Tagged: lineups
A little baseball on Trade Deadline day: Twins vs. Mariners 7/31
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS — Most of the focus today in baseball has been centered around the 3 p.m. CT non-waiver Trade Deadline.
But the Twins do have a big matchup against the Mariners tonight as well. They’ll face Felix Hernandez who is 4-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 10 career starts against the Twins.
Here are the lineups:
Mariners
(39-65)
Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Chone Figgins, 2B
Casey Kotchman, 1B
Russell
Branyan, DH
Franklin Gutierrez, CF
Michael Saunders, LF
Josh
Bard, C
Matt Tuiasosopo, 3B
Jack Wilson, SS
Pitching: RHP Felix Hernandez (7-7, 2.86 ERA)
Twins
(57-46)
Denard Span, CF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Delmon Young, LF
Jim Thome, DH
Michael Cuddyer, 1B
Jason Kubel, RF
Danny Valencia, 3B
J.J. Hardy, SS
Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey
(9-5, 4.76 ERA)
A
reminder
you
can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Thome’s return to Chicago: Twins at White Sox 4/9
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
CHICAGO — Jim Thome sat in the visiting dugout at U.S. Cellular Field this afternoon and greeted the Chicago media, many like they were old friends. It’s no surprise since the man is seriously one of the nicest people you’ll come across, not only baseball but perhaps any walk of life.
Thome will have to wait until at least tomorrow to get a start against his former club. With left-hander John Danks on the mound tonight, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire chose to stick with Jason Kubel as his DH and Delmon Young is in left field. However, Thome will be available off the bench to pinch-hit and Gardenhire has already said how much he enjoyed watching Joe Crede hit a home run in his return to U.S. Cellular Field last April.
Joe Mauer is getting his first night off of the season and that means Drew Butera will make his Major League debut tonight, catching Francisco Liriano. Even though Butera is a rookie, Gardenhire said he has plenty of confidence in the catcher’s ability to keep Liriano calm during his start.
With Mauer out of the lineup, J.J. Hardy is batting in the third spot. Hardy has certainly gotten off to a hot start, he enters Friday batting .313 with two homers, and Gardenhire felt good putting him at that spot.
Also, the team seemed pretty chipper this afternoon for having arrived in Chicago around 6 a.m. this morning. The team bus had to deal with rush hour traffic on their drive into the city, and Gardenhire even joked that he had to do a double take when he saw joggers out running as they arrived into town.
Twins
(3-1)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando
Hudson, 2B
J.J. Hardy, SS
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Jason Kubel, DH
Delmon Young, LF
Brendan Harris, 3B
Drew Butera, C
Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano
White Sox (1-2)
Juan Pierre, LF
Gordon Beckham, 2B
Carlos Quentin, RF
Paul Konerko, 1B
Andruw Jones, DH
Alex Rios, CF
Omar Vizquel, 3B
Alexei Ramirez, SS
Donny Lucy, C
Pitching: LHP John Danks
A reminder
you
can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Let’s do it again: Target Field exhibition game #2
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins were able to take batting practice on their home field for the first time on Saturday morning. The sun is shining and it’s an absolutely beautiful early spring day here in the Twin Cities.
One day after getting their first real glimpse of Target Field, the Twins players are still shaking their heads and trying to convince themselves that this is real. Many were saying how they wish they could stay here and play the opener, but tonight they’ll board a plane for Los Angeles to start the season with four games against the Angels.
Manager Ron Gardenhire said that Clay Condrey (sore right arm) threw 25 pitches in a Minor League game yesterday in Fort Myers, Fla. He reported feeling good afterward and he’ll join the team in Anaheim.
Cardinals (15-13)
Skip Schumaker, 2B
Brendan Ryan, SS
Albert Pujols, 1B
Matt Holliday, LF
Colby Rasmus, CF
Ryan Ludwick, RF
David Freese, 3B
Nick Stavinoha, DH
Jason LaRue, C
Pitching:LHP Jaime Garcia
Twins (15-14)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Jim Thome, DH
Delmon Young, LF
J.J. Hardy, SS
Brendan Harris, 3B
Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey
A reminder you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Welcome to Target Field: Exhibition game #1
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS — It’s finally here.
The Twins will get their first test run of their new ballpark tonight in an exhibition contest against the Cardinals.
There was rain a little earlier in the afternoon, forcing the Twins to shorten a quick fielding session on the field. But now the sun is starting to peak out and the expectation is for baseball tonight.
The Twins are running out their Opening Day lineup for the contest and before the team took the field, manager Ron Gardenhire announced that Jon Rauch will be his closer. More on that later.
For now, here are the lineups for tonight.
Cardinals (14-13)
Skip Schumaker, 2B
Brendan Ryan, SS
Albert Pujols, 1B
Matt Holliday, LF
Colby Rasmus, CF
Ryan Ludwick, RF
Felipe Lopez, DH
David Freese, 3B
Matt Pagnozzi, C
Pitching:RHP Kyle Lohse
Twins (15-13)
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
Nick Punto, 3B
Pitching: RHP Carl Pavano
A reminder you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Twins vs. Pirates 3/30
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Today marks the final spring outing for Francisco Liriano.
The Twins have yet to name a fifth starter, although manager Ron Gardenhire has made it clear that Liriano has the edge for the role. So we’ll see if the manager decides to name his fifth starter or will wait a little longer to make the decision.
Glen Perkins and Ron Mahay are both scheduled to pitch in Minor League contests today. Delmon Young will also get some swings down on the other side of the complex as well.
Pirates (7-16)
John Raynor, RF
Ramon Vazquez, 3B
Bobby Crosby, SS
Ryan Church, CF
Steve Pearce, 1B
Delwyn Young, 2B
Robbie Grossman, LF
Jason Jaramillo, C
Pitching: RHP Charlie Morton
Twins (13-11)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Jim Thome, DH
Jason Kubel, LF
J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Punto, 3B
Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano
Others scheduled to pitch: Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier
A reminder you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Twins vs. Rays 3/21
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Sorry for the delay in lineups, one of those busy days with the news about Joe Nathan deciding to undergo Tommy John ligament replacement surgery.
There were a few other bits of news this morning. The Twins made four cuts — optioning pitcher Jeff Manship to Triple-A Rochester and reassigning infielders Toby Gardenhire and Chris Parmelee and outfielder Brian Dinkelman to Minor League camp. The club now has 38 players in camp.
Right-hander Nick Blackburn is also scheduled to pitch a couple innings in Minor League game across the complex on Sunday.
Rays (12-5)
Matt Joyce, DH
Carl Crawford, LF
Ben Zobrist, RF
B.J. Upton, CF
Hank Blalock, 1B
Dan Johnson, 3B
Reid Brignac, SS
Elliot Johnson, 2B
Alvin Colina, C
Pitching: RHP Wade Davis
Others scheduled to pitch:Chris Jakubauskas, Javier Lopez, Jack Taschner, Brian Bass, Jean Machi
Twins (8-8)
Denard Span, CF
Orlando Hudson, 2B
Joe Mauer, C
Justin Morneau, 1B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Jim Thome, DH
Delmon Young, LF
J.J. Hardy, SS
Nick Punto, 3B
Pitching: RHP Scott Baker
Others scheduled to pitch: Jose Mijares, Clay Condrey, Anthony Swarzak, Kyle Waldrop
A reminder you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Twins at Rays 3/20
By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — The Twins and Rays are meeting up today for the first of two straight contests with each other this weekend.
J.J. Hardy said his irritated left quad is feeling much better. He is scheduled to play four innings and get at-bats in a Twins Minor League contest at the Lee County Sports Complex this afternoon.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters yesterday in Port St. Lucie that he doesn’t expect catcher Jose Morales to be ready for Opening Day, no real surprise considering that’s what Morales thought after having wrist surgery in late January. But now the focus will be on whether Wilson Ramos or Drew Butera gets the nod as the backup catcher to Joe Mauer when the club breaks camp.
Also, in Joe Nathan news it didn’t appear that the closer played catch this morning before the team bus left for Port Charlotte. That’s at least what us reporters gathered since we saw him hanging around the clubhouse and no real sign of activity. But we’ll find out later if that’s the case.
Twins (7-8)
Ben Revere, LF
Orlando Hudson, 2B
Delmon Young, DH
Michael Cuddyer, CF
Jacque Jones, RF
Brendan Harris, 1B
Alexi Casilla, SS
Drew Butera, C
Nick Punto, 3B
Pitching: LHP Francisco Liriano
Others scheduled to pitch: Brian Duensing, Jon Rauch, Jesse Crain, Jeff Manship, Anthony Slama
Rays (12-4)
Sean Rodriguez, CF
Dioneer Navarro, C
Gabe Kapler, CF
Willy Aybar, 1B
Justin Ruggiano, RF
Ryan Shealy, DH
Elliot Johnson, 3B
J.J. Furmaniak, LF
Reid Brignac, 2B
Pitching: LHP David Price
Others scheduled to pitch: Grant Balfour, Lance Cormier, Randy Choate, Rafael Soriano
A reminder you can follow me on Twitter @kellythesier
Cage time: Tuesday’s tidbits and notes
Rainstorms throughout the Fort Myers area this morning forced the Twins workouts inside the indoor batting cages this morning. Both pitchers and hitters got their work done in the cages, although it wasn’t without a little havoc. Manager Ron Gardenhire said the club had to pin up the netting in one of the cages because 6-foot-11 Jon Rauch was too tall and his arm was hitting the netting during his delivery.
Still despite the cramped space and less than ideal conditions, the Twins were able to get enough done on Tuesday.
“We got plenty of work, just inside, not on the grass,” Gardenhire said. “ Guys got out there, ran around, whatever, all
that stuff. But we had to do most of our work inside, the fields got
pretty ugly, which is never a bad thing. You get your work in,
sometimes give them a little break on their legs, a little less
throwing on a day like this is fine. Just don’t want too many of them.
We just moved today’s program back to tomorrow. Perfect.”
Here are a few more news nuggets from Tuesday:
— All of the injury concerns seem to be doing OK. Brian Duensing and Jose Mijares were both able to throw after getting hit during live batting practice in recent days.
— Gardenhire passed along his lineup for Thursday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Red Sox at City of Palms Park
It’s as follows: Denard Span CF, Alexi Casilla 2B, Jason Kubel DH, Michael Cuddyer RF, Jacque Jones LF, Brendan Harris 3B, Brock Peterson 1B, Drew Butera C, Matt Tolbert SS
Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau will play in Friday’s home opener at Hammond Stadium. Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy will likely make their Twins spring debuts in that contest as well.
— Gardenhire is also scheduled to receive his Chuck Tanner Manager of the Year Award during Sunday’s split squad game in Bradenton against the Pirates. The award was given out this offseason but Gardenhire was unable to attend due to traveling across the country with his mother.
One person who gave Gardenhire grief for not attending was Tigers manager Jim Leyland, who was roasted at the event in Pittsburgh. Leyland also had a bit of advice to pass along to Gardenhire recently.
Having heard Gardy’s comment about Joe Mauer’s contract in that the Twins were deciding whether to give the catcher Minneapolis or St. Paul, Leyland said he had the answer.
“Give him both,” the Tigers skipper said.
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
Saturday lineups — Twins at Indians
The Twins have faced Carl Pavano only once in his career and that came over two years ago, on April 9, 2007 when he was a member of the Yankees. He earned the victory in that contest at the Metrodome — pitching seven innings and allowing two runs in what would be his final start of that season for New York.
Tonight the Twins will get their second look at Pavano — this time at Progressive Field as he makes his fourth start for Cleveland.
Due to Pavano being limited by injuries in recent years, many of the Twins hitters haven’t faced him or have very little experience against him. Only three guys on the current roster have tallied a hit against Pavano (and for all of them it really is only one hit) — Joe Crede, Michael Cuddyer, and Jason Kubel.
Today’s lineups:
Twins
Denard Span, CF
Alexi Casilla, 2B
Justin Morneau, 1B
Jason Kubel, DH
Joe Crede, 3B
Michael Cuddyer, RF
Delmon Young, LF
Mike Redmond, C
Nick Punto, SS
Pitching: Kevin Slowey, RHP
Indians
Grady Sizemore, CF
Mark DeRosa, 3B
Victor Martinez, 1B
Travis Hafner, DH
Shin Soo Choo, RF
Ben Francisco, LF
Kelly Shoppach, C
Tony Graffanino, 2B
Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
Pitching: Carl Pavano, RHP
Kelly's Corner 