Running remains Cuddyer's major issue

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: September 15, 2008 - 7:26 AM

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BALTIMORE - On Saturday, Michael Cuddyer had his first at-bat since June 27.

In Sunday's 7-3 loss to Baltimore, he got another chance to pinch hit and singled up the middle against Orioles closer George Sherrill.

Is Cuddyer moving closer to becoming a righthanded option at designated hitter for the Twins?

"See how his foot does," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You can't DH until you can run the bases, and right now, he can't.

"But we can sure use him as a pinch hitter in situations like that, when lefties come in, and so forth. And if he can put some swings on it, that'd be fun. We just have to pinch run for him."

Cuddyer's hands feel better, and it shows each time he takes batting practice. On Saturday at Camden Yards, he hit several balls into the outfield seats.

He originally went on the disabled list because of a left hand injury but broke his left foot on a minor league rehab assignment Aug. 8.

Cuddyer didn't look bad running to first base on his ninth-inning single Sunday, but Gardenhire sent Jason Pridie in to pinch run.

The Twins will face three lefthanded pitchers this week in Cleveland, but Cuddyer won't get a chance to DH until he shows he can handle things such as running from first to third base.

"I'm sure I'm going to have to prove it to [Gardenhire]," Cuddyer said.

Baserunning gaffes

Nick Punto's first no-no Sunday was getting thrown out running from second to third on a grounder to shortstop in the third inning.

Two innings later, he made a more glaring mistake. After running to first on a fielder's choice, he took a step toward second when the ball bounced into foul territory.

Punto walked slowly back toward first, and the Orioles tagged him out.

"I was hoping nobody else saw it," he said. "I was trying to be casual, but the bottom line is once you go [toward second], nobody's going to miss that, and you've just got to hustle back to the bag."

Rotation plans

The Twins plan to start Scott Baker on three day's rest Wednesday, even though he tossed six innings in Saturday's doubleheader and Glen Perkins pitched only three.

Perkins will pitch Thursday at Tampa Bay. He has thrown 178 2/3 innings this year (including 33 1/3 for Class AAA Rochester) and the Twins don't want to push him after he missed half the 2007 season because of a shoulder injury.

Perkins has struggled to protect big leads of late, and Gardenhire said that might have been on his mind Sunday.

"It was a lack of execution," Perkins said. "It's not a lack of concentration, it's not me being tired or anything like that. It's just me not making the pitch and losing the feel for my changeup."

Etc.

• After straining his lower back in Saturday's outing, Boof Bonser said he felt better overnight and played catch before Sunday's game. He injured a muscle, not the spine, so the Twins hope he will be ready to pitch again soon.

• The Twins' 12-2, 12-6 doubleheader sweep Saturday marked the fourth time in the past 30 years a team has scored at least 12 runs in two games on the same day, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Twins were the last to do it, when they swept the White Sox 20-14 and 12-0 in Chicago on July 6, 2007.

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