I asked a few members of the grounds crew how they feel about the mess the Twins have left at home plate the past couple of nights — thousands of sunflower seeds, dozens of pieces of gum, everything soaked in water and Gatorade. Turns out, they're totally OK with the Twins celebrating walk-off homers for two straight games. Rake, shovel, good as new.
It's hard to imagine they'll have to do the big cleanup again tonight, but who knows? There's a festive atmosphere around Target Field already, partly due to the Twins' postseason charge, and partly due to tonight's promotion: Big Sexy Night. Bartolo Colon just has that effect on people.
Twins manager Paul Molitor has noticed "the fact he's been able to continually defy the odds and do what he's done in the game, and do it in a way that's colorful, doing it in a way that's obviously very fun-loving."
That's the spirit of Big Sexy Night. "He knows the seriousness of baseball, but he could just as well be playing a little sandlot ball with his buddies," Molitor said. "You just never know what particular antic he's going to bring to a game."
The Twins are hoping for the "one-run antic," the one he displayed in Toronto last month. That was Colon's fourth with with the Twins, and he hasn't recorded another one since.
Meanwhile, Miguel Sano hit in the batting cages this afternoon, but that was the extent of his workout. And Jose Berrios had a big day: His wife, Jannieliz, gave birth to their third child, a boy the couple named Diego Jose Berrios. They already have a 3-year-old daughter, Valentina, and a 13-month-old son, Sebastian.
Here are the lineups for tonight's second game of a four-game series with the Blue Jays:
BLUE JAYS
