn’t put any hits together on him.”
Duensing then surrendered another pair of singles, struck out Josh Hamilton and gave up a single and double before getting out of the inning with a flyout. Over his last six starts, even including the brilliant outing in Kansas City, Duensing has gone 1-4 with a 7.04 ERA.
Gardenhire replaced Duensing after two innings, bringing in right-hander Anthony Swarzak. In six innings of relief, Swarzak gave up two runs on six hits.
Swarzak tossed 101 pitches, providing a bright spot for the Twins on the night as he saved Gardenhire from having to use up the bullpen.
“That’s a phenomenal lineup over there,” Swarzak said. “You have Hamilton, Cruz, you can go top to bottom with that lineup. They can get to about anything near the plate. So you just try to go in effectively and pitch out when you need to and throw some offspeed out there and hope for the best.”
Rangers lefty C.J. Wilson was effective against the Twins, allowing just three runs on eight hits over seven innings.
After battling through the same tough conditions, Wilson sympathized with Duensing’s tough night.
“That was rough,” Wilson said. “I’m sure he’s a good dude. I hope he has some good karma against the rest of the AL West. It was like the Twilight Zone. Guys were falling over trying to catch the ball. It was like the Bad News Bears on both sides.”
Michael Cuddyer swung the bat well, driving in Drew Butera with a single in the fifth, while also collecting a double and a pair of walks.
But it was the bottom of the order did most of the damage for Minnesota, as Repko doubled and scored in the second on a Matt Tolbert single, and Butera went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Three hits marked a career high for Butera.
“It was nice,” Butera said. “I wish we could’ve won. It’s never fun to lose. It’s nice to get the hits but it’s better to go 0-for and get the win.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
A Schelling For Your Thoughts 
You must be logged in to post a comment.