Span to get precautionary MRI on shoulder; Mauer gets cortisone shot

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

Twins center fielder Denard Span is scheduled to undergo an MRI on his right shoulder on Thursday.

General manager Bill Smith said that the team had scheduled the MRI after Span missed three games last weekend after injuring the shoulder while diving for a ball in a game at Chicago on Sept.16. Span returned to the lineup on Monday and played all three games against the Indians.

“When he missed a couple games last week set this up,” Smith said. “And we decided to go ahead and have the MRI as a precautionary measure.He’s played a few games without any significant problems but we decided just to have it done.”

Span told ESPN 1500 AM on Thursday that he initially injured the shoulder during a dive in Oakland in early June. He said he’s been dealing with soreness in the shoulder on and off since that time, but said that it’s nothing that he can’t play through.

Smith also confirmed that catcher Joe Mauer received a cortisone shot in his left knee on Wednesday. Mauer injured his knee in Sunday’s game against the A’s, leaving after his at-bat in the sixth inning, but an MRI revealed no structural damage, just some tissue inflammation. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Mauer, who has not played since Sunday, would miss a few days if he received a cortisone shot.

The day after the clinch: Twins vs. Indians 9/22

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — What was joked about on Tuesday might be a celebratory brunch for the Twins has instead turned into one of those “day-after” contests.

As everyone knows, the Twins did indeed stick around last night to watch as the White Sox suffered a 7-2 loss to the A’s and then celebrated their sixth division title in the last nine years. Considering how the Twins rallied with a four-run inning in the eighth on Tuesday night to defeat the Indians 6-4, the timing was just too good for the club not to celebrate.

So today, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire had to run around the clubhouse and see who was available to play. He said that Jim Thome was a little sore and Delmon Young said there was no chance he’d be OK to play.

Gardenhire  confirmed on Wednesday that Francisco Liriano will be the Game 1 starter for the Twins in the ALDS. Carl Pavano is in line for Game 2 and Brian Duensing will pitch Game 3. There is still no official decision as to whether the Twins will use a four-man rotation but if that’s the case, Nick Blackburn is in line right now to be the starter for a possible fourth game.

Indians (62-89)
Michael Brantley, CF
Drew Sutton, SS
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Travis
Hafner, DH
Shelley Duncan, LF
Jayson Nix, 3B
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Luis
Valbuena, 2B
Chris Gimenez, C

Pitching: RHP Carlos Carrasco (1-0, 2.70 ERA)

Twins

(91-60)

Denard Span, CF

Alexi Casilla, SS
Jason Kubel, DH
Danny Valencia, 3B
Jose Morales, 1B
Matt Tolbert, 2B
Ben Revere, LF
Jason Repko, RF
Drew Butera, C

Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn
(9-10, 5.43 ERA)

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Magic number now at 2: Twins vs. Indians 9/21

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins have an opportunity to clinch the American League Central division title tonight with a little help from the Oakland A’s.

A victory by the Twins plus a White Sox loss would reduce the club’s magic number from 2 to 0 and give the Twins their sixth division title in the last nine years. But due to the White Sox playing on the West Coast and their game not starting until two hours after the Twins, it’s unclear whether the team will celebrate tonight if that happens.,

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that he will be at home by the time the White Sox are finished playing tonight. He brought up the fact that the Twins will finish off their series against the Indians with a 12:10 p.m. CT game on Wednesday.

“There is plenty of time to do what you have to do,” Gardenhire said of celebrating. “If we win tonight, and [the White Sox] lose tonight, I guarantee you
we’ll have some fun tomorrow, one way or another.”

One reporter jokingly asked, “A celebration brunch?”

“We’ll let you have a celebratory brunch,” Gardenhire said. “We’re
going to play a baseball game [Wednesday] and after the game, we’ll do
our thing … and we might even let you in.”

Indians (62-88)
Michael Brantley, CF
Drew Sutton, SS
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Travis Hafner, DH
Jordan Brown, 1B
Andy Marte, 3B
Trevor Crowe, LF
Luis Valbuena, 2B
Lou Marson, C

Pitching: RHP Fausto Carmona (12-14, 3.81 ERA)

Twins

(90-60)

Denard Span, CF

Orlando Hudson, 2B
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael
Cuddyer, 1B
Jim Thome, DH
Delmon Young, LF
Danny Valencia, 3B
Nick Punto,
SS
Drew Butera, C

Pitching: RHP Scott Baker

(12-9, 4.60 ERA)

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Mauer’s MRI provides good news

MINNEAPOLIS – The MRI on Joe Mauer’s left knee showed some tissue inflammation but nothing more serious, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said before Tuesday’s game against the Indians.

“Everything came out good, so good news,” Gardenhire said.

Gardenhire said that Mauer would probably receive a cortisone shot to help with the inflammation in his knee, which would sideline him for around 4-5 days. A decision on whether Mauer will get the shot will be made once he consults with the Twins doctors on Tuesday night.

Mauer injured his knee while swinging in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the A’s, and the catcher left the game after it started to get worse while he ran up the first-base line.

The Twins are on the verge of clinching the American League Central title as their magic number was 2 entering Tuesday and there are 12 games remaining in the regular season, so Gardenhire said the timing of the injury isn’t such a bad thing.

“If they decide to do [the cortisone shot], then it’s probably 4-5 days, which he could use,” Gardenhire said. “That would be good [for him].”

Although Gardenhire had said that he wasn’t concerned that Mauer’s knee injury was anything serious since the doctors had not seemed concerned, he acknowledged that the positive results of the MRI were a bit of a relief.

“They told me in the first place it was nothing so I was listening to them,” Gardenhire said. “But I think you never know until you see an MRI, you never know what you can find.”

Until Mauer is ready to return to the lineup, the Twins catching duties will be split between Drew Butera and Jose Morales. Butera was behind the plate for Tuesday’s contest to catch starter Scott Baker and Morales was slated to catch Wednesday afternoon’s contest with Nick Blackburn on the mound.

Span is back in the lineup: Twins vs. Indians 9/20

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — Denard Span is back in the Twins lineup after missing three games with a sore right shoulder that he had injured while diving for a ball on Thursday night in Chicago.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that outfielder Jason Kubel (sore left wrist) was swinging well during batting practice today and could possibly return to the lineup on Tuesday.

Catcher Joe Mauer (jammed left knee) was getting treatment this afternoon and is still considered to be day-to-day. So far Gardenhire said he’s been told Mauer just “tweaked” the knee and there is no reason to be overly concerned about the injury.

Here are the lineups:

Indians (62-87)
Michael Brantley, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Shelley Duncan, LF
Jayson Nix, DH
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Andy Marte, 3B
Drew Sutton, 2B
Lou Marson, C

Pitching: RHP Jeanmar Gomez (3-4, 4.02 ERA)

Twins

(89-60)

Denard Span, CF

Orlando Hudson, 2B
Michael
Cuddyer, 1B
Jim Thome, DH
Delmon Young, LF
Danny Valencia, 3B
J.J.

Hardy,
SS
Jose Morales, C
Jason Repko, RF

Pitching: LHP Brian Duensing

(9-2, 2.07 ERA)

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Span out again: Twins vs. A’s 9/18

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — A quick turnaround with a day game today for the Twins.

It’s another lefty on the mound for the A’s and Denard Span is out of the Twins lineup for a second straight day due to a sore right shoulder. Joe Mauer is the DH today after spending some time behind the plate at the end of last night’s game, meaning Jim Thome is getting the day off.

I’ll have more updates later in the Twins Beat. For now, here are the lineups:

Athletics (73-73)
Coco Crisp, CF
Daric Barton, 1B
Mark Ellis, 2B
Jack Cust, DH
Landon Powell, C
Rajai Davis, RF
Akinori Iwamura, 3B
Chris Carter, LF
Cliff
Pennington, SS

Pitching: LHP Dallas Braden (9-12, 3.56 ERA)

Twins

(88-59)

Ben Revere, CF

Orlando Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, DH
Michael
Cuddyer, 1B
Delmon Young, LF
Danny Valencia, 3B
J.J.

Hardy,
SS
Jason Repko, RF
Drew Butera, C

Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey

(12-6, 4.24 ERA)

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A little banged up and bruised: Twins vs. A’s 9/17

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins have been the hottest team since the All-Star break, but the club returns home from its six-game roadtrip to Cleveland and Chicago a little banged up after cutting their magic number in the AL Central race down to 8 games.

Here are some of the noteworthy things to know today:

— Denard Span was scratched from the lineup with a sore right shoulder. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Span suffered the injury while diving for a ball on Thursday night in Chicago. Span tried to go out and take some swings today but was sore. So Ben Revere will get his first Major League start in center field tonight and will lead off for the Twins.

— Jason Kubel’s sore left wrist is feeling better but it looks like Sunday is the return date the Twins are targeting for the outfielder. Kubel said he didn’t plan to take any swings today.

— Joe Mauer is getting the night off from behind the plate. The Twins have a 12:10 p.m. CT on Saturday and so the decision was likely made to have him sit out tonight before catching Kevin Slowey tomorrow.

— It looks like Scott Baker could be used in a spot start sometime soon. The Twins are exploring options to give some of the other starters an extra day in between starts. Gardenhire did say that the start wouldn’t come anytime this weekend, so Francisco Liriano will remain on his normal five-day routine and start Sunday.

— Justin Morneau was at Target Field again on Friday and Gardenhire said that the first baseman told the skipper that he was “feeling really good.” Still, there was no real update on Morneau. The possibility of his return to the field this season still has not been eliminated.

Athletics (72-73)
Coco Crisp, CF
Daric Barton, 1B
Mark Ellis, 2B
Jack Cust, DH
Kurt Suzuki, C
Rajai Davis, RF
Akinori Iwamura, 3B
Chris Carter, LF
Cliff Pennington, SS

Pitching: LHP Brett Anderson (5-6, 2.94 ERA)

Twins

(83-57)

Ben Revere, CF

Orlando Hudson, 2B
Delmon Young, LF
Michael
Cuddyer, 1B
Jim Thome, DH
Danny Valencia, 3B
J.J.

Hardy,
SS
Jason Repko, RF
Drew Butera, C

Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn
(9-9, 5.51 ERA)



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Valencia is back in the lineup: Twins at Indians 9/10

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

CLEVELAND — Third baseman Danny Valencia is back in the lineup after missing five games with a tight right hamstring.

The Twins had good news in regards to a few other injured players as well.

— Jose Mijares threw 35 pitches in a  simulated game and everything went well. The left-hander will be available out of the bullpen for Saturday’s game against the Indians.

–Left-hander Brian Fuentes’ stiff back felt great while he played catch. He’ll throw a bullpen tomorrow and the Twins will see how he feels after that.

–Jim Thome is feeling good and he was swinging in the batting cages this afternoon. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Thome should be ready to play on Saturday

–Infielder Nick Punto (strained left hamstring) has been activated from the DL. Gardenhire said he’s not sure that Punto is quite 100 percent, but he can use him as a defensive replacement in games. Punto took swings during Mijares’ simulated game as well but Gardenhire said the team will stay away from using Punto as a pinch-runner.

Twins

(83-57)

Denard Span, CF

Orlando Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, DH
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael
Cuddyer, 1B
Delmon
Young, LF
Danny Valencia, 3B
J.J.

Hardy,
SS
Drew Butera, C

Pitching: RHP Carl Pavano (16-10, 3.52 ERA)

Indians (57-83)
Michael Brantley, CF
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Travis Hafner, DH
Jayson Nix, 3B
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Trevor Crowe, LF
Jason Donald, 2B
Lou Marson, C

Pitching: RHP Fausto Carmona (11-14, 4.05 ERA)

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Fox claimed by Red Sox

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — Right-hander Matt Fox was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox, the Twins announced on Thursday.

The move comes less than a week after Fox made his Major League debut for the Twins. With the club desperate for pitching help after a 13-inning loss to Detroit, the Twins added Fox to their 40-man roster and called him up from Triple-A Rochester to make a spot start against the Rangers.

Fox delivered a solid outing for the Twins, holding the Rangers to two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He finished the start with a no
decision, as the Twins came back to win 4-3.

Two days later the Twins designated Fox for assignment in order to open up a spot on their 40-man roster for outfielder Ben Revere, who was brought up to the Majors from Double-A New Britain. It wasn’t an easy move for the club considering Fox’s performance, but the pitcher wasn’t considered a top prospect and it was the only move the club could make.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire had said that he would be very excited for Fox if another Major League team picked him up and put the right-hander on their roster.

“I wish we could have done something there (to keep
him), but like I said, the roster’s such a tough thing,” Gardenhire
said. “One of these teams could bring him up and say, ‘We’re going to
keep you.’ That would be wonderful. Honestly, that would be good for
him. He’s a nice kid and did a heck of a job.” 

Now, Fox is getting that opportunity with another Major League team.