Baker improved to 8-7 with this win. In eight innings, he gave up just one run on six hits. He walked two and struck out eight. The only run came on a solo home run to Nelson Cruz (his 23rd home run of the season). Joe Nathan came in and, despite an entertaining 9th inning that saw manager Ron Gardenhire ejected, he recorded his 25th save.

Cuddyer got the scoring started for the Twins in the 2nd inning. He doubled in Justin Morneau. Two batters later, Carlos Gomez blooped a single into RF to score Cuddyer. After Cruz’s home run, Cuddyer hit his 15th home run of the season to give the Twins a 3-1 lead. In the 7th frame, Justin Morneau singled in Alexi Casilla to give the Twins the 4-1 lead that they would hold.

Morneau, Cuddyer and Gomez each had two hits in the game. The Twins improve to 47-44 with the win, while the Texas Rangers fall to 48-41. On Sunday night, Francisco Liriano will take the mound against Derek Holland.

First, the Twins released reliever Luis Ayala. Ten days earlier, the Twins had designated him for assignment. Although a couple of teams, namely Pittsburgh and Florida, expressed interest, but a trade was not able to be worked out. He was released, and later in the day, he signed a contract with the Florida Marlins.

In a second transaction, the Twins outrighted Sean Henn to AAA Rochester and promoted Brian Duensing. Henn, being out of options, had to clear waivers to be sent back to Rochester. He did, and remains in the Twins organization. The promotion of Duensing is somewhat surprising. Being left-handed, he does give Ron Gardenhire a second left-hander in the bullpen. You could argue that Anthony Swarzak was much more deserving of promotion as he has been superb for the Red Wings since his demotion in mid-June. Of course, Swarzak was just named as the Red Wings lone representative in the AAA All-Star Game.

LaVelle E. Neal reports that the Twins have offered a contract to Dominican 16 year old SS Miguel Angel Sano. However, the contract is contingent upon an investigation by Major League Baseball into weather Sano is actually 16 years old. The Twins, Pirates and Baltimore Orioles are the three teams said to be most interested. The Twins and Pirates apparently have a very strong relationship with him. The contract is rumored to be anywhere from $2.5 million to over $4.25 million.

Travis Talks provides his June Awards for the Twins. Joe Nathan had an incredible month. In 11.2 innings (12 games), he gave up no runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out 18. But he wasn’t the only bullpen arm to impress. R. A. Dickey’s ERA for June was 0.67. Matt Guerrier’s was 0.86. Jason Kubel was the easy choice for Twins Player of the Month in June.

Josh Johnson provides a review of all six Twins minor league affiliates, including a selection for hitter and pitcher of the month for each team. Nick Nelson looked back at his preseason Top 10 Twins Prospects to see how they are performing through June.

Consistent release point is important to all pitchers, but Over the Baggy’s Parker Hageman shows us why and how release point is important for Scott Baker.

Brian, at the Twins Examiner site, tracks the young career of Aaron Hicks.

At Jim Mandelaro’s Extra Bases blog, he takes a look into the Life of a GM, through the eyes of Twins GM Bill Smith, who has lost 40 pounds since February.

Baseball Intellect takes a look at the Mechanics of Kevin Slowey to determine why he is able to pitch with so much control.

Slowey will take the mound on Friday night for the Twins as they start a three game series at the Metrodome against the division-leading Detroit Tigers.    

Glen Perkins made the start for the Twins. The lefty gave up one run on ten hits (but no walks) over seven innings. He was able to get three inning-ending double plays to help his cause.  It was his third straight seven inning outing since his six inning return from the Disabled List. R.A. Dickey threw the 8th inning, and got the first two outs in the 9th inning before Joe Nathan got the final out to secure his 21st save and the Twins win.

Joe Mauer led the offense. He went 3-3 with two walks to raise his average to .392. Michael Cuddyer gave the Twins a 1-0 lead when he hit his 12th home run of the season, a solo shot in the top of the 2nd inning. He would walk twice later in the game. Denard Span went 2-5.

The game was not without its concerns. Mike Redmond was hurt in the arm/wrist area by a foul tip and had to leave the game. He was replaced by Jose Morales behind the plate. Nick Punto finished a double play but was taken out hard and landed with a sore back. He was replaced by Brendan Harris at SS. The biggest concern was that Justin Morneau was replaced by Brian Buscher late in the game. Morneau left with a tight groin.  

The Twins will now enjoy a day off on Thursday before starting a three game homestand over the weekend against the division leading Detroit Tigers.

Trevor Hoffman came in and recorded the save, and the Twins grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory!

The Twins grabbed the early lead. Carlos Gomez led off the  ball game with a triple and scored on a Brendan Harris sacrifice fly. The Brewers tied the game an inning later when Braden Looper, the Brewers starting pitchers, singled in a run.

The score remained the same until the top of the 6th. With one out, Jason Kubel drilled the first pitch well into the right field bleachers for his 13th home run of the season. (It was his 8th home run this month) Michael Cuddyer hit a double on the next pitch. He was followed by Joe Crede who also doubled to score Cuddyer and give the Twins the 3-1 lead.

Jason Kendall cut the lead in half in the bottom of the 6th with an RBI single. The 3-2 score remained until Kendall’s next, ominous at bat in the bottom of the 8th inning.

The Twins loss dropped them back below .500 (36-37). The Brewers improved to 38-33, and beat the Twins for the first time in five attempts this season.

The teams will complete their season series on Thursday afternoon when Scott Baker will take the mound for the Twins against Mike Burns, making his first start for the Brewers.

Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer were each 2-4 with a double. Nick Punto was 1-1 with two sacrifice bunts, one of which scored Delmon Young on a perfectly executed suicide squeeze.

The same two teams will play again on Saturday at 6:10. It will be Scott Baker taking the mound against Brian Moehler.      

Francisco Liriano got the start for the Twins and worked seven innings.  He gave up four runs on seven hits. He walked just one and struck out six. He was just hurt by two, big two-run homers. The first was a 3rd inning blast by Pirates phenom Andrew McCutchen. It was McCutchen’s first major league home run, and for some reason, a fan threw the ball back on to the field. In the bottom of the third, the Twins tied the game at two when Joe Crede doubled to the wall in right centerfield.

But right away in the top of the fourth, Liriano surrended the lead by allowing a two run homer by Andy Laroche. The Twins had a few chances to cut into the lead but could not get a much-needed hit.  

Sean Henn entered the game in the top of the 8th inning and gave up a solo homer to Adam Laroche, followed by two walks. Luis Ayala came in and allowed the inherited runners to score before getting out of the 8th inning. He gave up a run of his own as well but got the team through the ninth inning.

Michael Cuddyer had a good night at the plate. He went 2-2 with a triple and two walks. The rest of the lineup managed just four more hits. Joe Mauer did add his 11th double.

The Twins again fall a game below .500. The two teams will meet again on Thursday afternoon. The Twins will send Nick Blackburn to the mound to face Zach Duke.

Joe Mauer had a single in his first AB, a double in his second AB and a triple in his third AB on this 3-5 day. Justin Morneau went 2-4 with his 15th double. Michael Cuddyer tied the game at one a piece with a solo home run in the top of the 6th.

The Twins fall to 24-27 while the Rays improve to 25-27. On Saturday afternoon, the Twins will send Francisco Liriano to the mound to face lefty David Price.

Following the game, the Twins put Nick Punto on the 15 Day Disabled List and recalled Alexi Casilla to the Twins. Steve Tolleson was promoted from AA New Britain to AAA Rochester.

·        With Anthony Swarzak pitching so well through two starts, he has created discussion about what the Twins should do when Glen Perkins comes back from the Disabled List after a rehab stint in Rochester. Swarzak could stick around in the bullpen as a long reliever. Perkins could be sent to the ‘pen as well. The Star-Tribune’s Jim Souhan suggests Francisco Liriano be sent to the bullpen to figure out his issues.

·        Joe Mauer is off to a great start since his return to the Twins lineup on May 1. Seth Stohs looks at how his career numbers compare to Hall of Fame catchers.

·        Doogie Wolfson adds his two cents on Steve Phillips’ crazy comments about Denard Span not really being an ideal leadoff hitter, and that he should be a 7^th hitter.

·        Nick Nelson talks about the Twins newfound ability to play Big Ball. There is little more frustrating than hearing Dick Bremer wax poetic about the Twins ability and necessity to play small ball. Turns out that a lot of people dig the long ball!

·        Seth was joined by Travis Aune of Travis Talks on the MNGameNight.com Minnesota Twins podcast last night. They discussed the homestand, this weekend’s series with the Tampa Bay Rays, the AL Central, and then spent time discussing the Twins full-season minor league affiliates and highlighting some of this year’s surprises in the farm system.

·        On his site, Travis has been posting arguments on several Twins topics of interesting. For instance, you can argue for or against regarding Carlos Gomez or Delmon Young, whether Francisco Liriano should go to the minor leagues, whether Aaron Hicks or Ben Revere is the Twins top prospect, whether Rob Delaney or Anthony Slama is the better relief pitching prospect or whether Justin Morneau could win the Triple Crown.

·        The Rochester Red Wings scored two runs in the top of the 9^th but it wasn’t enough as they lost 8-7 to Durham. Philip Humber started and gave up one run in each of the first four innings. He gave up eight hits and four walks and got the loss. Bobby Keppel came in and gave up three runs over the next three innings. Armando Gabino gave up an unearned run over the final two innings. Jason Pridie, Alexi Casilla, Jose Morales, Dustin Martin and David Winfree each had two hits.

·        The New Britain Rockcats got a great start from Matt Fox and beat Trenton 7-2. Fox threw seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and walking none for his fourth win of the season. Jose Lugo and Rob Delaney each worked a scoreless inning. Steve Tolleson hit two doubles in five at bats. Brian Dinkelman added two more hits, and Rene Tosoni drove in three runs.

·        It was an ugly game for the Ft. Myers Miracle as they lost 8-3 to Tampa. Carlos Gutierrez started and gave up seven runs in just 3.1 innings. Just one of the runs were earned as the Miracle had eight errors in the game. Two of the errors were on Gutierrez who also walked five hitters. Loek Van Mil made his first appearance of the season and threw two shutout innings in relief. Van Mil suffered the same injury as Twins reliever Pat Neshek. He rested and rehabbed and has not had a set back, so it is great to see him back on the mound. Ben Revere went 2-3 with his 20^th stolen base.

·        Beloit beat South Bend 4-2 behind a strong start from Bobby Lanigan. The right went seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits. He walked two and struck out five. Joe Testa got his third save by striking out the game’s final batter. Jonathan Waltenbury led the offense, going 3-4 with his seventh double. Angel Morales was 2-4 with his seventh double. Jeff Lanning had two hits, including his second double.      

Denard Span led the offense from the leadoff position. He went 4-4 with a walk. Jason Kubel was on almost as much. He went 2-3 with two walks. He had an RBI on his 12th double. Brendan Harris was 2-5 with an RBI single. Delmon Young also had two hits in the game.

Kevin Slowey improved to 7-1 and dropped his ERA to 4.11 with another quality start. In six innings, he gave up two runs. He actually walked one and struck out five. (on the season, he now has five walks to go with 44 strikeouts)  The patient Red Sox offense made Slowey work. He had 99 pitches through six innings, but the bullpen came on and got the job done.

Jose Mijares got four outs. Then Matt Guerrier got two outs. Joe Nathan came in for the ninth inning. He recorded his eight save with a perfect inning.

These same two teams will be back at the ballpark on Thursday morning, and at noon central time, it will be Anthony Swarzak facing Josh Beckett in the final game of this four game series.

But everyone wants to talk about the offense, and rightfully so. The first thing that should be mentioned is that Ron Gardenhire finally put Joe Mauer in the #2 spot in the lineup. He has always been a prototypical #2 hitter, the team’s top on-base percentage guy, but he was also the team’s best overall hitter, so it made sense for him to bat third. Now, he is proving himself to be a prototypical #3 hitter, adding power, and he is moved to the #2 spot. But it’s hard to argue because putting out-makers like Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert into the second spot makes no sense. Also, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel have proven that they are worthy of hitting #3 and #4. Michael Cuddyer has been on a tear for a month now and fits into the #5 spot. Joe Crede has added some power, so he is ready to fill that #6 spot. Sure, the bottom of the lineup is pretty weak still, but at least they bat less than the top guys. It will be interesting to see if Gardenhire would use four left handed batters at the top of the order against a left-handed starter. (We will find out tonight when the Brewers send Manny Parra to the mound to face the Twins.)

As Nick Nelson said on the MNGameNight.com podcast on Thursday night, “as long as the Twins average 20 runs a game with Mauer in the two-spot in the lineup, they might as well stick with it.” Hard to disagree with that logic!

·         How did Joe Mauer do in that #2 spot of the lineup? Not too bad. He went 3-4 to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. He hit two doubles and a grand slam. Adding a sacrifice fly earlier in the game, and he drove in six runs. Not a bad day at all.

·         Michael Cuddyer had another big game. He went 4-6 with his eighth double, sixth home run and three RBI.

·         Matt Tolbert hit his first home run of his big league career in the 7^th inning. It gave the Twins a 20-0 lead. He had three hits and four RBI on the game.

·         Jose Morales had three more hits. He also walked twice. The time he got out, he flew out to the fence in right field. For his efforts, he was returned to AAA Rochester after the game. The move was obvious as Delmon Young had to be taken off of the Family Emergency list before Friday’s game.

·         Joe Crede hit his sixth home run, a long shot following the Cuddyer three-run homer.

·         Jason Kubel went 3-4 before being replaced by Carlos Gomez, who add another hit.

Now of course, we need to see what the team does to respond. The offense certainly has not been the Twins problem of late. Nick Blackburn has not been a problem at all. So, each game is very much dependent on that night’s starting pitcher. On Friday night, Kevin Slowey and his 4 walk to 35 strikeout ratio will attempt to keep the Brewers offense down. On Saturday, Anthony Swarzak will make his big league debut. On Sunday night’s Game of the Week, Scott Baker will try to put together a strong start. The Twins offense will face lefty Manny Parra, followed by righties Braden Looper and Dave Bush.

With that, here are some more Twins-related articles or stories for you to peruse while downing your Friday morning cup of coffee:

·         Parker Hageman wrote another excellent Award Context article, this one on Rod Carew’s 1977 MVP season. It is well worth the read!

·         There is plenty of talk online about the debut of Anthony Swarzak on Saturday for the Twins. Aaron Gleeman, Travis Aune and Josh Johnson each talked about his promotion as well as the loss of Craig Breslow earlier this week.

·         Take a minute to read Travis Aune’s thoughts on the Delmon Young situation. It is hard to disagree with his sentiment. By saying that the Twins have to play short-handed the next few days until Young returns from his mother’s funeral is basically like telling him that his mom waited too long to die. I understand that MLB’s current currents dictate that a player can be gone a minimum of three days and a maximum of seven days, and the Twins have to respond to that. Hopefully the league will look at a situation like this and show some leniency in the future, maybe altering the rule to say a minimum of three days, without a maximum.

·         Be sure to add the Minnesota Twins page at Examiner.com to your list of must-read Twins sites.

·         During the Twins/Brewers series, check out Al’s Ramblings, an excellent blog that discusses the Brewers.

·         Coffeyville Whirlwind takes a look at the May 21, 1999, trade of Rick Aguilera to the Chicago Cubs with some great research.

·         Andrew Kneeland continues The Carlos Gomez Debate with a well thought out posting at Twins Fix.

·         At his StarTribune.com/yourvoices blog, Doogie Wolfson graded the Twins at the one-quarter mark of the season.    

MINOR LEAGUE SCOREBOARD

Rochester 5, Norfolk 4 (12 innings) – The Red Wings enjoyed their off day, and came back with a little overtime effort. Kevin Mulvey started and had a lead going into the 9^th. He got two outs but couldn’t get the third without the game being tied. All told, he went 8.2 innings. He gave up three runs on six hits. He walked none and struck out three. Mike Gosling improved to 5-1 with 2.1 scoreless innings. He struck out four. Bobby Keppel recorded his first save of the year. He gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the 12^th. Alexi Casilla went 3-5 with his third triple. He is now hitting .353. Justin Huber went 2-5 with his third home run. Matt Macri went 3-5. David Winfree led of the top of the 12^th with his sixth home run.  

New Britain 7, Reading 1 – Ryan Mullins has been much better of late. In this game, he got his second win with six strong innings of work. He gave up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out four. Frank Mata got four outs, allowing just a walk. Jose Lugo got the next four outs without a run scoring, but he did give up a hit and walked two. Yohan Pino got the final out. Brian Dinkelman went 2-5 with his third homer. Erik Lis was 2-4 with his third homer. Steve Tolleson and Brandon Roberts were each 2-5 with a stolen base. Jeff Christy was 2-4. Danny Valencia hit his fifth homer, and Rene Tosoni hit his sixth home run.  

Ft. Myers 2, St. Lucie 1 – Nick Romero made his Florida State League debut, and had a memorable game. He played at 2B and went 2-3 with a walk. His final hit came in the bottom of the ninth inning, a single that scored the game-winning run. Chris Parmelee went 2-4. Mike McCardell started and gave up just one run on four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Alex Burnett got the win by pitching three shutout innings. He gave up one hit and walked one.

Beloit 5, Peoria 7 – The Snappers scored five runs in the 8^th inning to cut their deficit to 6-5, but it wasn’t enough. Dan Berlind started and gave up three runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out seven. Michael Tarsi made his first appearance of the year. He gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out three. Curtis Leavitt came in for his Midwest League debut. He gave up two runs on a hit and two walks. But he did strike out three. Matt Williams gave up a run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Drew Thompson went 2-3 with a walk. Ramon Santana went 2-4 with his seventh double. Jonathan Waltenbury and James Beresford each had two hits in the loss.   

This game was about missed chances, missed opportunities. The Twins walked ten Yankees hitters. The Yankees walked seven Twins batters (Denard Span three times). The Twins had nine hits. The Yankees had ten hits. For the most part, the pitchers worked out of tough situations.

Francisco Liriano was on the hill to start for the Twins. The lefty gave up four hits and six walks in six innings, and yet somehow, he gave up just one run. Jesse Crain came in for the seventh inning. He got the first two outs, but then Brett Gardner was credited with an inside the park home run on a blooper down the left field line that Span played lazily. Jose Mijares came in and got the final out of the 7th and worked an easy eighth inning.

The Twins offense, despite all of the walks, scored three of its four runs via the long ball. Justin Morneau, on his 28th birthday, hit two solo home runs, his 10th and 11th of the season. Joe Mauer hit his fifth home run of the year. Jason Kubel went 2-4. Denard Span was 1-2 with three walks.

Joe Nathan is generally believed to be the best closer in baseball, but on this night, he was pitching in his fourth straight game. He got two outs in the ninth. Unfortunately he came in with a two run lead and walked off the mound having given up three runs on three hits and two walks.

The Twins fall back to .500, at 18-18. The Yankees improve to 18-17. Joe Crede left the game with back spasms and tightening hamstrings. On Saturday, these same teams will play again at noon central. The Twins will send Nick Blackburn to the mound against Joba Chamberlain.

·         How good was Justin Verlander on this day. 6+ innings pitched. 13 strikeouts. According to Denard Span, ““I knew he was nasty today when I saw Joe Mauer offering at pitches he normally doesn’t swing at. That’s how you know someone is going good.””

·        Speaking of Joe Crede playing hero. He came to the plate with the bases loaded and the scored tied at ten on Wednesday night. On a 1-2 pitch, he hit a grand slam to help the Twins win that game in the 13^th inning. If we go back to an old statistic that has not been used over the last several years, in the series, Joe Crede would have had all three Game-Winning RBI. He was 4-15 in the series. Jason Kubel raised his batting average from .308 to .333 by going 6-10 in the three games. Kubel came in to pinch hit with a runner on, down by two, in the bottom of the 8^th, against Joel Zumaya, and on the first pitch hit a home run to tie the game. Joe Mauer went 4-11 with four walks and a home run in the series as well.

·        Next up for the Twins? A four game series in New York against the Yankees. The Twins will face Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins to the mound against Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, AJ Burnett and Andy Pettitte. 

·        If you had May 14^th on the Gardy’s First Ejection pool, congratulations!

·        Delmon Young will be away from the team for a little while with Jose Morales being called up to take his place. Young has been placed on the Family Medical Emergency list as a family member of his is very ill, according to LaVelle E. Neal. Jim Mandelaro discusses the Morales promotion, and says that it is Delmon Young’s mother that is very ill. Obviously we wish Young and his family the best.

·        In the same article, Mandelaro also commented that Mike Radcliff, Twins Director of Player Personnel, was in Rochester to watch Sean Henn and Bobby Keppel.

·        Ed Thoma of the Mankato Free Press find the selection of Jose Morales as intriguing, particularly with the Twins going to New York. You see, the Yankees top two catchers are Jorge Posada and Jose Molina. Both of them are injured. So, is it possible that the Twins are trying to showcase Morales? Thoma admits that is a stretch. In reality, Morales becomes a DH option with Jason Kubel likely to see more time in LF in the short-term.  

·         Matt Guerrier has been very good much of this season. Nick Nelson points out that the team’s (meaning the other bullpen arms) need to protect his arm so that he doesn’t tire in the second half of the season.

·         According to Phil Mackey, Jason Kubel thinks he can be a .300 hitter. The Twins could really use that!

·         Travis Talks presents his Top 5 Most Disappointing Players in the Twins organization so far this year. That was after posting his Top 5 Biggest Surprises the other day.

·         On Wednesday, Justin Murphy posted his Upstate Update, a look at the Rochester Red Wings play of late. He e-mailed me something that is certainly worth mentioning, “David Winfree’s batting line, with an OBP under .300 and slugging (almost) .500. I poked around a little bit and found that, on the major league level, only two players EVER have done that over a full season- Dave Kingman in 1976, Mike Jacobs in 2008.”

·         Phil Miller tells us what kind of music bullpen coach Rick Stelmaszek is not a fan of!

·         At Over the Baggy, Parker analyzes the Twins starting five, looking at their run support and games scores and more.

·         At his StarTribune.com/yourvoices blog, Seth Stohs showed how the current Twins roster is comprised, how they came to the organization.  

• Rochester 5, Indianapolis 4 – David Winfree has made a career out of coming up with big hits in big situations. Late in this game, Winfree came up with two on and two outs, and drilled a long, three run homer to give the Red Wings the lead. It was his fifth homer of the season. Luke Hughes went 2-3 with a walk and his sixth home run. Justin Huber was 3-4 with his second triple. Jason Jones started and gave up three runs on eight hits and two walks in just 4.1 innings. Bobby Keppel then worked 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. Sean Henn recorded his fifth save. He struck out four in two innings and allowed only an unearned run.   
• Thursday –Ft. Myers 19, Sarasota 4 – Mark Dolenc led the potent offensive attack in this game by going 5-6 with three doubles. Evan Bigley is still unfazed by the Florida State League. He went 4-5 with a walk. Ben Revere was 3-5 with a double. Danny Berg was 3-6 with a double. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with two walks. Jair Fernandez and Chris Cates each had a single and a double. Cates drove in three runs. Tyler Robertson was the beneficiary of the offensive support. The lefty gave up just two runs on five hits in 5.2 innings. He walked two and struck out three. Alex Burnett got the next four outs, three of them on strikeouts. Santos Arias then gave up two runs on four hits in the final two innings.  
• Beloit 6, Clinton 7 (13 innings) – Danny Rondon had pitched two scoreless innings before coming back out for the 13^th inning. It was in that inning that he gave up the winning run. Brad Tippett started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on eight hits and no walks. Henry Reyes gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk in two innings. Steve Blevins struck out five in three innings of one run ball. The Snappers managed just five hits in this game. They did walk seven times. James Beresford was 2-6. Jonathan Waltenbury and Angel Morales each hit their three-run homer.

Slowey came into the game sporting a solid 4-1 record, but his ERA (5.50) left something to be desired. Slowey gave up just one run on eight hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out two on his way to a 5-1 record. The performanced dropped his ERA to 4.91.

Last time out, Jesse Crain did not get any of the three batters he faced out. He came in to start the top of the 7th inning and proceeded to give up a home run to Ramon Santiago and walk Curtis Granderson. He was lifted for Jose Mijares. The burly lefty was able to get the next four outs without any damage. Matt Guerrier got the final two outs of the eighth inning.  Joe Nathan also pitched a perfect inning in the 9th.

Joe Crede got the offense going by hitting his fourth home run of the year. It came with Michael Cuddyer one base and gave the Twins a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning. The next inning, Joe Mauer hit a line drive just feet over the left field walk, just inches beyond the outstretched glove of Tigers LF Clete Thomas. It was also Mauer’s fourth homer, and gave the Twins a 4-0 lead. (in the first inning, Thomas had leapt over the fence in left field to take a home run away from Mauer)

Mauer went 2-3 with a walk in the game. That raises his numbers to an astonishing .500/.571/.917 through 42 plate appearances. Denard Span also had two hits in the game, including an 8th inning single that gave the Twins a 6-2 lead.

With the win, the Twins improve to 17-17 while the Tigers fall to 17-15. Tomorrow night’s tilt will feature a couple of left-handers. The Twins will send Glen Perkins to the mound to face Dontrelle Willis. Willis will be making his first start of the year for the Marlins looking for his first big league win sine 2007.

The Twins look to rebound with a six game homestand. This weekend they will face the Seattle Mariners and send Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano and Nick Blackburn to the mound against Chris Jakabauskus, Felix Hernandez and Erik Bedard. After getting Monday off, the team will play three games against the Detroit Tigers.

For much more on the Twins, be sure to listen to the MNGameNight.com Twins podcast from last night. Seth Stohs and John Bonnes dissect some of the Twins issues and look ahead to the weekend series. Both strongly agreed on what the team’s biggest issue has been this season. And no, it isn’t Alexi Casilla.

Nick Nelson still believes that Carlos Gomez should be starting for the Twins and Delmon Young should be the team’s fourth outfielder.

By the way, Josh Johnson completed his Top 50 Minor League prospects by making his choice for #1. See who he selected.  

Should the Twins trade Alexi Casilla? Is Seattle really interested? Can he break free from Ron Gardenhire’s doghouse? Over the Baggy discusses Alexi Casilla.

“Man, the Twins are awful right now.” Those are the words of KFAN’s Phil Mackey on his blog, PhilMackey.com. You will want to listen to his Twins Weekly broadcast on Sunday at 5:00 for a chance to win a couple of tickets to see the Twins play in St. Louis in June.

On May 4, 1975, Bob Watson scored Major League Baseball’s one-millionth run. One of my childhood heroes, Claudell Washington, had scored the 999,999^th run the night before. Do you know how close Hall of Famer Rod Carew was to being credited with that one-millionth run (and getting a watch!)? Check out Coffeyville Whirlwind to find out.

The Curse of Big Papi tells us that, for $200, you can get your name engraved on one of eight glass panels as part of the “Twins Tradition Wall” at Target Field. 

David Bromberg, who led all of the minor leagues in strikeouts in 2008 at Beloit, lost a no-hitter with two outs in the 7th inning last night for Ft. Myers. He went 7.2 innings of shutout ball, but got a no decision. Fortunately the Twins won in the bottom of the 9th.   

Glen Perkins started for the Twins and gave up five runs on ten hits in six innings. Luis Ayala came in and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in 1.1 innings. Jose Mijares came in and got the final two outs. But an Alexi Casilla error caused another tying run to score. Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth. Matt Guerrier threw a scoreless tenth. Then in the 11th inning, Craig Breslow came in and walked three out of the four batters he faced. He left with the bases loaded, and R. A. Dickey was the only bullpen arm still available. The knuckleballer came in and didn’t throw any knuckleballs in a walk to John Buck that gave the Royals the lead. A fielder’s choice and a single later, the Royals had the 10-7 lead that Joakim Soria held onto in the bottom of the inning.

In his second game, Joe Mauer had four more hits. Delmon Young, in the lineup because Jason Kubel was scratched because he was sick, went 3-4 with two RBI. Michael Cuddyer went 2-4 with his second home run. Joe Crede, back from a day with his wife who gave birth to their third child, went 2-5.

On Sunday afternoon, the Twins will send Scott Baker to the mound against the Royals’ Gil Meche.

Mauer came to bat with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, and with the crowd still on its feet, Mauer hit a long, opposite field home run off of Sidney Ponson to give the Twins a 1-0 lead. It was his first swing of the season. In his next at bat, with his next swing, Mauer lined a Ponson curveball down the left field line for a double. He would walk in his third plate appearance. In his fourth at bat, he did something else he does quite a bat, hit into a double play. But what a 2009 debut for Mauer! 2-3 with a walk, a double and a home run.

And most important, Mauer helped the Twins to a 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals. Justin Morneau was also 2-3 and hit his sixth home run of the season, a two run shot in the fifth inning. Brendan Harris went 2-4.

Kevin Slowey improved to 4-0 on the season despite giving up five runs on eight hits in just five innings. The bullpen was another big story in this game. Matt Guerrier threw two shutout innings. Jose Mijares struck out the side in the 8th inning. And Joe Nathan recorded his fourth save of the season.

The Royals and the Twins are now both 12-11 on the season. This marks the first time the Twins have been over .500 since they were 3-2.

On Saturday evening the Twins will send lefty Glen Perkins to the mound. Perkins is just 1-2 on the season despite a 2.48 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has completed eight innings in three out of his four starts this season, including all three of his Metrodome starts. He will face Brian Bannister who since returning from the minor leagues is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. He has allowed just one run in his 13 innings.

·         We have heard a lot about the Twins needing to get some right-handed bats going. While admitting very small sample size, there may be a few guys that might be turning the corner. Against the Rays, Michael Cuddyer went 2-6 with six walks and no strikeouts. In his last six games, Joe Crede is 7-24 (.292) with two homers. In his last four starts, Delmon Young is 5-15 (.333).

·         Of course, the Twins will be getting back another left-handed hitter on Friday. Joe Mauer will return to the lineup and the team’s roster. What will the Twins do in terms of the roster to make room for the All-Star, Gold Glover, Silver Slugger and batting champ? There are a ton of theories out there, but I have a new theory on what the Twins will do. I believe that the Twins have put either Juan Morillo or R.A. Dickey on waivers and are hoping like crazy that the player will pass through and they can send him to Rochester. That roster spot will be taken by Joe Mauer. The team would then play this Kansas City series with three catchers and 11 pitchers. Then on Monday, Jesse Crain is eligible to come off of the Disabled List. At that point, they will make a second roster decision which still likely will mean Mike Redmond to the Disabled List, but it could also mean a demotion for the red-hot Jose Morales, Brian Buscher or even an outside chance that it could be Carlos Gomez. The official announcement will likely be made a few hours before Friday night’s game. 

·         The First of May is often called May Day. Nick Nelson prefers to call it Mauer Day. Nick takes a look at several ways that Mauer can help the Twins win a game.

·         The Twins went 11-11 in April. Aaron Gleeman looks at how the Twins have done in April’s past. 

·         At BaseballDigest.com, Parker posted a great article putting context to Frank Viola’s 1988 AL Cy Young Award. Did he deserve it?

·         Former Twins minor leaguers and Minnesota Mark Hamburger (who was sent to the Rangers organization last August in exchange for Eddie Guardado) is pitching for the Hickory Crawdads this season. The team has an interesting promotion this weekend. You see, they also have an outfielder named Eric Fry. They announced the “Hamburger and Fry Complete Your Meal” promotion. If Hamburger strikes out a batter and Fry gets a hit, everyone in attendance can “complete” the meal with a free 12-ounce Pepsi. Ah, creative marketing can be fun! 

·         A few new Twins blogs to consider and peruse: 2009 Twins Diary by Ryan Hoffman. Ryan has a second Twins blog that is completely different. It is called Forgettable Twins, and gives profiles on some Twins names from the past that you may have forgotten, or wish you had. Border Ball is a very good blog on the Beloit Snappers. Cory Hepola is a sports anchor for a TV station in Rochester, NY. He also has a website in which he has blogs and videos blogs. Several of his videos are stories on Rochester Red Wings players.

·         Media Updates

o   In case you missed it, last night’s MNGameNight.com podcast was co-hosted by Seth Stohs and Twins starter Glen Perkins. The show was a great success as Perkins answered many questions about his season and the Twins first month. The next episode will be online Sunday night at 10:00 p.m.  

o   Friday morning, Seth Stohs of SethSpeaks.net will be on The Jack Michaels Show at 11:00. You can Listen Live here.

o   If you’re in that area, on Saturday afternoon, Seth will be joining Seth Tiegs of KBMW 1450 in Wahpeton, North Dakota for a week in review.

o   Be sure to check out John Meyer’s most recent podcast at 643 MVB Radio.                

The top of the Twins lineup was very productive in this game. Denard Span, Brendan Harris and Justin Morneau each had three hits in the game. Morneau had a double and also walked once. Span hit a triple.  

Blackburn gave up just two runs on eight hits and a walk in seven innings to improve to 2-1. Craig Breslow pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Luis Ayala gave up a single run in the 9th inning.

The Twins will take Thursday off before starting a three game series at the Metrodome against the Kansas City Royals.  Sometime in between, the Twins will activate All-Star catcher Joe Mauer.

Jason Kubel went 3-5 with his third and fourth home runs, both solo shots. Joe Crede followed Kubel’s 9th inning homer with a homer of his own. Justin Morneau went 2-5 with an RBI single that gave the Twins the early lead. Delmon Young also had three hits.

Kevin Slowey was the story of the game though. The righty improved to 3-0 with eight innings of one-run ball. He had a shutout through eight innings, but then loaded the bases in the 9th before Luis Ayala came in and got a sacrifice fly and a double play ball to end the game.

Slowey’s quality start was the Twins’ second consecutive. On Friday night, Nick Blackburn gave up just one run over seven innings in the Twins 5-1 win.

On Sunday, the Twins will send lefty Glen Perkins to the mound against Aaron Laffey.

·      The big news to come out on Thursday was that, barring any setbacks, Joe Mauer will begin an official rehab assignment with the Ft. Myers Miracle on Friday, and he will be back with the Twins on May 1. That is great news for the Twins and their fans. Getting Mauer back and putting him into the middle of the lineup should really stabilize the lineup. But more importantly, having Mauer back should stabilize the Twins pitching staff. Last year, he really appeared to have a strong rapport with the Twins starters, so I have to believe that performances should improve. Nothing against Mike Redmond, he is a solid backup, but he is not a starter. I don’t necessarily think that Jose Morales is starter material either. As important, opponents will not be able to run as easily as they have the first several weeks of the season.

·      Forbes values the Minnesota Twins’ at $356 million. That is a 9% increase from last year. The magazine also put the Twins revenue at $158 million. So, if you believe that a team should spend about 52% of its revenues on salaries, the Twins should be spending about $82 million. With the $2.6 million they are paying Mike Lamb in 2009, their Opening Day salaries are listed (by Cot’s Contracts) at $65.9 million. Certainly their revenues will not increase in 2009, and when the Opening Day roster salaries are finalized a year from now, the Twins are likely to be over $80 million.

·      In case you missed it yesterday, Parker Hageman of Over the Baggy, wrote a great article called Award Context: Tony Oliva’s 1964 Rookie of the Year for BaseballDigest.com.

·      Kelsie Smith of the Pioneer Press wrote a nice article on the maturity level of Glen Perkins and how it has made him a better pitcher.

·      Be sure to listen to John Bonnes, The Twins Geek, on last night’s MNGameNight.com podcast. He has two very special guests, and they covered the whole half-hour show, plus nearly another half hour, so you’ll certainly want to listen to it.

·      Rochester Red Wings – No Game Scheduled. But be sure to check out www.CoryHepola.com, the blog of Cory Hepola, a Perham, MN, native who is now a sports anchor/reporter for WROC in Rochester, NY. You will certainly want to check out his Get to Know ‘Em series of videos that most recently have been on OF Jason Pridie and Red Wings President Naomi Silver.

·      New Britain 1, Trenton 4 – The Rockcats managed just two hits in this game. Wilson Ramos hit his first double. Ryan Mullins gave up four runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Frank Mata struck out four in 1.2 innings. Yohan Pino struck out two in a perfect inning.  

·      Ft. Myers 8, Palm Beach 0 – Tyler Robertson is back. He threw five shutout innings. He gave up five hits and a walk while striking out five. Steve Hirschfeld struck out four in two shutout innings. Alex Burnett struck out three in two perfect innings. Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with a walk. Ben Revere went 2-5 with his sixth and seventh stolen bases. Estarlin de Los Santos went 2-5 with his second triple. Rene Leveret was 1-2 with two walks, his first homer and three RBI.

·      Beloit 7, Quad Cities 4 – Bobby Lanigan got his first win of the season. He gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in 6.2 innings. He struck out ten. Steve Blevins went 1.2 scoreless innings. Joe Testa got the final two outs. Nick Romero went 2-4 with his first double. Adan Severino went 2-4 with a stolen base. Dominic de La Osa went 2-5.