By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS –With Joe Mauer not starting as he gets a day off to rest, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire did a little tweaking with the top of his batting order.

Rather than moving Justin Morneau up to the 3rd spot as he’s done when Mauer is not playing, Gardenhire shifted Delmon Young up from the eighth spot last night into the No. 3 hole for today’s game.

“We have the soul patrol leading off,” Gardenhire said. “We have [Denard] Span, [Orlando] Hudson, and Delmon. And that was
self-proclaimed by Delmon that the soul patrol will be the top three in the lineup today.”

Young’s reference of course was to the Twins’ original “Soul Patrol” which was the outfield consisting of Jacque Jones, Torii Hunter and Matt Lawton. And Young said that he was part of another soul patrol outfield during his time in Tampa Bay with B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford.

Even without Mauer, the Twins lineup appears pretty deep today. Michael Cuddyer is back at third base and Jim Thome gets his third straight start at DH as he sits one HR behind Harmon Killebrew (573) for 10th place on the all-time home run list.

Tigers (41-35)
Austin
Jackson, CF
Johnny Damon, LF
Magglio Ordonez, DH
Miguel
Cabrera, 1B
Brennan
Boesch, RF
Carlos Guillen, 2B
Brandon Inge, 3B
Gerald Laird, C
Danny Worth, SS
Pitching: LHP Andy Oliver (0-1, 3.00 ERA)

Twins

(42-35)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Hudson, 2B
Delmon Young, LF
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael Cuddyer, 3B
Jim Thome, DH
Nick
Punto, SS
Drew Butera, C
Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey (7-5, 4.79 ERA)

A
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can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier 

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — Tigers right-hander Joel Zumaya was diagnosed with a fracture in his elbow and will miss the rest of the 2010 season. But while it’s a disappointing injury for Detroit, it’s perhaps the best news for the pitcher since he suffered no ligament or tendon damage after he injured his arm while throwing a 99-mph fastball to Delmon Young in the eighth inning last night.

Zumaya could be back next season. But for now the Tigers will have to proceed on without their flame-throwing reliever.

Due to Zumaya’s injury, it was almost forgotten in last night’s contest that the Tigers now have a half-game lead in the AL Central. It’s a lead that the Twins hope will be short-lived as the two meet up for the second of three contests at Target Field tonight.

Right-hander Nick Blackburn will try to get back on track against the Tigers after a rough month of June. Michael Cuddyer is back at third base and Jim Thome, who brought a smile to everyone’s face with his triple last night, is back in the lineup at DH.

Tigers (41-34)
Austin
Jackson, CF
Johnny Damon, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Brennan
Boesch, LF
Carlos Guillen, 2B
Brandon Inge, 3B
Alex Avila, C
Ramon Santiago, SS
Pitching: RHP Armando Gallaraga (3-1, 3.68 ERA)

Twins

(41-35)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael Cuddyer, 3B
Jim Thome, DH
Delmon Young, LF
Nick
Punto, SS
Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn
(6-5, 6.10 ERA)

A
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can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier 

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins and Tigers enter this series separated by just a half-game. And while it’s only the end of June, it’s certainly an important three-game stretch for both clubs since the AL Central lead is on the line.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy was out on the field during batting practice today and said he’s not having any pain in his left wrist. Hardy has missed all but 12 games since suffering a bone bruise in the wrist back on May 4.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Sunday that he hoped for Hardy to go out on a rehab assignment this weekend and perhaps join them for the series opener in Toronto on July 6. Hardy seems to be pushing to head out on his rehab stint a little earlier, giving him an “outside chance” to rejoin the team sometime this weekend during their series with the Rays at Target Field. Gardenhire said they’ll have to wait and see how Hardy does over the next couple days before making that decision.

As expected, Michael Cuddyer is back at third base for the series opener against the Tigers. Gardenhire wanted to get Jim Thome back in the lineup at DH without taking Jason Kubel or Delmon Young out of the lineup.

And Young is batting eighth tonight, providing quite a deep lineup since Young is tied for the team lead in RBIs with Justin Morneau.

Also, Nick Blackburn’s mustache is gone almost as quickly as it arrived. I first noticed that Blackburn had gotten rid of his beard, leaving just a mustache behind on Saturday night when I ran into him near the team hotel in New York. Blackburn said he was just trying out the look, but during a dinner he had with teammate Scott Baker he couldn’t help but laugh whenever he thought of the look. So although some of the media suggested sticking with the ‘stache through his start on Tuesday, Blackburn was clean-shaven on Monday. Still, Francisco Liriano said he might be up for the mustache look so perhaps Carl Pavano won’t be the only Twins starter donning one.

Tigers (40-34)
Austin Jackson, CF
Ryan Raburn, 2B Ramon Santiago, 2B
Magglio Ordonez, RF Ryan Raburn, LF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Brennan Boesch, LF RF
Carlos Guillen, DH
Brandon Inge, 3B
Gerald Laird, C
Danny Worth, SS
Pitching: RHP Jeremy Bonderman (3-5, 4.20 ERA)

Twins

(41-34)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael Cuddyer, 3B
Jim Thome, DH
Delmon Young, LF
Nick
Punto, SS
Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano
(6-5, 3.11 ERA)

A
reminder
you
can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier