News
Cuddyer may be back in the lineup soon
Minnesota (28-28) at Seattle (26-29), 3:10 p.m. CT
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
06/06/09 4:05 AM ET
SEATTLE -- When the Twins face Mariners' left-hander Jarrod Washburn on Saturday afternoon, it will mark the first of five straight southpaws the club will see on its current road trip. Having the right-handed bat of Michael Cuddyer in the lineup for that stretch would be an added boost for the club, and it's looking like a real possibility that it will have him for all of those games. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said that Cuddyer could possibly make his return to the lineup when Minnesota takes on Seattle on Saturday in one of FOX's Games of the Week. Kenny Albert and Mark Grace will call the action in the contest. Cuddyer missed Friday's series opener, marking the fourth straight game he's been out due to his strained right index finger. But Cuddyer tested his finger on Friday afternoon, taking swings during early batting practice and then regular batting practice. He also made some throws from the outfield. Everything went well, both hitting and throwing, but Cuddyer said that the team wanted to see how his finger responded to all the work before having him return to the lineup. "This is the first thing that has really happened to it," Cuddyer said. "I'm sure the swelling will come back in it, so we're going to have to really work to keep the swelling out." Cuddyer said that it's his throwing which the finger affects the most, as the swelling has made it a little more difficult to grip the ball. But it's nothing at all like what he experienced with his previous finger injuries. "The good thing is it's not like last year where something structurally is wrong," Cuddyer said of the finger. "I can grip and squeeze the ball. It's just a matter of it being a big finger." Gardenhire was pleased with what he saw from Cuddyer, saying that the outfielder's throws looked good during early batting practice and that he was able to swing without a problem. So if Cuddyer feels good enough on Saturday, he'll likely be in the lineup vs. Washburn. After facing Washburn, the Twins will see left-hander Erik Bedard in the series finale with the Mariners. Then the club will head to Oakland where it will face lefties Josh Outman, Brett Anderson, and Dallas Braden in the first three contests of the four-game set. This is not the first time the Twins have faced a long stretch of left-handed starters. The club saw seven of them in a row during a 14-game road trip last season, which according to the Elias Sports Bureau made the Twins the first team to face that many consecutive lefties since the 1991 Mets. And while the Twins feature their fair share of left-handed bats in the lineup -- including Denard Span, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel -- Gardenhire said he doesn't worry about those hitters when his club is facing a lefty or a righty anymore. "I've got great left-handed hitters and against lefties or righties, they are going to swing," Gardenhire said. "It is always amazing that you run into that many lefties in a row in the league. It used to be it was hard to find left-handed starters and now there are tons of them. But we just have to run [our hitters] out there as best we can." At times when the Twins have faced a left-hander, Gardenhire has put a right-handed bat in the cleanup spot and moved Kubel down to fifth in the lineup. But Gardenhire has been pleased with the way Kubel is swinging the bat and said he could keep Kubel in the cleanup spot against Washburn as well. Pitching matchupMIN: RHP Nick Blackburn (5-2, 3.50 ERA)
Blackburn has become one of the Twins' more reliable starters. He delivered his third straight quality start, and his fourth in the last five outings, against the Rays last Sunday. Blackburn held the Rays to just two runs on seven hits over six innings, both runs coming on solo homers. The right-hander has been using his sinker effectively and working the corners with his four-seam fastball. He'll try to continue that trend when he faces the Mariners. Blackburn is 1-0 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts vs. Seattle. SEA: LHP Jarrod Washburn (3-4, 3.22 ERA)
The left-hander held the Orioles to one run over seven innings in his last start, the seventh time in 10 starts this season he has surrendered two or fewer runs. But for the third time in those outings, he did not win as the Mariners scored no runs. He is holding left-handed batters to a .157 average this season, nearly 90 points below his career average against them. Tidbits
Justin Morneau tallied his 51st RBI of the season in Friday's contest against the Mariners. He had 50 RBIs through the club's first 55 games of the season. Only three other Twins have reached that mark in as few team contests: Kirby Puckett in '94 (49 games), Larry Hisle in '77 (54) and Harmon Killebrew in '69 (55). ... Brendan Harris extended his hitting streak to 10 games on Friday, tying a career-high. Tickets
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• Sunday: Twins (Kevin Slowey, 8-1, 3.97) at Mariners (Erik Bedard, 4-2, 2.37), 3:10 p.m. CT
• Monday: Twins (Anthony Swarzak, 1-2, 4.76) at Athletics (Josh Outman, 3-0, 3.02), 9:05 p.m. CT
• Tuesday: Twins (Scott Baker, 3-6, 5.88) at Athletics (Brett Anderson, 3-5, 4.97), 9:05 p.m. CT
Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
