Gardenhire's brother dies

Mike Gardenhire was among a group of family members who met the Twins in Texas last weekend to visit his brother, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. Mike sat in Ron's office and sat in the stands next to Justin Morneau's father, George. Everything seemed fine.

But on Thursday, Mike Gardenhire was found dead of an apparent heart attack at his home in Okmulgee, Okla. Indications are that he was mowing his lawn but went inside when he began to feel poorly. He was 55.

Ron Gardenhire left the team to travel to Okmulgee and will not be on the bench this weekend for the series against Detroit. Funeral arrangements are pending, but Gardenhire might rejoin the team in time for their three-game series against the White Sox in Chicago that begins Tuesday.

"He was really torn up about it,'' said third base coach Scott Ullger, who will run the team while Gardenhire is away. "The suddenness of the situation, you can't prepare for something like that.

"He just saw his brother in Texas.''

Ron Gardenhire graduated from Okmulgee High School in 1975. There were four Gardenhire siblings in Okmulgee: Donna, Mike, Ron and Al. Ron has made his year-round home in the Twin Cities for several years, but the rest of the Gardenhires live in Okmulgee, a town of 13,000.

"I speak for the entire Tiger organization when I say we're deeply saddened by it,'' said Detroit manager Jim Leyland, who reiterated that Gardenhire is among his favorite rival managers.

The Twins held a moment of silence and played a video tribute to Mike Gardenhire before Friday's game.

Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez left the game in the fifth inning when he was hit on the head by an Ivan Rodriguez throw while stealing second base.

Rodriguez's throw conked Gomez on the left side of his head, and the ball rolled into left field. Gomez grabbed his head and remained on the ground for a few minutes while attended to by Twins trainers and physicians.

Although he never lost consciousness, Gomez said, "Everything went black.''

Gomez eventually rose to his feet and climbed into a cart that had arrived on the scene. After further evaluation, Gomez was given the all-clear and didn't need to go to a hospital for more tests.

Ullger said he thought Gomez could be available today, but Gomez, who had a bump on his head and a headache, wasn't sure if he could play. Before being injured, Gomez stole two bases, making him 13-for-14 this season.

In a way, shortstop Adam Everett's season is just beginning -- although he has played in nine games.

A sore right shoulder bothered Everett early in the season, leading to two cortisone shots and, eventually, a trip to the disabled list.

He was activated from the disabled list in time for Friday's game against Detroit. He is getting a late start but intends to show the club why he's a good free-agent acquisition at $2.8 million.

Everett paid dividends offensively Friday by leading off the third with a double and scoring on Joe Mauer's bases-loaded walk for a 2-1 Twins lead.

"It's kind of been a grind so far,'' Everett said before the game. "Now getting healthy is nice. Just go out and play and show everyone what I'm capable of doing.''

Everett isn't asked to be an offensive force, but he's known as one of the best defensive players in the league at his position. His shoulder injury, however, affected his throwing and didn't enable him to do what he does best.

"We haven't seen him healthy,'' Ullger said. "... To see him get healthy and see what he can do, it can be a pickup for us to have him back on the field.''

• Ullger will continue to coach third base while Gardenhire is away from the club.

• Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordonez, who entered the series batting .321 with 10 homers and 58 RBI at Metrodome, hit a second-inning home run.

Staff columnist Patrick Reusse contributed to this report.