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Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Sunday, May 11, 2014

➢ Twins notes: Buxton reinjures wrist. Star Tribune (Neal) pg. 1

➢ MLB Insider: New replay system keeps Gardy in the dugout. Star Tribune pg. 2

➢ Three Twins postgame thoughts from LEN3: RISP, Buxton, Plouffe. Star Tribune (Neal) pg. 4

➢ Top Twins prospect Byron Buxton reinjures wrist, will have MRI. Pioneer Press (Berardino) pg. 4

➢ Twins’ Doxier comfortable sharing his faith. Pioneer Press (Berardino) pg. 5

➢ Mauer says back is stiff after first game back. Pioneer Press (Berardino) pg. 6

➢ Twins can’t overcome Kyle Gibson’s nightmare inning in loss to Tigers. Pioneer Press (Berardino) pg. 6

➢ Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer back in lineup. Pioneer Press (Berardino) pg. 8

➢ Twins can’t recover from Tigers’ six-run second. MLB.com (Bollinger) pg. 9

➢ Mauer returns to lineup as designated hitter. MLB.com (Bollinger) pg. 10

➢ Racking up RBIs, Suzuki impressing with his bat. MLB.com (Bollinger) pg. 11

➢ Plouffe, Kubel get day off from starting duties. MLB.com (Bollinger) pg. 11

➢ Tiger’s Ray, Twins’ Deduno set for rubber match. MLB.com (Bollinger) pg. 12

➢ Joe Mauer returns to the lineup as designated hitter. 1500 ESPN (Wetmore) pg. 13

➢ Tigers hit a pair of three-run homers to beat Twins in Mauer’s return. Associated Press pg. 13

➢ 5 thoughts on homer-happy Dozier, DIPS theory, woobly wheels. 1500 ESPN (Wetmore) pg. 14

➢ Report: Byron Buxton to have MRI after re-injuring wrist. 1500 ESPN (Wetmore) pg. 16

Twins notes: Buxton reinjures wrist

La Velle E. Neal III / Star Tribune – 5/11/14

DETROIT – Twins outfield prospect Byron Buxton has had a setback with his left wrist and will undergo an MRI exam early next week, Twins director of minor leagues Brad Steil said Saturday.

Buxton reinjured his wrist while sliding into a base Thursday at Class A Fort Myers. He was a late scratch from the Miracle’s game on Friday against Jupiter. He did not play on Saturday, and Sunday is an off day.

“He will have an MRI this week to compare it to his MRI from the spring,” Steil said.

Buxton first injured his wrist on March 16 while diving for a ball during a minor league spring training game. He ended up being shut down for several weeks because the area he sprained, the pisotriquetral joint, is usually slow to heal. He eventually played in extended spring training games before joining Class A Fort Myers on May 4.

In five games last week, Buxton was 3-for-20 (.150) with one homer, two RBI, no walks, eight strikeouts and no stolen bases. The plan was for him to play at Fort Myers until he was sharp enough to move on to Class AA New Britain.

There was hope Buxton would progress enough to make his major league debut this season. The wrist injury has put that in doubt for a player who was the consensus pick as the top prospect in baseball.

Something to work on

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Danny Santana and Brian Dozier are just getting to know each other as double-play partners, so everything might not good smoothly.

Like in the second inning on Saturday when Santana fielded Torii Hunter’s grounder and decided to flip to second for a force play rather than throw to first, which was the easier play.

“I was assuming he was going to go to first base,” Dozier said, “but I’m not going to knock him for going to second.”

Dozier failed to catch the throw. Alex Avila dashed for home, and Dozier picked up the ball and threw wildly home, drawing an error.

“He tried to get the out at second and it turned into a mess,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.

Going to bat

The pink bats have arrived for the Mother’s Day game — Major League Baseball’s movement to raise awareness about breast cancer. Dozier, Chris Colabello, Aaron Hicks, Trevor Plouffe and Jason Kubel will use them Sunday. Dozier and Plouffe are taking things to another level, with pink wrist bands and sunglasses.

Mauer is back

Joe Mauer returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing five games because of a sore lower back. He was 1-for-3 with a walk as the designated hitter.

Mauer hopes to play in Sunday’s game, depending on how he feels that morning. He made it clear that he is not 100 percent.

“It was good to get back out there, definitely,’’ he said. “I still feel it, and I’m definitely stiff right now, but I’m good to get back out there.’’

Mauer said he was available to pinch hit Saturday and woke up feeling well enough to play.

Etc.

• Plouffe had played in all 34 games before getting a break Saturday. He’s batting .128 over his past 11 games, although he’s had a few hard-hit outs.

• The Tigers honored former manager Jim Leyland before the game. He addressed the crowd and listed Game 163 against the Twins as one of his biggest memories.

“A good friend and great manager,” Gardenhire said. “I had the pleasure of knowing him and learning from him and shared the field with him.’’

MLB Insider: New replay system keeps Gardy in the dugout

Star Tribune – 5/11/14

He understands how the misperception was born, and why it became conventional wisdom. He’s seen all the photos and videos, the ones that reveal the veins popping out on his neck and the eyes wide with rage. Heck, he even likes telling some of the best, wildest stories himself.

But Ron Gardenhire wants to correct the impression most baseball fans have of him.

“The thought process is always [that] I don’t get along with umpires,” the Twins manager said. “That’s blatantly wrong. I get along with them all the time.” Now more than ever.

~ 3 ~

Gardenhire’s 67 regular-season ejections (plus one in the playoffs) are more than any active manager and place him in the top 10 in baseball history. Those fiery nose-to-noses have become part of Twins lore, so much so that when the team celebrated the manager’s 1,000th career victory last month, Twins players even wore T-shirts printed with photos of Gardenhire arguing with um-pires and reading “1,000 wins, 67 ejections … and still counting.”

That count has stalled this season, however. Gardenhire has yet to be tossed from a game in 2014, and if he remains in the dug-out throughout Friday’s game in Detroit, he will have survived 36 games so far — the deepest into a season he’s gone without an ejection.

The reason, he figures, isn’t a calmer temperament, or conflict avoidance. At 56, Gardenhire insists he’s just as competitive as ever.

The thing is, there just isn’t much to argue over anymore. “With the replay system, ‘I challenge the call’ is about as mean as you get,” Gardenhire said. “You walk out slowly, and I say, ‘This is what we see [in the replay],’ and they go, ‘Let’s take a look.’ … And there you have it. No yelling.”

Around the game, disputes have been replaced by detente, hostility by cooperation. Managers and umpires are colleagues; no longer does a manager have to live with a blown call, nor an umpire defend one. “It’s been a lovefest with the umpires, a big , hap-py discussion,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said via Twitter. “Almost no reason to get upset anymore except balls and strikes.”

Orioles manager Buck Showalter, a former college basketball referee, said the atmosphere on the field is less combative and be-lieves the umpires, far from resenting the attempt to correct their mistakes, are embracing the system. “I wan ted to leave every game having had nothing to do with the outcome. That was the greatest accolade [as a referee], when I walked off the court and didn’t have to sprint to the locker room,” Showalter said. “These guys now, they walk off every field knowing that, other than balls and strikes, the players decided that game. I think that might make it a more attractive job.”

Yet Gardenhire, who jokes that he yells at his coaches more now instead of umpires, admits that he … well, not that he misses throwing a fit in public every so often, not exactly. For one thing, he’s saved thousands of dollars in fines.

But this era of conviviality is definitely a change, and it takes some getting used to. “You’ve got this burn inside of you,” Gar-denhire said. “You get intense in the dugout, you get fired up, and you run out there and you feel like you’re part of the game. You’re really into it. And now that’s kind of gone.”

It was always gone anyway, he said, an hour or two after each one of his rhubarbs, which is why he hates the notion that he doesn’t get along with umps. “I’m not afraid to argue with them, to go out and yell and scream, but the next day, it’s over with. It’s always been over with,” Gardenhire insisted, before adding with a smile: “Except for a couple.”

Of hitting streaks and Twins

Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado entered the weekend with a chance to reach some rarefied air in the Mile High City: Col-lect a hit in 30 consecutive games, something that nine different franchises have never experienced. He didn’t get there, going hitless on Friday, but in reaching 28 straight games Arenado erased Colorado’s franchise record of 27, set last season by former Twin Michael Cuddyer.

But three other ex-Twins still own the longest hitting streaks for other franchises, including Paul Molitor’s 39 games in 1987, which is the Brewers’ record, and outside of Pete Rose’s 44-gamer, the longest streak since Joe DiMaggio set the all-time record at 56 games. Other ex-Twins holding franchise records: Luis Castillo’s 35-game streak in 2002 is the best in Marlins history, and Jason Bartlett’s 2009 streak of 19 in a row is the best ever by a Ray. (Another former Twin, Denard Span, had a hit in 29 straight games a year ago, missing by one Ryan Zimmerman’s Nationals team record.)

The best in Minnesota history? That belongs to Ken Landreaux, who hit in 31 consecutive games in 1980.

Central Intelligence: Best great-bargain players

Every AL Central team has a payroll of at least $85 million, and in the Tigers’ case, it’s nearly twice that. But even with a ll the big salaries, it’s important for teams to find valuable players at bargain prices. Here are the division’s most valuable players, among those earning $1 million or less, through the first five weeks of 2014:

Indians: In his third full season, Zach McAllister has gained confidence in his changeup, making his fastball even more effective.

~ 4 ~

He’s allowed only one home run in 36 innings, and his 3.18 ERA shows the righthander may be on the verge of delivering All -Star performance for a minimum-salary ($500,000) price. (Runner-up: Lonnie Chisenhall.)

Royals: Center fielder Lorenzo Cain, with his $546,000 salary, was a runaway winner in this department, batting .360 over the first 14 games, until he went on the disabled list with a strained groin.

Jarrod Dyson, earning $530,000, stepped in and batted .317 while Cain was out. (Runner-up: Yordano Ventura.)

Tigers: He’s only made three starts, but already Drew Smyly is showing why the Tigers felt comfortable trading away Doug Fister last winter.

The $520,000 lefthander owns a 2.45 ERA in 22 innings, has struck out 21 and walked only six. (Runner-up: Nick Castellanos.)

White Sox: For a team that got only a .321 on-base percentage from its leadoff hitters in 2013, Adam Eaton, acquired in a trade with Arizona, has been a huge improvement.

His .364 on-base average, at a salary of only $511,000, has helped Chicago lead the AL in runs scored. (Runner-up: Tyler Flow-ers.)

Three Twins postgame thoughts from LEN3: RISP, Buxton, Plouffe

La Velle E. Neal III / Star Tribune – 5/10/14

Here are three thoughts following the Twins' loss to the Tigers:

RISP: The Twins were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position on Saturday and are 6-for-49 (.122) during the road trip. It cost them at least one game during this road trip, and they could have knocked out Max Scherzer earlier if they had gotten a couple key hits. Then they would have gotten into the Tigers bullpen (4.96 ERA) earlier.

BUXTON OUT: Outfield prospect Byron Buxton was scratched from Class A Fort Myers' lineup on Friday because of a sore left wrist and did not play on Saturday. It's the same left wrist that cost him the first 28 games of the season. Sunday is an off day, so Buxton will have three days off before he can try to play with it on Monday.

PLOUFFE CHILLS OUT: Trevor Plouffe had played in all 34 games before getting a break on Saturday. He's batting .128 over his last 11 games, although he's had a few hard-hit outs.

BONUS NOTE: Joe Mauer returned to the lineup after missing five games because of a sore lower back. He was 1-for-3 as the designated hitter on Saturday, plus a walk. Mauer hopes to play in Sunday's series finale but will see how he responded to playing on Saturday. He made it clear that he is not 100 percent. ``It was good to get back out there, definitely,'' he said. ``I still feel it and I'm definitely stiff right now but I'm good to get back out there.'' Mauer said he was available to pinch hit Saturday and woke up Saturday feeling well enough to play.

Top Twins prospect Byron Buxton reinjures wrist, will have MRI

Mike Berardino / Pioneer Press – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- Byron Buxton, baseball's top-ranked minor-league prospect, missed a second straight game Saturday night with

soreness in his left wrist and is scheduled to undergo a follow-up magnetic resonance imaging exam in the coming days.

~ 5 ~

According to Brad Steil, Twins director of minor league operations, Buxton "bumped his hand on a slide Thursday night" at Jupiter.

Buxton took batting practice on Friday back in Fort Myers but felt soreness in his wrist and was given the night off.

The upcoming MRI will be taken "to compare it to his MRI from the spring," Steil wrote in a text message.

Off to a 3-for-20 (.150) start with eight strikeouts for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle, Buxton, 20, has played five games so far this

year in the Florida State League.

Buxton, the No. 2 overall pick in June 2012, doubled in five trips on Thursday at Jupiter. That same night 2011 first-rounder Levi

Michael fouled a ball off his foot to start the game and was sent for X-rays, which were negative.

Michael also has yet to return to the lineup.

Buxton joined the Miracle on May 4 after opening the year in extended spring training with lingering wrist pain. Buxton suffered the

injury on March 16 while attempting a diving catch in Fort Myers, shortly after being sent down from his first big-league camp.

Four days earlier, Twins Double-A third baseman Miguel Sano, their No. 2 prospect, underwent season-ending Tommy John sur-

gery.

Danny Santana, the Twins' rookie shortstop, said Saturday he still sometimes experiences issues with his surgically repaired right

wrist, especially when temperatures drop. Santana had the surgery roughly 18 months ago, sometime after his 2012 season with

the Miracle.

"When it's cold I don't think my wrist was so good," Santana said. "It's hard to hit like that. It feels better now."

Santana is a switch-hitter. Buxton bats right.

Twins’ Dozier comfortable sharing his faith

Mike Berardino / Pioneer Press – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- Brian Dozier took the microphone Saturday morning and looked up into the stands at Comerica Park.

Ten thousand faces were staring back, waiting to be inspired by the Twins second baseman as he spoke about his Christian faith.

Dozier was pinch-hitting for Josh Willingham, who was the original choice to represent the Twins at this Home Plate event.

Willingham, however, remains in the Twin Cities on the disabled list with a wrist injury, so it was left to Dozier to address the crowd

for 10 to 12 minutes.

Ex-Twin Torii Hunter also spoke, along with Tigers teammates Don Kelly and Rajai Davis and ex-Tigers left-hander Frank Tanana,

who helps organize the weekly Detroit Baseball Chapel.

So, which is harder, hitting against Tigers ace Max Scherzer or speaking to a large crowd about religion?

"That stuff's easy," Dozier said, referring to speaking. "I don't mind speaking. I've shared my testimony a lot. It's always good.

Never in front of that many people, though."

Jeff Totten, the chapel's co-director, helped Dozier along by tossing questions at him during his appearance. Dozier, who commit-

ted to his faith at age 11 while growing up in Fulton, Miss., said he could see himself giving more talks like this in the future.

~ 6 ~

"That's what I'm here for," Dozier said. "I'm not here to play baseball."

Nerves don't enter the equation when he is asked to speak about something so personal.

"That's the beauty of it," he said. "I've never been ashamed or guarded or shy in expressing how I feel regarding that. That's al-

ways a good thing, something's that been inside of me."

Mauer says back is stiff after first game back

Mike Berardino / Pioneer Press – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- Brian Dozier took the microphone Saturday morning and looked up into the stands at Comerica Park.

Ten thousand faces were staring back, waiting to be inspired by the Twins second baseman as he spoke about his Christian faith.

Dozier was pinch-hitting for Josh Willingham, who was the original choice to represent the Twins at this Home Plate event.

Willingham, however, remains in the Twin Cities on the disabled list with a wrist injury, so it was left to Dozier to address the crowd

for 10 to 12 minutes.

Ex-Twin Torii Hunter also spoke, along with Tigers teammates Don Kelly and Rajai Davis and ex-Tigers left-hander Frank Tanana,

who helps organize the weekly Detroit Baseball Chapel.

So, which is harder, hitting against Tigers ace Max Scherzer or speaking to a large crowd about religion?

"That stuff's easy," Dozier said, referring to speaking. "I don't mind speaking. I've shared my testimony a lot. It's always good.

Never in front of that many people, though."

Jeff Totten, the chapel's co-director, helped Dozier along by tossing questions at him during his appearance. Dozier, who commit-

ted to his faith at age 11 while growing up in Fulton, Miss., said he could see himself giving more talks like this in the future.

"That's what I'm here for," Dozier said. "I'm not here to play baseball."

Nerves don't enter the equation when he is asked to speak about something so personal.

"That's the beauty of it," he said. "I've never been ashamed or guarded or shy in expressing how I feel regarding that. That's al-

ways a good thing, something's that been inside of me."

Twins can’t overcome Kyle Gibson’s nightmare inning in loss to Tigers

Mike Berardino / Pioneer Press – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- There is a concept the Twins pound into the heads of their young pitchers from their earliest days in the minor

leagues.

That term is "damage control," meaning you might give up a run or two in a given inning but don't let the whole game get wrecked

by a little adversity.

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Saturday's 9-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers on a sun-splashed afternoon at Comerica Park brought a reminder of the importance of

damage control.

"You're always working on that," starter Kyle Gibson said after the shortest stint of his 17 big-league starts. "You just have to keep

making pitches."

Even after two errors were made behind him in the second inning, plus an ill-advised fielder's choice by rookie shortstop Danny

Santana, Gibson still had a chance to escape with a 3-0 deficit.

With runners on second and third and two down, pitching coach Rick Anderson trotted out to remind Gibson he had a base open

as he prepared to face Miguel Cabrera, the American League's two-time reigning Most Valuable Player.

Gibson jumped ahead with two quick strikes against Cabrera, who struck out in the first on a pitch that "looked like it just disap-

peared," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. Then the second-year righty left a slider out over the plate, and Cabrera deposited

it over the Jimmy John's sign in right for a three-run homer.

Just like that, Jim Leyland Day was a big party for the sellout crowd of 42,312.

Talk about freaky fast.

"It all happened pretty quick," said Gibson, who was gone after 48 pitches. "Unfortunately, I didn't keep making pitches that inning,

and it kind of got out of hand there."

Before Saturday, Gibson had allowed just two earned runs in the second inning, none this year. His 1.12 earned-run average in

the second had been his lowest for any inning he had worked with any regularity.

So much for that. All six runs in that nightmare second were pinned on Gibson, who saw his ERA balloon to 4.74 after he opened

the year with three dazzling starts.

"We missed one play out there, which turned out to be a big one," Gardenhire said. "I think Danny probably needed to throw the

ball to first base (on Torii Hunter's two-out grounder), and he tried to get the out at second and it turned into a mess."

That was enough to end Gibson's anticipated showdown with his fellow Missouri Tiger, Max Scherzer, who was leaving in 2006

just as Gibson was arriving in Columbia.

Despite struggling with fastball command all day and giving up Brian Dozier's ninth homer -- also a three-run shot, also on an 0-2

count -- the reigning Cy Young Award winner kept wriggling off the hook in his six innings.

"We had a lot of opportunities to score runs," Dozier said, "but (Scherzer) got nasty with runners in scoring position. His changeup

got nasty."

Even with Joe Mauer back in the lineup for the first time since Sunday, the Twins finished 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position,

striking out four times. Dozier's homer was the exception.

Over the first two games of this weekend series against the three-time defending American League Central champions, the Twins

are 2 for 16 (.125) with seven strikeouts in the clutch. Four of those strikeouts belong to Aaron Hicks, who was activated off the

seven-day concussion list Friday.

Somehow, the experienced Tigers keep practicing damage control.

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Another reminder came in the seventh, with the Twins still lurking after reliever Anthony Swarzak turned in four innings of one-hit

work, striking out three. Rookie reliever Michael Tonkin gave up a one-out single to Hunter and hit Cabrera with a wayward slider.

He then left a fastball over the plate to cleanup man Victor Martinez, who added a three-run homer to put the game out of reach.

"I don't know if it's damage control or just throwing quality pitches," Tonkin said after giving up his second homer in his past three

outings. "That's all there is to it. If you throw quality pitches with nobody on, you'll get guys out. If you throw quality pitches with

guys on, you'll get guys out. It doesn't matter."

Saturday, it seemed to make all the difference.

Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer back in lineup

Mike Berardino / Pioneer Press – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- Joe Mauer's five-game injury absence is over.

The Twins' franchise first baseman popped into manager Ron Gardenhire's office Saturday morning and let him know it was "all

systems go" as far as his lower-back issue.

Mauer will bat third and serve as the designated hitter for this afternoon's game against the Detroit Tigers. He is 8 for 26 (.308)

with a home run in his career against Tigers starter Max Scherzer, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner.

"He came in early, got to the park and did some stuff," Gardenhire said of Mauer. "He came in saying, 'I want to play. I'm in.' The

trainers said the same thing. Looks good. Looks like he can run the bases, do everything he needs to do."

Mauer last played on Sunday at home against Baltimore, leaving after just two innings and one plate appearance. Back pain left

him unable to tie his size-13 shoes until Tuesday.

Since then he has been taking treatment and slowly working his way back into baseball activity.

"Backs, we all know, are not something you want to deal with too awful much," Gardenhire said. "They're strange things. When

you start feeling better, you always want to give it a few extra days. I've had it. Everybody's had it. It's not much fun. Just happy to

see he's wanting to come in here and play. That's good."

Mauer has yet to run the bases or take batting average on the field, so this timeline seems a bit aggressive. However, with a ros-

ter stretched thin by other injuries, the Twins needed to find out by this weekend if Mauer would be able to avoid the disabled list.

It was on their last trip to Comerica Park in August that Mauer experienced nausea during batting practice on Aug. 20 and had to

be placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list. He missed the final 39 games of the season.

"I said, 'Make sure.' He said, 'I'm sure,' " Gardenhire said. "He's in the lineup. Pretty easy to write his name in there."

As for running the bases, Mauer was unable to do that the last two days because of pregame rain that wiped out batting practi ce

on Friday and a religious service that put the field off limits on Saturday.

"He did all kinds of stuff (Friday)," Gardenhire said. "He didn't run the bases. Not until he hits one. Then we'll see him run the ba-

ses. I just said, 'Can you make sure you can run the bases?' He said he can make sure he can run the bases."

~ 9 ~

Twins can’t recover from Tigers’ six-run second

Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- It was the shortest outing of Kyle Gibson's young career, but the right-hander wasn't helped by his defense in a six-

run second inning for the Tigers.

Gibson lasted just two innings, but rookie shortstop Danny Santana made a mental mistake to prolong the second, a blunder that

led to a key three-run homer from Miguel Cabrera in a 9-3 loss to Detroit on Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park.

With two outs in the second, Gibson got Torii Hunter to ground into what should've been a routine play to Santana, but he opted to

throw to second base for the forceout, and the ball went off Brian Dozier's glove. Dozier then threw wide of home plate to allow a

run to score, before Cabrera delivered a three-run blast to give the Tigers an early six-run lead.

"Our kid just couldn't make a pitch," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We missed one play out there, and it turned out to be a

big one. Danny should've just thrown to first base but threw to second. So it turned out to be a mess with Gibby giving up a big

three-run homer. We were sloppy early, and it cost us a ballgame."

Gibson ran into trouble in a hurry, putting runners on the corners with nobody out in the first inning, but he was able to get out of

the jam by striking out Cabrera and getting Victor Martinez to ground into an inning-ending double play.

But Gibson wasn't as lucky in the second, as Austin Jackson led off the inning with a single before advancing to third on a double

from Don Kelly. Nick Castellanos then hit a grounder down the third-base line and Eduardo Escobar was able to make a nice play

to get Jackson out at home.

Gibson, though, promptly surrendered back-to-back RBI singles to Alex Avila and Andrew Romine to give Detroit an early two-run

lead. Ian Kinsler followed with a flyout to center field, before Hunter hit the grounder to Santana.

"I was assuming [Santana] was probably going to go to first base, but I'm not going to knock him for going to second," Dozier said.

"He made a good flip, but I'm not sure if [the runner] would've been safe either way."

Cabrera then made Minnesota pay with his three-run blast. It was the first homer given up all season by Gibson, who had faced

165 batters without serving up a homer this year.

"I got behind a lot of guys and was forced was to throw over the middle, and this is a team where you can't do that," Gibson said.

"I threw some changeups and breaking pitches over the middle in those first two innings, so it's frustrating. But there's a lot to

learn from it, and I'll go on to the next one."

It was enough offense for reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, even though he didn't have his best

stuff. Scherzer entered with a 1.72 ERA, and he lasted six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks with six

strikeouts.

~ 10 ~

"He was physically strong, but I think he was battling to get his release point all the time. He said his slider wasn't very good," Ti-

gers manager Brad Ausmus said. "He just couldn't consistently get his release point to put the ball where he wanted to in the

strike zone. That being said, he battled through and held them to three runs in six innings, giving us a chance to win."

Kurt Suzuki nearly hit a solo shot off Scherzer in the first, but he was robbed on a leaping catch from Kelly in left field. But Dozier

launched a no-doubt three-run blast in the third inning, his team-leading ninth homer of the year and his first non-solo home run.

But it was all the Twins could do against Scherzer, as they went just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position against him.

"We put some good at-bats together against him, but you can't spot a Cy Young Award winner six runs," Dozier said. "We had a

lot of opportunities to score some runs, but he got nasty with runners in scoring position."

Right-hander Anthony Swarzak pitched well in long relief of Gibson, throwing four scoreless innings, but right-hander Michael

Tonkin came in for the seventh and surrendered a three-run homer to Martinez to put the game out of reach for Minnesota.

"Ultimately, we couldn't get another big hit to get back into it, and our other kid, Tonkin, came in and misfired a little bit, too," Gar-

denhire said. "So there you have it. Nine runs."

Mauer returns to lineup as designated hitter

Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- After missing five games with lower back spasms, Joe Mauer returned to the lineup on Saturday in the Twins' 9-3

loss to the Tigers, starting at designated hitter and batting third. He went 1-for-3 with a walk.

Mauer was able to hit in the cages without any issues before the game, and he told Twins manager Ron Gardenhire that he was

also able to run the bases. So Gardenhire called it an easy decision to put Mauer in the lineup for the first time since Sunday.

"He came in and got to the park early and did some stuff and said he wanted to play," Gardenhire said. "The trainers said the

same thing. He feels good and can run all the bases and all those things."

Gardenhire added he was relieved Mauer was able to avoid the 15-day disabled list, as it would've kept him out of action until May

20 against the Padres.

"With backs, it's something you don't want to deal with too much," Gardenhire said. "When you start feeling better, you always

want to give it a few extra days. I've had it and we've all had it, and it's just not very fun. So I'm just happy to see him in here,

wanting to play."

Mauer didn't know if he'd play until Saturday morning, but he was available to pinch-hit late in Friday's 2-1 win. After Saturday's

game, he said he was still feeling some stiffness in his back.

"It was good to get back out there, definitely," Mauer said. "I still feel it, and I'm pretty stiff right now, but it feels pretty good to be

back out there. I know it was just a few days, but it felt like forever. It was a lot of time in the training room to try to get back out on

the field."

Mauer is scheduled to receive more treatment on his back at the team hotel on Saturday night, and he said he expects to be back

in the lineup on Sunday, but isn't sure if he'll be at first base or designated hitter.

"We'll see what happens when I get to the park tomorrow," Mauer said. "But I'll be in the lineup in some capacity, which is good."

~ 11 ~

Racking up RBIs, Suzuki impressing with his bat

Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- The Twins knew what they were getting in Kurt Suzuki with his defense and game-calling skills behind the plate, but

he's been a pleasant surprise offensively this season.

Suzuki, who joined the Twins on a one-year deal worth $2.75 million, picked up two more RBIs in Friday's 2-1 win over the Tigers

and entered Saturday's game leading all Major League catchers with 21 RBIs. His .302 batting average also ranked second

among backstops.

Suzuki has delivered in key situations, as he's hitting .393 (11-for-28) with runners in scoring position, and .412 (7-for-17) with

runners in scoring position and two outs. But Suzuki said he doesn't change his approach in those situations, and he deferred

credit on his RBIs to his teammates.

"I try to have good at-bats every time," Suzuki said. "It's just a matter of teammates getting on base before me. That's what it

comes down to. You just try to have the same at-bats every time, but it's just a matter of the guys having good at-bats and getting

on base."

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has been impressed with Suzuki so far this season, and added that Suzuki comes into his office

asking to catch just about every game. He was back behind the plate on Saturday afternoon, despite catching on Friday night, and

has caught 26 of the club's first 34 games this year. But Gardenhire cautioned he'll have to ease Suzuki's load as the season goes

along.

"Suzuki wants to catch every inning of every game," Gardenhire said. "Night game, day game. He's the first person who comes

walking in. It's all good and fine this time of year, but what it's going to be like at the All-Star break and after that? So we have to

be careful."

Plouffe, Kubel get day off from starting duties

Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- The Twins shuffled their lineup against the Tigers on Saturday, as manager Ron Gardenhire opted to give third

baseman Trevor Plouffe and left fielder Jason Kubel a day of rest from the starting lineup.

Plouffe had started in 33 of the club's 34 games and was replaced at third base by Eduardo Escobar, while Kubel had started in

28 games and was replaced by Eduardo Nunez in left field.

"We kind of mixed our lineup around, because we had some guys who were playing every day, so we wanted to give them a little

bit of a break here," Gardenhire said. "So we've got some fresh horses in there, as they say. We've got Escobar at third base to

give Plouffe a break, and Kubel has been fighting it recently, so we have Nunez in left field, where he's played here before. So we

have some of our faster guys in there."

After hitting.304/.409/.478 in 24 games in March/April, Plouffe was hitting just .119/.159/.190 in 10 games in May. But Gardenhire

said he's not worried about Plouffe, as he's been robbed of a few hits on line drives, including twice in Friday's 2-1 win over the

Tigers.

~ 12 ~

Gardenhire was more concerned about Kubel, who hit .288/.360/.425 in April but was hitting .222/.300/.222 in May entering Satur-

day's action. Kubel was originally signed by the Twins to serve as the designated hitter this year, but he has yet to start a game at

DH because of all the injuries to outfielders such as Josh Willingham and Oswaldo Arcia.

"When we brought him in here, he was going to be the DH, and we'd spot-play him in left and right and keep his legs strong, but

he's been playing every stinking day, and you can see his swing isn't there right now," Gardenhire said. "So we wanted to give him

a break. He's a good player when you use him right. He can really help you, like he did for us early."

Tigers’ Ray, Twins’ Deduno set for rubber match

Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com – 5/10/14

Tigers left-hander Robbie Ray and Twins right-hander Samuel Deduno will both be making just their second start of the season on

Sunday in the rubber match between the two teams at Comerica Park.

Ray, who was acquired from the Nationals in the trade that sent Doug Fister to Washington in the offseason, made his Major

League debut against the Astros on Tuesday. He was solid in his first career start, as he gave up just one run on five hits and a

walk over 5 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.

Ray, though, said he needs to work on fixing his curveball, a new pitch after he scrapped his slider before the season. He said he

had trouble with the curve in his first inning and has worked with pitching coach Jeff Jones to try to correct it.

"I'm just getting too long with it," Ray said. "I need to stay short."

Deduno, meanwhile, will be making his second start for a different reason, as he began the season in the bullpen. He fared fine in

long relief, with a 2.89 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings, but he was called on to join the rotation after Mike Pelfrey was

placed on the 15-day disabled list with a groin strain on May 2.

Deduno was saddled with a loss in his first start of the year against the Indians on Tuesday, as he went five innings, giving up four

runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts. He struggled early in the game, but he said he was able to im-

prove his command as the game went along. Deduno added that wasn't too disappointed with his first start, and he believes he

can build on it.

"I wasn't frustrated because it was my first start," Deduno said. "I missed a couple pitches up."

Twins: Mauer returns to the lineup

After missing five games with lower back spasms, Joe Mauer returned to the lineup on Saturday against Detroit, starting at desig-

nated hitter and batting third. He went 1-for-3 with a walk in Minnesota's 9-3 loss, but the Twins were relieved to see him avoid the

15-day disabled list.

"With backs, it's something you don't want to deal with too much," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "When you start feeling better,

you always want to give it a few extra days. I've had it and we've all had it, and it's just not very fun. So I'm just happy to see him

in here wanting to play."

~ 13 ~

Tigers: Sanchez, Putkonen aiming for May returns

Detroit starter Anibal Sanchez and long reliever Luke Putkonen are both slated for May returns. Sanchez threw a bullpen session

on Friday and is aiming for a May 18 return from a lacerated right middle finger. Putkonen, recovering from right elbow inflamma-

tion, will likely just need one more rehab outing at Triple-A Toledo before coming back.

"Should be, yeah," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said when asked if Tuesday will be Putkonen's final rehab assignment. "If every-

thing continues as it is right now."

Worth noting

• The Tigers honored manager Jim Leyland with a special pregame ceremony before Saturday's game against the Twins. Leyland

went 700-597 in Detroit while leading the team to the World Series in 2006 and '12.

• Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson extended his hit streak to eight games with a single in the second inning on Saturday.

• According to Ausmus, outfielder Andy Dirks has started the very beginnings of baseball activities. Dirks is on the 60-day disabled

list, recovering from microdisectomy surgery on his back. Ausmus said the average time for a return from the surgery is about

three months, which would have Dirks back in action sometime in June.

• Minnesota rookie shortstop Danny Santana doubled in his first at-bat on Saturday, and he has hit safely in five of his first six ca-

reer games.

Joe Mauer returns to the lineup as designated hitter

Derek Wetmore / 1500 ESPN – 5/10/14

Joe Mauer will return to the Twins lineup Saturday, batting third as the designated hitter.

Mauer was pulled in the third inning of Sunday's game after dealing with back spasms and hadn't played since. He missed five

games.

If the Twins had placed him on the disabled list it could have cost the team as many as 8 games of having their best hitter's bat in

the lineup.

Tigers hit a pair of three- run homers to beat Twins in Mauer’s return

Associated Press – 5/10/14

DETROIT -- Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer that capped a six-run second inning, sending Max Scherzer and the Detroit Ti-

gers past the Minnesota Twins 9-3 Saturday.

On a day when the Tigers honored former manager Jim Leyland, they won with a familiar formula they used to reach the playoffs

under him: Power by Cabrera, the two-time AL MVP, and pitching by Scherzer, the reigning Cy Young Award winner.

~ 14 ~

Cabrera connected for his fifth homer, tagging Kyle Gibson (3-3). Victor Martinez also homered, giving him eight this season and

four in the last six games.

Scherzer (5-1) wasn't sharp yet still won, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks in six innings. He struck out six -- his

team-record streak of fanning at least seven in seven starts to begin a season ended.

After Leyland threw out the first ball, one of his favorite players made an immediate impact. Don Kelly, a utilityman who owes his

major league career to Leyland's patience and trust, reached over the left-field fence in the first inning to steal a homer from Kurt

Suzuki.

Kelly then scored the game's first run as the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI singles by Alex Avila and Andrew Ro-

mine. Detroit added another run when second baseman Brian Dozier dropped shortstop Danny Santana's flip, then threw wildly to

the plate as Avila scored.

The error had major consequences, as Cabrera followed with his homer for a 6-0 lead.

The Twins closed the deficit on Dozier's long, three-run shot in the third, but weren't able to do anything else against Scherzer.

Anthony Swarzak relieved Gibson and pitched four shutout innings.

Martinez broke open the game with a three-run homer off Michael Tonkin in the seventh. Martinez is on pace to easily surpass his

career high of 25.

Tigers reliever Phil Coke got into the game in his latest role as the mop-up man. He allowed a leadoff single, drawing boos from

the crowd, but Cabrera helped him out with a 3-6-3 double play that led to a shutout inning.

Game notes

--The Tigers honored Leyland and had him throw out the first pitch to longtime friend and Tigers bench coach Gene Lamont. Ley-

land, the only manager to lead Detroit to four postseason appearances, was also presented with a framed painting by team presi-

dent Dave Dombrowski, Justin Verlander and Cabrera. "It was a great run for eight years," Leyland said before the game. "I only

wish we could have brought a World Series trophy to this city."

--A fan behind the Twins dugout got an ovation after catching a foul ball with his left hand while cradling his daughter in his right

arm.

--Scherzer's eight games with at least six strikeouts is the second-longest streak to start a season in franchise history, trailing his

own 19-game run last year.

5 thoughts on homer-happy Dozier, DIPS theory, wobbly wheels

Derek Wetmore / 1500 ESPN – 5/10/14

Kyle Gibson was the victim of some poor fielding behind him Saturday and Tigers ace Max Scherzer mostly shut down the Twins.

It's difficult to overcome a pair of three-run home runs against Scherzer, even when he isn't at the top of his game. The Twins lost

9-3. They have a chance to win the series in Sunday's rubber game. Joe Mauer returned to the lineup, batting third as the DH,

after missing more than five games following back spasms.

This column presents 5 thoughts from Saturday's game.

As always, feel free to ask any questions or make any observations in the comments. If you have a unique baseball observation

during a game, feel free to share it with me on Twitter (@DerekWetmore).

~ 15 ~

--

1. Kyle Gibson's first strikeout of The Great Miguel Cabrera caught my eye. Similar to Phil Hughes on Friday, Gibson got ahead of

Cabrera, except Gibson used a pair of sliders to get there, whereas Hughes relied on his fastball. Once ahead 0-2, Gibson left a

2-seamer higher than he probably wanted it and over the plate. Cabrera mercifully fouled it off.

Then Gibson wasted two sliders in the dirt to run the count to 2-2. His next pitch, a 2-seamer that started middle-in, ran towards

Cabrera and tied up his hands as he swung through it. It looked to me like a really good pitch. Then Gibson got a groundball dou-

ble play to escape a tense situation early.

--

1(b). Gibson's only other encounter with Cabrera didn't go so well, as he served up a slider that he'd probably like to have back

and the reigning American League MVP crushed a three-run homer to right.

--

2. While the bad pitch ultimately is Gibson's responsibility, he should not have been in the situation to begin with. Some crummy

fielding and a bad decision preceded Gibson pitching to Cabrera with two outs and two men on base.

With runners on first and second and two outs Torii Hunter hit a groundball to Danny Santana. Santana has a cannon for an arm

and would have had an easy play to retire Hunter at first. Instead, the 23-year-old shortstop flipped to Brian Dozier at second base

when it appeared there was not a play there*. Dozier bobbled the ball, but the runner likely would have been safe anyway. Dozier

then fired home to try to get out Alex Avila. Avila had started running upon hearing contact, had rounded third and was headed for

home. Dozier's throw was errant (he was given a throwing error) and the inning continued.

With two outs and two runners on, Cabrera did his damage.

*My suspicion is that Santana might have recorded that out at second in Triple-A or a lower level in the minors. The pace of the

Major Leagues is quicker. Santana will learn that he needs to speed up his internal clock in the field. That arm, though.

--

3. I thought it was really cool to hear DIPS theory talked about by FSN's broadcasting duo of Dick Bremer and Jack Morris during

the game. DIPS stands for Defensive Independent Pitching Statistics, and while they didn't talk about it directly, they espoused the

theory in conversation.

Bremer and Morris correctly pointed out that Twins pitchers have been adversely affected this season by having substandard

fielding in the outfield. As a pitcher, there's only so much you can do to control the outcome of a game. In the AL, of course, you

can't hit, so there's roughly half the game out of your control. Kyle Gibson also can't control if he gets a weak two-out ground ball

right at a position player turned into a run because of a mental miscue by the fielder. (See thought 2.)

Some line drives are turned into an out and some dribblers find their way through the infield for a hit. To attempt to smooth out this

good or bad luck, the stat Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) was created.

DIPS theory was pioneered by Voros McCracken, who showed that balls in play land for hits at a somewhat unpredictable rate.

One pitcher can have a similar season in terms of how he pitched and have a wildly different stat line, depending on how many

batted balls were turned into outs.

FIP looks at the results of events a pitcher does control: strikeouts, walks, hitting batters, and home runs. FIP is designed to be on

the same scale as ERA, probably in hopes more people will convert to using it. It's also been shown to be a better predictor of fu-

ture performance than ERA, which involves plenty of luck (both good and bad).

At the heart of stats like FIP and xFIP (Expected Fielding Independent Pitching) is the premise that a pitcher has a limited amount

of control over how his fielders perform behind him. Pitchers can help themselves by inducing weak contact, avoiding line drives

and home runs, and striking out batters, but every pitcher is helped and is hurt by his fielders at some time and another.

~ 16 ~

That's one of the reasons that, as Morris put it, chicks dig the strikeout.

--

4. Eduardo Escobar, filling in for Trevor Plouffe at third base, made a fine fielding play in the bottom of the second. With runners

on second and third, Escobar fielded a ball behind the bag and straddling the fair-foul line. He made a high-degree-of-difficulty

throw over Austin Jackson and Kurt Suzuki tagged Jackson at home.

It looked fairly routine from TV, but not having a good angle to throw around the runner makes it harder. It's a similar play to when

a catcher must throw to first base after a dropped third strike. You'll often see a catcher take a step or two into fair territory or foul

territory to create an angle to throw around the baserunner. It's also similar to a first baseman starting a 3-6-3 double play. Gener-

ally playing approximately even with the bag (on the baseline between first and second base), a first baseman will take a couple

steps into the grass or back toward the outfield to create a throwing angle.

Cabrera started a very nice double play from his knees on a play like this Saturday, throwing angle be darned.

--

5. Brian Dozier hit another home run, and for the first time this season, it came with runners on base. His three-run shot in the

third inning made it a game, but that turned out to be all the scoring the Twins would generate. Before that blast, Dozier had 8

home runs, all with the bases empty. Locally he's been recognized, but I'm not sure if he's gotten his due nationally.

He has easily been the Twins best player this season. In fact, Dozier has been the fourth best player in baseball, according to

Wins Above Replacement. You might recognize the names ahead of him on the list: Troy Tulowitzki, Mike Trout and Giancarlo

Stanton. I personally don't expect him to remain this high on the list by season's end, but he's been incredible for the Twins

through the first six weeks of the season.

--

Bonus thought: Apparently there's still some confusion about who should bat in the two-hole. (You thought I was going to make it

through five thoughts without touching on the second spot in the batting order, did you?)

Apparently there is a Wetmore's Inc. in Ferndale, Mich., near Comerica Park. And according to Kris Attebery of Twins Radio Net-

work, the people there haven't been reading these Twins columns. That's OK. Now that Joe Mauer is back, I would think he'll re-

sume his spot in the two-hole, with Trevor Plouffe sliding into the third slot in the order.

If you'd like to revisit the conversation, we had a nice discussion in the comments section of Friday's '5 thoughts,' which underlines

most of the key points to optimal lineup construction. I don't get too bent out of shape over lineup decisions, but my general phi-

losophy is to put the best hitter second and give the best hitters the most plate appearances.

It was a fun bit while it lasted.

Report: Byron Buxton to have MRI after re-injuring wrist

Derek Wetmore / 1500 ESPN – 5/10/14

Twins top prospect Byron Buxton was not in the lineup Friday or Saturday for the Fort Myers Miracle. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports

is reporting that Buxton has re-injured his wrist sliding into third base.

Passan tweeted that Buxton will have an MRI on the ailing wrist.

~ 17 ~

Buxton opened the season on the disabled list after injuring his left wrist in spring training attempting a diving catch. He was acti-

vated May 4 and made his 2014 debut with an 0-for-4 performance. In his latest game action, Buxton went 1-for-5 with a double

Thursday.

Passan tweets that the injury is not believed to be severe.

We'll follow up with any pertinent information as soon as we know more.