Buscher settles into success

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: June 26, 2008 - 12:02 AM

SAN DIEGO - The subject was third baseman Brian Buscher, and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was on one of his rolls.

"I can't say enough good things about him," Gardenhire said before Wednesday's game against the Padres. "He just comes to play. ... He came [to spring training] in really good shape. ... He's continued since he came up here. Great attitude and fun to watch.

"Like [Alexi Casilla] -- fun to watch."

Casilla has second base all to himself now, and at the rate Buscher is going, third base could soon be all his, too.

After getting promoted from Class AAA Rochester on June 12, Buscher batted .400 (12-for-30) with 12 RBI in his first eight games. The Twins were 7-1 in that stretch.

It's far better than Buscher performed when the Twins first promoted him to the big leagues last July. After 10 games, he was batting .200.

"I didn't know anybody," Buscher said. "It was all new to me, and I guess I tried too hard to impress people. Now, I've just realized I can't make things happen. I can't go up there and try to hit home runs every time. I've just got to go out and play."

Buscher hit his first homer of the season and the third of his career in the ninth inning Tuesday off Padres closer Trevor Hoffman. That followed Brendan Harris' homer and gave the Twins a 3-1 lead. Buscher added a 1-for-2 game with two walks and three runs scored Wednesday.

"You just keep running him out there," Gardenhire said. "He's doing fine."

Hoffman's inspiration

Hoffman said good friend Mark Merila, a former Gophers All-America, is back in Minnesota this week but has otherwise been at Petco Park for almost every home game this season.

Merila, 36, was the Padres bullpen catcher for about 400 of Hoffman's saves before developing a brain tumor. He's had extensive treatment, however, and the tumor's growth appears to have stopped.

"He's been an inspiration for all of us," Hoffman said. "Never feeling sorry for himself and taking what each day brings. He's been very positive and just been grinding away."

Proud bulldog

Twins radio broadcaster Dan Gladden is in Fresno State's athletic Hall of Fame, so he was tracking the score Wednesday as that team battled Georgia for the NCAA championship. Fresno State eventually beat Georgia 6-1 for the school's first national championship in a men's sport.

"It'd be really exciting," Gladden said before Fresno State's victory. "It'd help for recruiting. It's a good program, great facilities."

Etc.

• The Twins signed pitcher Steven (Shooter) Hunt, their supplemental-round pick (No. 31 overall) from this month's draft. He will report to rookie-level Elizabethton. The Twins also signed Gophers lefthanded pitcher Kyle Carr, their 12th-round pick. He will report to the Gulf Coast League.

• Francisco Liriano improved to 4-2 for Class AAA Rochester on Wednesday, despite giving up six runs (five earned) on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. He allowed two home runs, walked one and struck out three, leaving his ERA at 4.44.

• Adam Everett will head to Fort Myers, Fla., on Friday to continue rehabbing his strained right shoulder.

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