Twins first baseman Joe Mauer is not in the lineup again as he recovers from a sore right quad. But, after hitting off a tee on Tuesday, Mauer is going to take batting practice on the field today and take some grounders at first. Twins manager Paul Molitor did not want to put Mauer back in the lineup until he saw how Mauer warmed up before a game.

``The hope is that his workout is good enough to where I will have him as an option later on in the game," Molitor said. ``Whether that happens or not I'm not sure We'll evaluate tomorrow whether I'm gong to put his name back in the starting lineup.

Mauer has not played since Saturday and has missed four straight games.

Today's pre-game schedule is a bit different. Pitchers are taking batting practice in advance of their interleague series in New York this weekend. There is no regular batting practice. But Mauer is going to hit with the pitchers and take grounders at first to test his quad. So there's a possibility that he could play tomorrow in the series finale against the Tigers.

Mauer said he felt better, and corrected a reporter who speculated that he would feel a lot better after getting some time off. His goal, he said, is to play as much as he can the rest of the season. This has become an ordeal, as Mauer has spent the last month trying to get his legs under him.

``The last three or four weeks I have had to back off three or four times," he said.

Miguel Sano is slowly increasing his activities, but his sore right lower back will likely keep him out a couple more days.

Chad Allen, the Rochester hitting coach, has been with the club over the last week as an extra coach. His last day is Thursday. Chattanooga manager Doug Mientkiewicz will replace him for the series in New York. Mientkiewicz will eventually head to Boston to be on hand for David Ortiz's final games.

Twins

Brian Dozier, 2B
Jorge Polanco, SS
Max Kepler, RF
Kennys Vargas, 1B
Kurt Suzuki, C
Eduardo Escobar, 3B
Robbie Grossman, DH
Logan Schafer, LF
Byron Buxton, CF

Tyler Duffey, RHP

Tigers

Ian Kinsler, 2B
Cameron Maybin, CF
Miggy, 1B
V-Mart, DH
J.D. Martinez, RF
Justin Upton, LF
James McCann, C
Austin Romine, 3B
Jose Iglesias, SS

Anibal Sanchez, RHP