Twins notes: With no DH, Park makes most of time on bench

WASHINGTON – Just when Byung Ho Park started to get hot at the plate, interleague play showed up to cool him off.

The Twins designated hitter started on the bench for a third consecutive game because his team has been playing at National League parks. That means Twins pitchers have to hit, and it has left an emerging bat in the dugout. Park was batting .318 over the final six games of the Twins' first homestand, and he had hit home runs in three of his past four games when this interruption started.

Park probably is reconsidering his decision to come to Major League Baseball from the Korean Baseball Organization, where all teams use a designated hitter.

OK, maybe not.

"I knew it was going to come, and it was a matter of me of finding the right way to stay focused and locked into the game and stay in shape and even stay loose and warm because of pinch hit situations later in the game," Park said through a translator. "You never know. So I'm trying to stay in the game even if I'm not playing."

So Park, who drew a seventh-inning walk as a pinch hitter Thursday, has been using his time studying opposing pitchers to see how they might pitch him. He might go to the indoor cage for a few swings to stay loose and sharp. It's not much more than when he is a designated hitter during games and has to find ways not to make the role seem like four pinch-hitting appearances.

"I always try to remind myself that I'm sitting in the dugout and not in the stands, watching the game like a fan," he said.

Manager Paul Molitor could solve things by starting Park this weekend. Friday seemed like a good time because a lefthander, Gio Gonzalez, was on the mound. But Molitor has had trouble sitting down Joe Mauer because he has been doing Mauer things.

Mauer entered Friday eighth in the American League with a .339 batting average. Against lefties, he was batting .429 (6-for-14). So Mauer was back at first base while Park was back on the bench.

"With Park, it's down to two games after today," Molitor said. "I told you I was going to play him in one game, and I will."

Twins honor Prince

Twins players wore purple wristbands in honor of music icon Prince, who died Thursday at his Chanhassen studio.

The Twins contacted the league office Thursday to get approval to go outside their regular dress code.

"There's going to be a tremendous outpouring of support," Molitor said. "There are people hurting today because of the loss and being from Minnesota and representing our team and being a Minnesota guy, we're going to honor that with a little bit of purple tonight. Just a small tribute."

But the Twins aren't done. On Saturday, the club will show "Purple Rain" at Target Street Station, which is next to Target Field. The pre-party will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the movie beginning at 8.

And the Twins will have a number of tributes Monday at Target Field when they return home to begin a series with Cleveland. Brian Dozier went around the clubhouse with a list of Prince songs, and teammates were checking off which ones they wanted for walk-up music. Mauer, for instance, selected "Raspberry Beret."

Etc.

• Danny Santana (right hamstring) played in center field Friday as he began a rehabilitation stint at Class A Fort Myers. If all goes well this weekend, he will be activated from the disabled list Monday.

• In addition to outfielder Ben Revere and catcher Wilson Ramos, another former Twins player now with the Nationals is Jacque Jones, who is in his first season as an assistant hitting coach.