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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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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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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By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

Indians (39-54)
Asdrubal
Cabrera, SS
Jayson Nix, LF
Carlos Santana, DH
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Shelley Duncan,
RF
Trevor Crowe, CF
Jason Donald, 2B
Chris Gimenez, C

Pitching: RHP Jake Westbrook (6-5, 4.67 ERA)

Twins

(49-45)

Denard Span, CF

Orlando Hudson, 2B
Delmon Young, LF
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Jim Thome,
DH

J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Punto, 3B
Drew Butera, C

Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano
(7-7, 3.76 ERA)

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By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins will try to see if they can slow down the surging Indians, who have now won five straight contests following last night’s 10-4 victory in the series opener.

Kevin Slowey will be making the start tonight and it’s possible that he’s pitching for a spot in the rotation. The Twins have stretched out Brian Duensing in preparation for a possible move into a starting role and right now it just seems to be which spot he’ll take. For the club’s upcoming series against the Orioles, two of the rotation spots are currently listed as TBA — the two spots that would belong to Nick Blackburn and Slowey.

So we’ll see what happens after tonight.

As for news, right-hander Anthony Slama’s flight was scheduled to arrive in the Twin Cities sometime this afternoon but he had not arrived at the ballpark by the time batting practice started. He’s expected to be here by game time and he’ll wear No. 39 for the Twins.

Jon Rauch’s ankle is feeling better after he was struck by a line drive. He told manager Ron Gardenhire that he’s available to pitch but Gardenhire said the club will likely stay away from the reliever so it’s unclear who might close if there is a save situation.

Indians (38-54)
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Jayson Nix, LF
Carlos Santana, C
Travis
Hafner, DH
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Shelley Duncan, RF
Trevor Crowe, CF
Jason Donald, 2B

Pitching: RHP Justin Masterson (3-8, 5.31 ERA)

Twins

(49-44)

Denard Span, CF

Orlando Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Jim Thome,
DH
Delmon Young, LF

J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Punto, 3B

Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey (8-5, 4.95 ERA)

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By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — Twins first baseman Justin Morneau continues to battle symptoms from the concussion he suffered on July 7 and likely won’t be ready to return when he’s eligible to come off the disabled list on Friday.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said Monday that it’s doubtful Morneau will make the trip with the team to Baltimore later this week. Morneau has been feeling better when he wakes up in the morning but some of his symptoms — including headaches and some grogginess — return later in the day.

“You talk to him, he’s groggy and he can’t do anything about it,” Gardenhire said. “How long it’s going to last, no one
knows. The doctors can only guess.It’s how the player feels. And when the symptoms leave he can get 
back to baseball activities.”

The Twins will take on the Indians without their cleanup hitter this week and Cleveland is coming off a four-game sweep of the Tigers. For the Twins, they’ll try to capitalize after taking three of four from the White Sox and pulling themselves into a tie for second with Detroit, sitting 1 1/2 games behind Chicago in the AL Central race.

Indians (38-54)
Michael Brantley, CF
Jayson Nix, 2B
Carlos Santana, C
Austin Kearns, RF
Travis Hafner, DH
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Trevor Crowe, LF
Jason Donald, SS

Pitching: LHP Aaron Laffey (1-3, 5.12 ERA)

Twins

(49-43)

Denard Span, CF

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

J.J. Hardy, SS

Pitching: RHP Scott Baker
(7-8, 4.87 ERA)

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By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — The spring chill has set in the air at Target Field tonight and after numerous days of summer like warmth, the Twins will get a little reminder of what spring usually feels like in the Upper Midwest.

Nick Punto is not back in the lineup as expected. Manager Ron Gardenhire said the cooler weather played a factor as Punto’s sore groin is feeling good but “not totally right.” So the plan is to rest Punto at least today and tomorrow, hoping that he’ll be ready when the Twins head on the road on Friday.

Pat Neshek (strained flexor tendon right middle finger) played catch and felt OK. The next step will be for him to throw a bullpen, which could happen tomorrow. So it still will be a couple days at least before Neshek is available.

The good news came with Nick Blackburn, whose sore right elbow felt great during his bullpen session today. So he’ll start on Saturday as scheduled.

Mike Redmond is in the lineup for the Indians tonight. I’m guessing he’ll get a very nice reception from Twins fans.

Indians
(6-7)
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Austin Kearns, LF
Travis Hafner, DH
Mark Grudzielanek, 2B
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Matt LaPorta, 1B
Mike Redmond, C
Pitching: LHP David Huff

Twins

(10-4)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando
Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer,
RF
Jason Kubel, DH
Delmon Young, LF
J.J. Hardy, SS
Brendan
Harris,
3B
Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano

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By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — After taking a few days off, I’m back at Target Field for the Indians series. The sun has been shining and temperatures once again hit the mid-70s today. Yes, you couldn’t ask for better baseball weather.

I’ll admit that the new ballpark is even having an effect on us writers. Covering games inside the Metrodome and missing the beautiful spring and summer weather in Minnesota took its toll over the course of a season. So now being here at Target Field on another fantastic day with the sun shining as the team takes BP, it certainly is a treat.

I got a chance to catch up with Mike Redmond today as he makes his return to the Twin Cities as a member of the Indians. Redmond’s humor and demeanor is certainly missed inside the Twins clubhouse and everyone seemed happy to get a chance to see him again. I’ll have more from Redmond later on the site.

As for news, Nick Punto (sore groin muscle)_ is not back in the lineup although he said it’s feeling much better. He was expected to go through all the pre-game activities today and could make his return to the lineup as soon as tomorrow.

Pat Neshek’s right middle finger (strained flexor tendon) is still a little sore so he didn’t throw today. But it’s feeling much better than it was so manager Ron Gardenhire said the club will wait to see how he’s feeling in the next couple days. The team is trying to give Neshek some extra time to let the finger heal.

Right-hander Nick Blackburn had an MRI on his sore right elbow today, but he said he was feeling better and planned to play some catch today.

Indians (6-6)
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Grady Sizemore, CF
Shin-Soo Choo, RF
Travis Hafner, DH
Jhonny Peralta, 3B
Russell Branyan, 1B
Austin Kearns, LF
Luis Valbuena, 2B
Lou Marson, C
Pitching: RHP Justin Masterson

Twins

(9-4)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando
Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer,
RF
Jason Kubel, DH
Delmon Young, LF
J.J. Hardy, SS
Brendan Harris,
3B
Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey

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