Thanks to Jason Kubel, Twins discover fly balls do go beyond warning track

Laurel Prieb was often responsible for the press notes when the Twins were on the road during the woeful early '80s. He earned the nickname "Silver Lining Laurel" after printing this boost in image for his ballclub:

"The Twins have won two of their past four games."

This positive attitude allowed Laurel to reach greater heights in the grand old game. He now serves as Major League Baseball's vice president for West Coast operations.

The same approach Laurel brought to his press notes can be found on Target Field's scoreboard. The operators work for the Twins and they make every effort to keep it positive when offering information on a home-team player.

For instance: When Orlando Hudson came to the plate in the first, his photo appeared on the huge screen, accompanied by his up-to-date stats. And those were followed by the optimistic tidbit, "Average With Bases Empty -- .340."

I'm not sure that's what the hardcore fans among the latest sellout crowd were looking for, a reminder that Twins hitters were most effective with the bases empty.

The continual losing to the Yankees was a source of irritation that would cover only a pair of three-game series. The inability to take advantage of big scoring chances carried the potential to drag down a season.

The most-discussed shortcoming has involved hitting with the bases loaded. Through 44 games, the Twins had loaded the bases 65 times and had 11 hits for a .169 average.

The Twins came up with a novel strategy to solve that problem in the three-game series against New York: They avoided loading the bases.

The pitching opponent was Javier Vazquez, an extra-familiar rival from his three seasons (2006-08) with the White Sox. The righthander started eight times against the Twins in '07 and '08, with a 5-1 record and a 3.81 ERA.

The hometown hitters proved futile in all conditions through the first two games. The Twins couldn't hit in the rain for five innings on Tuesday night, they couldn't hit for four innings in the sun on Wednesday afternoon, and they couldn't hit for nine innings on a perfect Wednesday night.

That perfection was squared Thursday night, and the Twins seized on manager Ron Gardenhire's pregame battle cry: "Everything runs in stretches."

The Twins scored in the first, then had back-to-back doubles -- a stretch for them this week -- and upped the lead to 3-0. The second of those doubles came from Jason Kubel, the start of an evening that signaled his awakening.

These first two months had been such a struggle for Kubel that Gardenhire had him batting seventh (and Jim Thome fifth) against a righthander on Thursday.

Kubel's double was ripped. He batted again in the third and towered a fly ball that stopped on the warning track in right field.

The Twins' lead was 4-2 when Kubel led off the sixth. The Twins had gone without a home run for eight full games and 349 plate appearances. Kubel had three for the season -- the last of which was the grand slam off Mariano Rivera on May 16 that finally ended the Twins' losing streak in the Bronx.

Plus: The Twins had hit only 10 home runs in 23 games at Target Field, and none in the six games since Justin Morneau homered on May 11.

There was an undercurrent of grumbling from the Twins on how tough it was to get a ball out of their sizable new yard. A little more buzz on the subject and it might have started to sound like a whine.

Kubel took care of that. He opened the sixth with a blast off Vazquez: high and monstrous to the walkway that leads to the second deck in right field. The crowd gave him a lusty and seldom-heard "Kooob."

Bill Smith, the general manager, was encountered after that half-inning and he was asked if there was relief in seeing that bomb from Kubel.

"It was going to happen," Smith said. "Good hitters are going to hit."

An inning later, Kubel struck again -- a fly ball that reached the overhang in right -- and brought in three runs to make it 8-2.

Everything runs in stretches. Good hitters are going to hit. And an enlivened Kubel will take care some of those missed chances Twins hardcores have been lamenting.

Patrick Reusse can be heard noon-4 weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP. • preusse@startribune.com