Craig Breslow threw in a simulated game on Monday and felt fine. Good for him.

Paul Molitor repeated on Monday how surprised he was to see Hector Santiago throwing 88 mph fastballs on Sunday and said he planned to speak to Santiago about his approach on Sunday. Whatever. Work it out.

And the Twins are back home smarting after a road trip that began 3-0 ended up 5-6.

One thing topped all of this on Monday,: Rod Carew heading into the batting cages to test his arm.

Carew, making his first appearance in the Twin Cities since having his heart replaced in December, is set to throw out the first pitch tonight as the Twins honor him for his 1967 rookie of the year campaign, his 1977 chase for .400 and his perseverance after suffering a massive heart attack earlier in 2016.

So Carew is worried about his fastball.

He's not sure how close to home plate he'll have to get to deliver the ball to the catcher. He's definitely not getting on the mound. And he might end up as close as he was during his coaching days with the Angels when he flipped throws to Garret Anderson and others.

"I haven't picked up a ball since my operation," Carew said. "It's been a while, and then I'm supposed to play in a softball game for the doctors against patients sometime next week. So I already asked them to get me a pinch runner."

Just the fact Carew is smelling the roses right now is a reason to celebrate.

Adalberto Mejia, who put in two solid outings during the road trip, is back on the mound tonight as the Twins begin a seven-game homestand. Former Twin Alex Meyer is on the mound for the Angels. Meyer has been OK for the Angels, but it will be interesting how the Twins attack him after facing him in Los Angeles. The Meyer they know would melt down with runners on base. So taking good at bats and drawing walks could pay off for them.

By the way, I did see Santiago head into Molitor's office after the media session was over. Looks like two people are going to get back on the same page.

Angels

Cameron Maybin, CF
Kole Calhoun, RF
Albert Pujols, DH
Yunel Escobar, 3B
Andrelton Simmons, SS
Martin Maldonado, C
Luis Valbuena, 1B
Danny Espinosa, 2B
Ben Revere, LF

Alex Meyer, RHP


Twins

Brian Dozier, 2B
Joe Mauer, 1B
Miguel Sano, 3B
Max Kepler, RF
Kennys Vargas, DH
Eddie Rosario, LF
Jorge Polanco, SS
Jason Castro, C
Byron Buxton, Cf

Adalberto Mejia, LHP