Tagged: Twins

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.

Fuentes getting an MRI

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — Left-hander Brian Fuentes was getting an MRI on his lower back on Wednesday evening as the reliever continues to battle some stiffness in his back.

Fuentes threw a bullpen session on Tuesday at about 70 percent effort, manager Ron Gardenhire said, and when the lefty arrived in the clubhouse on Wednesday he was feeling pretty stiff.

“They want to get his back checked out,” Gardenhire said. “We’ll see where we’re at, see what’s going on.””

Fuentes missed 16 days during a stint on the disabled list in April with a lower-back issue.
Gardenhire said he’s been told that Fuentes’ back problem earlier this
season was due to a bulging disk.

Fuentes has faced just one batter since the Twins acquired him on Aug. 27 in a waiver trade with the Angels. He recorded the last out of a game against Seattle, retiring Russell Branyan for a save on Aug. 28.

Labor day baseball: Twins vs. Royals 9/6

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

Royals (57-79)
Gregor Blanco, CF
Mitch Maier, RF
Billy Butler, DH
Kila Ka’aihue, 1B
Wilson Betemit, 3B
Alex Gordon, LF
Brayan Pena, C
Chris Getz, 2B
Yuniesky Betancourt, SS

Pitching: RHP Sean O’Sullivan (2-4, 5.50 ERA)

Twins

(80-57)

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
Matt Tolbert, 3B

Pitching: RHP Kevin Slowey (11-6, 4.39 ERA)

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Pitching, pitching, pitching: Twins vs. Rangers 9/3

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — As many of you already know, the Twins have called up three pitchers from Triple-A Rochester to join the club in time for tonight’s game against the Rangers.

Right-hander Matt Fox will make his Major League debut as he gets the start vs. Texas. Nick Blackburn had originally been slated to start tonight, but he was forced into action in the 13th inning of last night’s 10-9 loss to the Tigers.

An interesting tidbit on Fox is that he was college teammates with Drew Butera at Central Florida. I was interested to see if Butera might get the start but with the Twins looking for offense, Joe Mauer is back behind the plate after catching all 13 innings last night.

In addition to Fox, the Twins will have right-handers Rob Delaney and Alex Burnett available out of the bullpen. This is Delaney’s first Major League callup while Burnett spent a good part of the first half with the team, going 1-2 with a 4.39 ERA.

While the Twins needed pitching, the rest of the club isn’t exactly in full health either. Good news is that Jim Thome and Orlando Hudson are both back in the lineup tonight. Hopefully we’ll get some updates on other players such as Jason Kubel, Brian Fuentes,
Kevin Slowey and Justin Morneau, who was expected to be back at Target Field today.

Tonight’s first pitch will be pushed back to 7:40, as the Twins begin their 50 year celebration weekend by honoring
their 50 greatest all-time players.

Oh and I wasn’t able to get this tidbit in my game story last night. This courtesy of Dustin Morse of the Twins and the Elias Sports Bureau.Brian Duensing tossed two innings of relief two days after a 6?-inning
start.  He was the first major-leaguer in more than 10 years to throw
at least two innings in relief in a game that followed by only one or
two days a start of more than six innings.  The last pitcher to do that
had been Steve Woodard of the Brewers in May 2000.

INJURY UPDATES:

Jason Kubel said that he had an x-ray and an MRI on his left wrist and said they didn’t show any damage. So his goal is to return to the lineup by Sunday.

Brian Fuentes’ back is feeling better but it sounds like he won’t be available tonight.

Here is how Gardy says the rotation will stack up over the next few days:

Sat– Pavano, Sun – Blackburn, Mon -Slowey, Tues – Liriano and Wed – Duensing

Rangers (75-58)

Elvis Andrus, SS
Michael Young, 3B
David Murphy, LF
Josh Hamilton, DH
Nelson Cruz, RF
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Mitch Moreland, 1B
Bengie Molina, C
Julio Borbon, CF

Pitching: LHP Derek Holland (2-2, 4.76 ERA)

Twins

(77-57)

Denard Span, CF

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

Hardy,
SS

Pitching: RHP Matt Fox

(Major League Debut)

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Twins call up three pitchers — Matt Fox to start tonight

By: Kelly Thesier/MLB.com

MINNEAPOLIS — After having to use a total of eight pitchers in Thursday night’s 10-9 loss in 13 innings to the Tigers, the Twins have brought up some additional arms from Triple-A Rochester.

The Twins announced Friday that three pitchers will join the club in time for Friday’s game against the Rangers. Right-hander Matt Fox will get the start against Texas, after scheduled starter Nick Blackburn had to pitch in Thursday’s loss. The team will also have right-handed relievers Rob Delaney and Alex Burnett available out of the bullpen.

Fox, who will be making his Major League debut, is the somewhat surprise pick of the group. He was not on the 40-man roster but had been one of the best pitchers recently for Rochester. He’s moved back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen for the Red Wings this season, last pitching on Monday at Pawtucket. He pitched six innings in that start, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits. He is 6-9 with a 3.95 ERA in 35 appearance (21 starts) for Rochester this season and is 2-2 with a 3.07 ERA in last 10 games (seven starts).

This is also the first call-up for Delaney. He is 7-9 with a 4.73 ERA in 61 appearances (80 innings) for the Red Wings this season.

Burnett will be rejoining the team after two stints with the club earlier this season. The right-hander was 1-2 with a 4.39 ERA in 35 appearances for the Twins this season.

To put Fox on the 40-man roster, the Twins transferred Justin Morneau to the 60-day disabled list. That isn’t necessarily a sign that Morneau’s season is officially over. He has been on the DL close to 60 days already so he can be added back to the roster if he proves to be ready sometime later this month.