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Injury puts slight damper on otherwise happy night
Scott Baker left his second consecutive start early, but his teammates picked him up as the Twins moved a game over .500 and into first place.
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The Twins had plenty to celebrate Saturday, along with one pesky cause for concern.
They moved into first place by defeating Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers 4-1 before an announced crowd of 28,585 at the Metrodome, the Twins' fourth consecutive victory.
Brian Bass had a game ball from his first major league victory. Craig Monroe was beaming over a two-run homer against his former team.
But for the second time in eight days, Scott Baker left a start with a groin injury.
This time, Baker said he felt a tweak in his right groin on his final pitch of the third inning. The Twins plan to re-evaluate him today before announcing whether he will make his scheduled start Thursday at Chicago.
In a festive clubhouse, Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson happily addressed questions about Bass, saying, "He's been outstanding for us."
But when asked about Baker, Anderson said: "I don't want to talk about Scott. He told you about [the injury]. Just a little tweak, and I didn't want to him to pull it."
Baker left his previous start, April 26 at Texas, after 4 1/3 innings because of what the team called a mild right groin strain.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and Anderson considered placing Baker on the disabled list before he convinced them the groin was fine during a bullpen session Wednesday.
Given two extra days of rest, he came out strong Saturday, retiring nine of the 10 Detroit batters he faced and throwing 30 of his 40 pitches for strikes.
Baker said this injury is "not to the severity" as last weekend.
"It was kind of to the point where I contemplated whether to say something or not," he said. "I thought better of it. I figured I better say something and not let it get to the point it was last time."
The Twins had planned to recall Kevin Slowey from Class AAA Rochester to pitch Saturday. If they need a new starter for Baker, one option is Rochester lefthander Glen Perkins.
Another is Bass, who came up big after replacing Baker to start the fourth inning. Bass gave up only three hits over four scoreless innings.
"It's definitely an unfortunate situation," Bass said. "Bake's one of our best starters, and to have him go down like that, it's not something you really want."
If not for Baker's injury, the Twins would be riding high. This victory, coupled with Chicago's loss, moved them a half-game in front of the White Sox on top of the AL Central.
Last year, they weren't in first place after April 23. Now, they have won four in a row to move back above .500, at 15-14.
Any victory against Verlander is nice, even if this loss dropped him to 1-5.
Michael Cuddyer had two RBI, including a two-out single that pushed the Twins' lead to 2-0 in the sixth inning. Monroe's home run made it 4-0, and he was clearly excited, circling the bases with his shoulders tilted.
"The emotions are high," Monroe said. "I didn't mean any disrespect to my former team. I've got a lot of respect for those guys, but at the same time, I'm a Minnesota Twin."
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