twins/mlb

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - After watching Michael Cuddyer's scary somersault on the basepaths Tuesday night, the Twins were just happy to laugh. And then, did they ever laugh.

Cuddyer took the vicious tumble while running between second and third base on Justin Morneau's single up the middle in the sixth inning of the team's 9-1 victory over Tampa Bay.

Cuddyer suffered a bruised back when he rolled on top of his errant helmet but was otherwise fine. Josh Rabe took his place in right field for the seventh.

Cuddyer, who hasn't missed a game all season, said he'll be back in the lineup tonight.

"Michael always says he's going to play," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We'll see how he is [today], how sore he gets."

Once the Twins knew their cleanup hitter wasn't badly hurt, the heckling began.

"There's Greg Louganis," said Jason Tyner, who claimed Cuddyer abused him more than anyone after his trip-fall-and-crawl stolen base earlier this season.

"Willie Mays Hayes over there? He can't speak," Cuddyer said. "He didn't even make it to the bag when he slid on a stolen base."

Cuddyer laughed, knowing the jabs were only starting.

"I'll never be able to live that down," he said. "That'll be on the scoreboard [blooper reel] for 15 years."

Castillo was missed

Luis Castillo returned to the Twins lineup after missing 10 games with a strained left quadriceps muscle. To say the team missed him is an understatement.

The Twins went 4-6 without Castillo in this latest stretch, but since he joined the team, the Twins are 101-56 with Castillo in the lineup and 10-21 without him.

"He's our jump-starter," Gardenhire said.

Making their case

Matt Garza, Scott Baker and Kevin Slowey made strong showings for Class AAA Rochester of late with Twins General Manager Terry Ryan in attendance.

Baker is 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA and appears to be first in line for a potential call-up, based on his experience and his performance. Baker has 23 strikeouts and three walks in 23 innings pitched.

Garza is 0-1 with a 2.84 ERA but has allowed 20 hits and 10 walks in 19 innings pitched.