Joe Mauer (manager's decision) is out of the lineup tonight. Molitor said he planned to alternate him and Logan Morrison through the Sale-Price portion of the series. With tomorrow a day game against a righthander, Mauer will be ready to rock. And Morrison will likely join him in the lineup.
Mauer was hit by pitches twice yesterday, including on that struck the back of his right hand. But Molitor said it caught the meaty part of the hand and is not a concern.
Buxton toe much better
Byron Buxton grounded out, walked (then stole second), got an RBI on an infield single and struck out in four plate appearances Wednesday afternoon for Class AAA Rochester during a rehabilitation assigment. Molitor sounded relieved that the hairline fracture Buxton suffered on April 22 is no longer causting him pain, so he can work on fixing his swing.
"The good news is that we know the foot seems to be in a good place and we haven't said that for about seven weeks or so," Molitor said. "Last night he played and went hitless. Today, they had an afternoon game. He went 1-for-3 with a walk. I didn't get a chance to look at the video yet from his at bats. But he's playing and he is going to keep going out there. And the good news is that, physically, he's able to do some of the things he needs to do to get back on track."
Esky pesky with RISP
One thing that is getting overlooked admist Eduardo Escobar's doubles spree is that he entered Wednesday second in the American League with a .422 batting average with runners in scoring position. That is significant for a team that has had trouble consistently scoring runs.
"You look, there's a lot of analytics in the game and I monitor those guys who are doing well in those situations," Molitor said. "He's been up there and Mauer (.333) has too. Rosie's (.324) been better this year. So year, you need those guys, whether it is two outs or less than two outs, you get enough opportunites, the guys with numbers at the top end, that's why their run production is where it is at."
Helloooo, Nunie
Red Sox infielder Eduardo Nunez is back in familiar surroundings.
He's returned to a place where he came into his own as a player, earning a spot on the 2016 All-Star team. A place where his helmet flew off so much as he ran the bases that the joke was that he purposely wore a oversized one to make it look like he was running fast.
His lid popped off again on Tuesday as he grounded out in the eighth inning, his first game at Target Field since the Twins dealt him to San Francisco during the 2016 season. Same old Nunie.
"I enjoyed my time here, every game I played here," Nunez said. "The fans were unbelievable. I always say it was one of my best times, in Minnesota."
Nunez was dealt to the Twins before the 2014 season from the Yankees in exchange for righthander Miguel Sulbaran. He hit .280 in 235 games with the Twins before he was sent to the Giants for lefthander Aldaberto Mejia. The Giants sent him to the Red Sox at the trade deadline last year, and he hit .321 for Boston before suffering a sprained right knee late in the second half and re-aggravating it twice.
So far he has not found his hitting stroke, batting just 247 in 64 games while posting a minus-10 defensive runs saved. And his WAR is minus-1.1, which is below replacement player level.
But he feels the more he distances himself from his knee troubles, he'll regain the form that made him a spark plug for Boston late last season. His legs are an important part of his game - he stole 40 bases in 2016 - and I think his knee has limited him defensively. Nunez, a free agent last season, wouldn't even work out for Boston until mid-January to give his knee as much time as possible to recover.
"My knee feels better. My knee is getting stronger," Nunez said. "My swing is getting better. Everything is going to be fine."
When asked if he's been compensating for his knee, he said. "For sure, for sure."
Solving Price
Another day, another tough lefty.
Boston's David Price has lost just once to the Twins in seven games since late in the 2014 season. He's 6-0, 2.64 over his last seven starts this season. So he will offer the Twins another tough test.
Or, the Twins can follow last night's script and have Lance Lynn keep the game close until Eduardo Escobar hit a couple of doubles and saves the day.
Twins hitters haven't fared well against Price. Escobar? .200. Brian Dozier has hit two home runs off of him but is a .222 career hitter against him. Joe Mauer? .216. LoMo? .133. Eddie Rosario is batting .500 -- but 3-for-6 is a small sample size.
Robbie Grossman will lead off for the Twins, with Dozier batting cleanup and Morrison hitting fifth.
Mauer isn't in the starting lineup.
