News
Morneau may return for homestand
Minnesota (61-63) vs. Baltimore (51-73), 7:10 p.m. CT
By Rustin Dodd / MLB.com
08/23/09 7:27 PM ET
KANSAS CITY -- The Twins are still hanging on in the American League Central -- and they've done it the past six games without Justin Morneau.Morneau is recovering from an inner ear infection and hasn't played since Aug. 17.
But how about this? The Twins are rolling without him, improving their record to 5-1 without Morneau after Sunday's 10-3 win in Kansas City.
"Let's trade him," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire joked.
All kidding aside, Gardenhire got some good news this weekend when Morneau, who was at home in Minnesota, sent word that he was starting to feel better.
If Morneau's health continues to improve, he could return to the lineup early this week as the Twins begin a nine-game homestand on Monday with the start of a three-game set against the Orioles.
The Twins are 4 1/2 games out in the division, and the next nine games could help decide if Minnesota can hang in there with Detroit and Chicago in the AL Central race.
The Twins have six games left against the White Sox -- including three at the back end of the homestand -- and seven against the Tigers, so there'll be plenty of opportunities to make up ground.
But first, the Twins need to take care of business against the last-place Orioles. A healthy Morneau and consistency from the rotation would definitely help that cause.
Morneau has been battling dizziness for almost two weeks. And while Gardenhire was glad to hear that Morneau was feeling better, he's going to hold off before declaring Morneau ready to go.
"That's the thing about it," Gardenhire said. "He was feeling good for a little bit [earlier this week] and then all of a sudden [he] started getting really dizzy."
The Twins, who dropped two games to the Orioles back in May, will send Scott Baker to the mound to open the series on Monday.
"We know that we have to start winning games and winning series," Gardenhire said.
Pitching matchupMIN: RHP Scott Baker (11-7, 4.62 ERA)
It wasn't the two-hit shutout he had delivered in his previous outing, but Baker managed to limit his trouble against the Rangers to pick up win No. 11 his last time out. Baker held Texas to four runs on nine hits over 5 1/3 innings. Twice in the outing, Baker had stretches in which he allowed at least three batters to reach base without recording an out, but he found a way to squeeze out of the jams. For a staff that's struggling to produce strong outings, Baker was considered just decent enough for the offense to overcome. Baker is 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA in four career starts vs. Baltimore. BAL: RHP Chris Tillman (1-1, 4.80 ERA)
Tillman got beaten by three pitches in his start against the Rays on Wednesday: three first-pitch fastballs that Tampa Bay batters hit for solo home runs. They were the only runs Tillman allowed and ended up being enough for a 3-1 Rays win. Otherwise, the 20-year-old pitched well in his fifth career start against a tough lineup: six-plus innings, seven hits, three runs, two walks, three strikeouts. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and notched his third straight quality start. But he's now allowed nine homers in 30 innings this season. Tidbits
Michael Cuddyer had three homers this series, becoming the fourth Twins player to hit 20 home runs this season (Morneau, Joe Mauer and Jason Kubel are the others). The last time the Twins had four players with at least 20 homers was 1987 when Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Gary Gaetti and Tom Brunansky all hit 20 homers. ... Ft. Myers right-hander Steven Hirschfeld was the Twins' Minor League Player of the Week. He allowed three earned runs in 13 1/3 innings while recording two wins. Tickets
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• Tuesday: Twins (Armando Gabino, 0-0, -.--) vs. Orioles (Brian Matusz, 2-2, 6.75), 7:10 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Twins (Nick Blackburn, 8-8, 4.27) vs. Orioles (Jeremy Guthrie, 8-12, 5.45), 7:10 p.m. CT
• Thurday: Off-day
Rustin Dodd is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
