Postgame: Parmelee almost had another collision at the plate

A handful of leftovers after the Twins clinched a winning homestand:

-- Chris Parmelee headed toward the plate as soon as Aaron Hicks slapped a ground ball in the second inning Saturday, but he realized after just a couple of steps off third base that he was in trouble. Hicks' bouncer had been fielded by Mariners starter Aaron Harang, and "I thought I was going to be out," he said. "I threw on the brakes. I was going to try to get in a pickle [rundown], and get [fellow baserunner Chris] Colabello to third."

But Parmelee, who was tagged out in a jarring home-plate collision during Friday's game, got a pleasant surprise. Harang took his time, wound up -- and threw the ball several feet over catcher Kelly Shoppach's head.

"He just airmailed it," Parmelee said of the Twins' first run. "I saw Shoppach setting up, and he just watched the ball go over his head. And I went, 'All right, guess I'll just trot home."

Parmelee, by the way, said he knew Ryan Doumit's game-winning hit was coming, even before it happened. In the on-deck circle, "I told him, 'let's get my celebration out of the way, because you're going to walk us off,' " Parmelee said. "And he did."

-- Speaking of Harang, his first Target Field start came 10 years and four days after his one and only Metrodome start, back on May 28, 2003. He pitched four shutout innings of relief that day in a 6-5 Twins' victory; this time, he allowed two runs, just one of them earned, in six innings. Can't wait to see how he'll pitch in 2023.

-- Ron Gardenhire returned Joe Mauer to the No. 2 slot in the batting order Saturday, and he sounded more convinced than ever that it's the correct spot for the three-time batting champion.

The original reason for batting Dozier second, he said, was "trying not to overload the bottom of the lineup with singles hitters" during games in National League parks. "And we went on a little win streak, so we kind of left it. But I like Mauer in that two hole. He comes up with chances for RBIs. That's what we're hoping for."

-- Doumit, who finished 3-for-5 and a home run short of his first career cycle, had homered against Seattle reliever Tom Wilhelmsen in the ninth inning of a game last season, so he certainly had confidence he could hit the closer. Was that in his mind?