Tagged: Joe Crede
Going for a sweep: Twins vs. Tigers 9/20
The Twins have a chance to pull within one game of the Tigers if they can complete the series sweep at the Metrodome this afternoon. Otherwise, they’ll trail Detroit by three games with 13 contests remaining, including four head-to-head matchups at Comerica Park.
A victory would also extend the Twins season-long winning streak to seven games and move the Twins
Before the game, manager Ron Gardenhire said that Joe Crede will have another back surgery next week so the third baseman is officially done for the year. It’s a tough thing for Crede, as it’s his third surgery in three years to repair a herniated L5 disk in his lower back. He’s obviously frustrated by the whole thing and for a guy who plays as hard as he does, you can’t help but feel for him as he gets set to undergo yet another procedure.
Another bit of news that Gardenhire passed along is that the Twins won’t alter their pitching rotation following Thursday’s off day. So here is how the pitching matchups will look for the upcoming 10-game roadtrip.
Chicago: Nick Blackburn, Jeff Manship, Brian Duensing
Kansas City: Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Blackburn
Detroit: Manship, Duensing, Pavano, Baker
Here are today’s lineups:
Tigers (78-70)
1st place in AL Central
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Marcus Thames, DH
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Carlos Guillen, LF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Gerald Laird, C
Ramon Santiago, SS
Pitching: LHP Nate Robertson (1-2, 5.35)
Twins (76-72)
2nd place in AL Central, 2 games back
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Jason Kubel, RF
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Delmon Young, LF
Brendan Harris, DH
Matt Tolbert, 3B
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Scott Baker (13-8, 4.35)
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Morneau gets a breather
UPDATE: Jason Kubel was scratched from today’s lineup with a sore neck. Kubel was originally in the lineup in right field and Denard Span in center. But Carlos Gomez is now in the lineup at CF and Span shifts to RF.
Justin Morneau is not in the lineup today as he’s battling a stiff back and a sore wrist, manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Morneau dove head-first into first base on Friday night trying to avoid a tag, and Gardenhire thinks that probably took a little toll on the first baseman. Perhaps it’s also a good time to give a mental break to Morneau, who is 3-for-39 (.077) since the start of September.
“He’s your ultimate gamer on the field,” Gardenhire said of Morneau. “He’s really fighting through everything right now.”
Joe Crede is also back in the lineup as the DH for the Twins.
Here are today’s lineups:
A’s (63-77)
4th place in AL West, 21 games back
Rajai Davis, CF
Mark Ellis, 2B
Kurt Suzuki, C
Scott Hairston, LF
Nomar Garciaparra, 1B
Bobby Crosby, 3B
Ryan Sweeney, RF
Landon Powell, C
Cliff Pennington, SS
Pitching: LHP Gio Gonzalez (5-5, 5.76)
Twins (70-72)
3rd place in AL Central, 5.5 games back
Denard Span, RF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, C
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Delmon Young, LF
Joe Crede, DH
Brendan Harris, 3B
Carlos Gomez, CF
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: LHP Brian Duensing (2-1, 3.94)
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Wednesday Lineups: Twins at Blue Jays
Michael Cuddyer is getting a little breather today while manager Ron Gardenhire shuffles the lineup a bit to get Joe Mauer in the DH spot. With Cuddyer out, Kubel is in right field. And yes, for those of you who were aware of yesterday’s lineup mixup, that’s accurate this time.
Francisco Liriano has been activated from the disabled list but he won’t be available out of the bullpen until tomorrow.
As for Joe Crede, Gardenhire said that he’s not ready to start in the field right now. The belief is that if Crede were to dive in the field, his back probably would not be able to handle that yet. So instead, Crede is being looked at as a pinch-hitter or perhaps a DH option against a left-handed pitcher.
The Twins have a stiff test in Toronto tonight as they face Roy Halladay, who is 8-0 with a 2.77 ERA in his career against Minnesota. There aren’t many Twins with strong numbers against Halladay with the exception of Delmon Young, who is 6-for-14 (.429). So Young is in left field again tonight.
Here are today’s lineups:
Twins (69-69)
2nd place in AL Central, 6.5 games back
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, RF
Delmon Young, LF
Brian Buscher, 3B
Jose Morales, C
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Carl Pavano (11-11, 5.09)
Blue Jays (62-76)
4th place in AL East, 27 games back
Marco Scutaro, SS
Jose Bautista, RF
Adam Lind, DH
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Vernon Wells, CF
Rod Barajas, C
Edwin Encarnacion, 3B
Travis Snider, LF
John McDonald, 2B
Pitching: RHP Roy Halladay (14-8, 2.98)
A reminder you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
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
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
Perkins to have MRI on his shoulder
Glen Perkins will not make a start for the Twins this week as he’s set to undergo an MRI on his left shoulder when the team returns to Minnesota. Perkins said it’s a “precautionary” MRI that he and his agent decided needed to be done after he’s had a hard time getting loose lately.But for now, Perkins is out of the rotation.
As for the two undecided starts on Wednesday and Thursday against the Royals, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Francisco Liriano would make one of them and Anthony Swarzak or Brian Duensing would make the other.
- Twins third baseman Joe Crede said that his right shoulder is feeling better again and that the cortisone shot hit the right spot. He’ll be ready to do some activity on the field Tuesday, but the Twins will probably wait until at least Wednesday before slotting Crede back into the lineup.
- Carlos Gomez’s calf is doing much better, Gardenhire said. Gomez didn’t start Sunday because he’s 0-for-5 with four strikeouts in his career against LHP Jarrod Washburn.
Here are today’s lineups:
Twins (54-56)
3rd place in AL Central, 4.5 games back
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Joe Mauer, DH
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Delmon Young, LF
Mike Redmond, C
Nick Punto, 3B
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: RHP Scott Baker (9-7, 4.59)
Tigers (58-51)
1st place in AL Central
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Marcus Thames, LF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Carlos Guillen, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Gerald Laird, C
Ramon Santiago, SS
Pitching: LHP Jarrod Washburn (8-7, 2.93)
A reminder you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Pavano arrives in Detroit and Crede out for series
A busy day here at Comerica Park for the Twins, starting of course with the acquisition of pitcher Carl Pavano from the Indians. So here a few quick updates while I work on more stories for later.
— Carl Pavano arrived at the ballpark this afternoon after driving up from Cleveland and spoke with the media before batting practice. He’s excited to come to a division-contending team. He’ll get his opportunity to pitch quickly for Minnesota. Pavano is set to start Saturday against the Tigers and Glen Perkins will move into the bullpen for this series. Pavano will wear Torii Hunter’s old number, 48.
–Here is how the rotation will roll out for now. Scott Baker will make Sunday’s start in the series finale.Nick Blackburn is set to pitch Tuesday vs. Kansas City and he’ll be on regular rest, thanks to Monday’s off day. For now both Francisco Liriano and Perkins are still considered to be in the rotation, although as I said earlier Perkins will be out of the ‘pen for now. More decisions will be made on the rotation after they can talk to Liriano, who is currently in the Twin Cities dealing with a family matter.
— Third baseman Joe Crede will miss this series, as he’s going to have another cortisone shot in the AC joint of his right shoulder tonight. The pain has been steadily getting worse in his shoulder again and doctors feel another shot should help that. The hope is Crede will be ready to play Tuesday vs. Kansas City.
Twins (53-55)
3rd place in AL Central, 4.5 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
Nick Punto, 2B
Pitching: RHP Anthony Swarzak (3-4, 4.25)
Tigers (57-50)
1st place in AL Central
Curtis Granderson, CF
Placido Polanco, 2B
Clete Thomas, LF
Miguel Cabrera, 1B
Carlos Guillen, DH
Magglio Ordonez, RF
Brandon Inge, 3B
Alex Avila, C
Adam Everett, SS
Pitching: RHP Armando Galarraga (5-10, 5.22)
A reminder you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Monday Lineups: Twins vs. White Sox
Joe Crede (sore right shoulder) was on the field for batting practice this afternoon. He took some swings and made some throws from across the field. Manager Ron Gardenhire said that Crede reported feeling good following the swings so it’s a possibility that Crede could DH on Tuesday.
The loss of Kevin Slowey from the rotation for the rest of the year is “disappointing,” Gardenhire said. Still, the skipper feels it’s a better alternative than Slowey pitching through pain and risk doing further damage.
The Twins’ depth at starting pitching is now thin — with no real options remaining at Triple-A Rochester. Anthony Swarzak will remain in Slowey’s spot but if the Twins need another starter it likely will come from their bullpen — R.A. Dickey, Bobby Keppel or Brian Duensing.
Also of note, the White Sox do not have a left-handed reliever in their bullpen for tonight’s game. Matt Thornton’s wife went into labor so he left to be with her.
Here are your lineups:
White Sox (51-48)
2nd place in AL Central, 2.0 games back
Scott Podsednik, CF
Alexei Ramirez, SS
Jermaine Dye, RF
Paul Konerko, 1B
A.J. Pierzynski, C
Carlos Quentin, LF
Gordon Beckham, 3B
Jayson Nix, 2B
Josh Fields, DH
Pitching: LHP John Danks (9-6, 3.98)
Twins (49-50)
3nd place in AL Central, 4.0 games back
Denard Span, LF
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Jason Kubel, DH
Brendan Harris, 3B
Carlos Gomez, CF
Nick Punto, SS
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: LHP Glen Perkins (5-6, 5.55)
Mauer gets a day off
Relax everyone, nothing is wrong with Joe Mauer. The time had just come when manager Ron Gardenhire felt that his catcher needed a breather and after Mauer went 0-for-6 for the first time in his career last night while catching 12 innings vs. the Rangers, today seemed like the perfect time.
I’ll have more on Mauer’s recent slowdown at the plate in a story a little later. But for all the emails I’ve been getting blaming the Home Run Derby for Mauer’s recent slump, here’s the reality — it goes back further than the All-Star Break.
So everyone just take a step back. Forget about all the concern surrounding the All-Star catcher and realize he’s still hitting .358 (yes, that’s impressive.)
News today….Kevin Slowey (strained right wrist) threw a bullpen session and felt good. He’ll throw another bullpen on Wednesday before flying to join Triple-A Rochester. Slowey will start for Rochester on Saturday and then a decision will be made on whether he needs a second start before rejoining the ballclub.
Joe Crede (mild strain of the AC joint in his right shoulder) is still sore, but the doctors expect the anti-inflammatory medication to help get rid of the soreness in a couple days. At that time Crede should be ready to get back in the lineup.
The Twins are facing left-hander Gio Gonzalez for the first time tonight. Left-handers have done much better against Gonzalez than right-handers (.455 vs. .316). So Gardenhire said he wanted to make sure to keep Jason Kubel in the lineup.
Twins (47-45)
3nd place in AL Central, 2.0 games back
Denard Span, LF
Nick Punto, SS
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Jason Kubel, DH
Delmon Young, DH
Brendan Harris, 3B
Mike Redmond, C
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Pitching: RHP Nick Blackburn (8-4, 3.06)
A’s (38-51)
4th place in AL West, 14 games back
Adam Kennedy, 3B
Orlando Cabrera, SS
Scott Hairston, CF
Matt Holiday, LF
Jack Cust, DH
Kurt Suzuki, C
Daric Barton, 1B
Ryan Sweeney, RF
Mark Ellis, 2B
Pitching: LHP Gio Gonzalez (1-2, 6.29)
Kelly's Corner 