KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Paul Molitor was working the clubhouse Sunday morning, checking on each of his relief pitchers. He's had to use the bullpen heavily the past couple of days, and it was time to take inventory of live arms.
J.R. Graham and Trevor May are certainly available, and Glen Perkins is ready to close, as always. Ryan Pressly probably cannot be used; he had not returned from getting an MRI this morning, and Molitor said he had not heard any results. The rest? We'll find out during today's game what they told their manager.
Of course, the Twins' hope is that they won't be needed, that Ervin Santana is everything they hoped when they committed $55 million to him last December. As the Twins open the season's second half today, Santana makes his 2015 debut against a lineup he's very familiar with, considering he played for the Royals in 2013.
With lefthander Danny Duffy on the mound, Miguel Sano has moved up to fifth in the Twins' lineup. Kurt Suzuki, who had Saturday night off, is back in the lineup today, while Royals catcher Salvador Perez is out of KC's lineup for just the seventh time this season. Former Twins catcher Drew Butera starts in his place.
Here are the lineups for today's series finale, as the Twins try to win a series here for the first time since September 2012:
TWINS
Dozier 2B
Mauer 1B
Hunter RF
Plouffe 3B
Sano DH
Rosario LF
Nunez SS
Suzuki C
Hicks CF
Santana RHP
ROYALS
Escobar SS
Moustakas 3B
Cain CF
Hosmer 1B
Morales DH
Gordon LF
Infante 2B
Dyson RF
Butera C
Duffy LHP