Twins at Blue Jays on Tuesday: Mauer gets a day off and Crede activated

Joe Mauer is not in the lineup tonight against the Blue Jays. Manager Ron Gardenhire had planned to try to give Mauer, who went 3-for-5 in Monday’s win, a complete day off at some point on this roadtrip and he felt this was the best time. Gardenhire also said that he plans to give Mauer a DH day on Wednesday to give him a couple days of rest with so many long stretches of games coming up for the club.

Mauer is available to pinch hit tonight if needed. And with off days in
each of the next two weeks, Gardenhire said he hopes that this is the last game
Mauer won’t start this season.

Early in the day, there was a little lineup mixup. Originally we were told that Michael Cuddyer was the DH and Jason Kubel was playing right field. But Gardenhire was flip-flopping players to take Mauer’s spot in the lineup and forgot to switch the position numbers as well. So Cuddyer is actually in right field and Kubel is the DH, while also filling in for Mauer in the No. 3 hole.

The Twins activated Crede from the DL on Tuesday. Everything went well for Crede in the simulated game against Francisco Liriano — he saw about 10-15 pitches from the lefty– and the third baseman will be available off the bench tonight for the Twins.

Liriano also did well in the game as he threw 42 pitches. Gardenhire said the pitcher’s fastball was jumping. The plan is to activate Liriano on Wednesday and he will likely be available out of the bullpen for Thursday’s contest against the Blue Jays.

And for those of you interested, first base coach Jerry White did get a hit off Liriano in the simulated game. In the last at-bat of the contest, White blooped a single into the left field gap and all of the players gathered behind the batting cage greeted him with many high-fives.

“I think [Liriano] tried to sneak a fastball by him,” Gardenhire said with a laugh. 

Also a note, Gardenhire and his wife, Carol, who is on the trip to Toronto, are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary today. So here is a congratulations to both of them and a happy anniversary!

Here are today’s lineups:

Twins (69-68)
2nd place in AL Central, 6.5 games back
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Jason Kubel, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Brendan Harris, 3B
Delmon Young, LF
Mike Redmond, C
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: LHP Brian Duensing (2-1, 3.81)

Blue Jays (61-76)
4th place in AL East, 27 games back

Marco Scutaro, SS
Jose Bautista, RF
Adam Lind, LF
Vernon Wells, CF
Randy Ruiz, DH
Kevin Millar, 1B
Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
Raul Chavez, C
John McDonald, 2B

Pitching: LHP Rickey Romero (11-7, 4.15)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

Greetings from Toronto and Happy Labor Day!

After missing the last three games in Cleveland to attend a friend’s wedding, I’m back on the beat with the club in Toronto.

It’s the first time I’ve made the trip to Toronto since the Twins opened the 2006 season here. So I’ve been getting reacquainted with the city as well as trying to catch up with the Twins after a tough weekend in which they went 1-2 vs. the Indians and  fell to 7 games back of Detroit in the AL Central standings.

The Twins will try to get back on track offensively at the Rogers Centre, where they’ve lost seven straight and have won just 1 of their last 10 games.

As I’m writing this, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and some of the players are greeting former Twin Randy Ruiz behind the batting cage. Ruiz, who is is batting .296 with six home runs and 11 RBI in 20 games for Toronto, was struck in the side of his face by a pitch in a contest against the Yankees on Sunday afternoon and is not in the lineup for the Blue Jays today. Ruiz seems to be OK though as he joked with his former teammates and coaches, motioning how the pitch hit his face.

Orlando Cabrera and Brendan Harris are both getting a day off. Gardenhire said that many of his club’s bats looked a little slow on Sunday so he decided to mix up the lineup a little bit. Nick Punto will get the start at shortstop and Brian Buscher is slotted in at third base.

Joe Crede planned to do everything in batting practice today, including fielding ground balls. How Crede feels after today will determine whether he takes part in the simulated game that Francisco Liriano will pitch on Tuesday.

Here are today’s lineups:

Twins (68-68)
2nd place in AL Central, 7 games back

Denard Span, CF
Nick Punto, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Delmon Young, LF
Brian Buscher, 3B
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: RHP Jeff Manship (0-0, 3.75)

Blue Jays (61-75)
4th place in AL East, 25.5 games back

Marco Scutaro, SS
Aaron Hill, 2B
Adam Lind, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Rod Barajas, C
Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
Travis Snider, LF
Joe Inglett, RF
Pitching: RHP Scott Richmond (6-8, 4.53)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

Wednesday Lineups: Twins vs. White Sox

Here are today’s lineups:

White Sox (64-69)
3rd place in AL Central, 7 games back

Scott Podsednik, DH
Gordon Beckham, 3B
Paul Konerko, 1B
Jermaine Dye, RF
Carlos Quentin, LF
Alexei Ramirez, SS
Alex Rios, CF
Jayson Nix, 2B
Ramon Castro, C
Pitching: LHP Mark Buehrle (11-7, 3.89)

Twins (67-65)
2nd place in AL Central, 3.5 games back

Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, LF
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Brendan Harris, 3B
Mike Redmond, C
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: LHP Brian Duensing (2-1, 4.37)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

Another OF on the way?

September is the time when managers have extra bodies at their disposal, thanks to the expansion of active rosters.

But on Tuesday night, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was short on one thing that he could have used — another outfielder.

In the scenario that Gardenhire faced on Tuesday night in a tie game against the White Sox –one out in the ninth and the go-ahead run at third base — the skipper would have considered using a pinch-hitter to replace Carlos Gomez. That is, if he had a sixth outfielder

Having already inserted Gomez as a defensive replacement for Delmon Young and replacing Jason Kubel (who led off the ninth with a single) with pinch-runner Nick Punto, Gardenhire didn’t have another outfielder on his bench to use if the game went to extras.

“We were kind of stuck there,” Gardenhire said.

So the skipper had Gomez take the at-bat and instead turned to Jose Morales to pinch-hit for Alexi Casilla with two outs in the inning. Morales came up with the big hit in that spot, but Gardenhire was asked after the game if he might want an additional outfielder knowing how things played out on Tuesday

“Funny you said that,” Gardenhire said. “Yeah, we’ve been talking…I don’t know how many outfielders you can have but it’s a possibility when [Triple-A Rochester’s] season ends.”

The Twins only made one immediate call-up on Tuesday, the day rosters officially expanded, bringing up infielder Brian Buscher from Triple-A Rochester. Infielder Matt Tolbert is also expected to join the club once his knee starts feeling better, but so far there had not been any plans so far to bring up another outfielder. But after Tuesday’s 4-3 walkoff win over Chicago, Gardenhire hinted that the club might add one when Rochester closes out its season on Sept. 7.

“Tonight was one of those circumstances, you are going to run out of players if you keep making moves and the game gets tight,” Gardenhire said. “But if you have an opportunity and you’ve got another player you can use like that, it would be wonderful.We’ll just see where we’re at here in a few days.”

Welcome September!…Tuesday Lineups: Twins vs. White Sox

After it sounded like the Twins wouldn’t call any players up today when rosters expanded, the club decided to make one move after all. Infielder Brian Buscher was promoted and is expected to join the team shortly before game time, manager Ron Gardenhire said.

The switch to indeed bring Buscher up now, although he’s been playing through a sore thumb, came after Gardenhire told general manager Bill Smith that he needed another backup infielder on the bench. So that’s the only move for now. It still sounds like Matt Tolbert (knee) and Anthony Swarzak could join the club at some point in the near future.

The big topic of the day of course was the two moves the White Sox made on Monday night — trading away Jim Thome and Jose Contreras. Neither club seemed to view it as Chicago completely throwing in the towel but I’ll have more on that in a story later.

Here are today’s lineups:

White Sox (64-68)
3rd place in AL Central, 6 games back

Scott Podsednik, LF
Gordon Beckham, 3B
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Paul Konerko, 1B
Jermaine Dye, DH
Carlos Quentin, LF
Chris Getz, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Alexei Ramirez, SS
Pitching: LHP John Danks (12-8, 3.82)

Twins (66-65)
2nd place in AL Central, 3.5 games back

Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Brendan Harris, 3B
Delmon Young, LF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: RHP Jeff Manship (0-0, 5.14)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

D-backs acquire Kevin Mulvey on waiver claim

The Twins announced Tuesday that pitcher Kevin Mulvey had been assigned to the D-backs on a waiver claim for cash considerations.

Mulvey is expected to report to Arizona, who needs an additional pitcher after trading Jon Garland to the Dodgers on Monday night.

In the release, the Twins also said that they sent  cash and not a player to the D-Backs for right-hander Jon Rauch. So with cash going both ways, it turns out that Mulvey is essentially the player to be named later for that Rauch deal.

Mulvey was 5-8 with a 3.93 ERA with Triple-A Rochester this season and made one relief appearance for the Twins, allowing four runs in 1 1/3 innings at Oakland. The right-hander was one of four prospects the Twins received from the Mets in exchange for Johan Santana prior to the 2008 season.

Monday lineups: Twins vs. White Sox

Here are today’s lineups:

White Sox (64-67)
3rd place in AL Central, 5.5 games back

Scott Podsednik, LF
Gordon Beckham, 3B
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Paul Konerko, 1B
Jim Thome, DH
Jermaine Dye, RF
Alex Rios, CF
Alexei Ramirez, SS
Jayson Nix, 2B
Pitching: RHP Gavin Floyd (10-8, 3.95)

Twins (65-65)
2nd place in AL Central, 4.0 games back

Denard Span, LF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Brendan Harris, 3B
Carlos Gomez, CF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn (8-9, 4.29)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

Nathan on Twins latest moves

Closer Joe Nathan was one of the Twins who was outspoken last month, expressing his desire for the club’s front office to make a move prior to the July 31 Trade Deadline.

Nathan and the rest of the team saw that happen when the Twins completed a trade with the A’s for shortstop Orlando Cabrera.

But that wasn’t it for the Twins. Instead there has been a flurry of moves recently by Twins GM Bill Smith, at a time when the team is pushing to get back in the AL Central race.

In addition to acquiring pitcher Carl Pavano earlier this month, the Twins bolstered their bullpen on Friday by adding two veteran relievers — right-hander Jon Rauch and left-hander Ron Mahay.

The club officially announced that it had acquired Rauch from the D-backs in exchange for a player to be named later. A Major League source confirmed that the Twins will announce on Saturday that they had signed Mahay, who was released by the Royals earlier this week.

For Nathan, it’s a sign that the front office is doing the same thing as the players — trying to do all it can to help the Twins’ postseason chances.

“I think the one thing that we always talked about was that we want everybody to fight and be on the same page and want this team to do well like we all do,” Nathan said after the Twins’ 3-2 win over Texas that moved them solely into second place, 4 1/2 games back of Detroit. “We come here every day and battle our butt off and work as hard as we can to get to that postseason. Obviously when you make it there, anything can happen.

“Seeing Bill make these moves and bring in some guys that he thinks can help us out is nice to see. We’ve got a couple guys coming here that have put up some good numbers. Hopefully they’ll come in and become a good fit in our clubhouse…We hope these two guys come here and are excited about the opportunity to play on a team that’s going to be playing for something in September.”

Friday Lineups: Twins vs. Rangers

As many of you have already heard, the Twins made two moves to help bolster their bullpen on Friday. The club officially announced that they had acquired right-hander Jon Rauch from the Diamondbacks and a Major League source confirmed that the Twins also signed left-hander Ron Mahay, who was released by the Royals earlier this week.

The deal for Mahay isn’t expected to be announced until Saturday and that’s when the Twins will announce the move to make room for him on the roster. Right-hander Philip Humber was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester on Friday to open a spot on the 25-man roster for Rauch.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Joe Crede’s back is doing much better, although Brendan Harris was still in the lineup at third base once again. Crede is scheduled to meet with team doctors before tonight’s game. If Crede can play in a couple days then it’s likely the team will wait to get him back. But if it’s looking like 4-5 days or more then Crede will probably head to the DL so the Twins can add another position player to their roster.

Also it sounds like Jeff Manship will start Tuesday against the White Sox. That is if everything goes as planned and he’s not needed in long relief tonight.

UPDATE: The Indians announced that they acquired right-hander Yohan Pino from the Twins, as the player to be named later from the Carl Pavano trade. Pino split time this season between Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Rochester, posting a combined 7-3 record and 3.03 ERA.

Here are today’s lineups:

Rangers (71-55)
2nd place in AL West, 4 games back (1.5 games back in AL Wild Card)

Ian Kinsler, 2B
Michael Young, 3B
Josh Hamilton, RF
Nelson Cruz, RF
Ivan Rodriguez, DH
David Murphy, LF
Taylor Teagraden, C
Chris David, 1B
Elvis Andrus, SS
Pitching: RHP Tommy Hunter (6-2, 2.85)

Twins (63-64)
3rd place in AL Central, 4.5 games back

Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Delmon Young, LF
Brendan Harris, 3B
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: LHP Brian Duensing (1-1, 4.91)

A reminder you can follow me on Twitter  @kellythesier

Twins sign LHP Ron Mahay

In addition to acquiring right-hander Jon Rauch from the Diamondbacks on Friday, the Twins have also signed left-hander Ron Mahay, a Major League source confirmed.

Mahay was released by the Royals this week after they had designated him for assignment. He had a 1-1 record with a 4.79 ERA in 41 relief appearances (41 1/3 innings) for Kansas City this season.

The signing of Mahay isn’t expected to be announced until Saturday, when both he and Rauch are expected to join the club in Minnesota.

The Twins will be Mahay’s eighth Major League club. In his 13-year career, the left-hander is 25-11 with a 3.89 ERA.

The additions of Rauch and Mahay give the Twins two veteran arms in a bullpen that recently has featured a merry-go-round of young pitchers from Triple-A Rochester. Besides Joe Nathan, Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares, the Twins have had trouble finding relievers they can turn to in the late innings.