Continued: It seems Kubel had Mariners' number (.684)

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The Twins might have bullpen concerns, but their offense is rolling.

They have scored fewer than four runs just once in 15 games this month -- after scoring fewer than four runs 14 times in April.

Jason Kubel was the catalyst in Sunday's 11-8 victory over Seattle, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and four runs scored.

He finished the three-game series with six RBI and is batting .684 (13-for-19) this year against the Mariners.

Kubel entered the weekend batting .186 against lefthanders but went 4-for-4 in those spots this weekend, including his game-tying pinch-hit Saturday off Cesar Jimenez.

"I have some confidence, and that goes a long ways," Kubel said. "I'm just feeling really good right now."

Casilla nears return

Barring a change, the Twins plan to have Alexi Casilla playing second base Thursday against the Angels, when they begin their 14-game road trip.

Casilla, out since July 28 because of a strained right thumb, will play the next two days for Class A Beloit in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The plan is to bring him back after Wednesday's game in time for the flight to Los Angeles.

The Twins could be forced into another decision with shortstop Adam Everett, who was offered an assignment to Class AAA Rochester before Casilla got injured.

Though Everett has played better since returning from his shoulder injury, the Twins view Nick Punto as the superior shortstop.

"We've got a little more athleticism out there with Nicky," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's a Gold Glover wherever you put him."

Touchy subject

The Twins continue toying with the idea of moving a starter into an eighth-inning role.

It was a possibility last month when they needed a starting spot for Francisco Liriano, and the idea surfaced again last week, when they tried acquiring Seattle's Jarrod Washburn.

This leads to the question: Which starter would make the switch?

"I think if you took any one of our starters and put them in that role, they'd probably be able to do it," Gardenhire said. "They've been through enough of the battle this season that I think they could probably be our eighth-inning guy.

"That's just guessing. I like them where they're at [in the rotation]."

On his weekly radio show on KSTP (AM-1500), Gardenhire mentioned Tom Shearn, Bobby Korecky and Phil Humber as candidates for the bullpen from Class AAA Rochester.

Of those three, only Korecky and Humber are on the 40-man roster. In his past 10 appearances, Korecky has seven saves, a 1.42 ERA, 12 strikeouts and two walks.

Record wildness

Seattle reliever R.A. Dickey had his knuckleball dancing, but it looked like Elaine from "Seinfeld" when he matched a major league record for wild pitches in an inning with four in the fifth.

Mariners catcher Kenji Jojima also had a passed ball that inning, as the Twins stretched their lead to 8-0.

The record had been matched four previous times, the most recent by Philadelphia's Ryan Madson on July 25, 2006.

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