A few short notes following the Twins loss to the Yankees.

Santana and the gun

Now we know what it takes to Ervin Santana to light up the radar gun.

The righthander on Sunday was charged with a balk in the fifth inning that allowed Ben Gamel to score from third and put the Yankees ahead 4-2 at the time.

``I was not happy," Santana said of his gaffe.

That was evident by his next three pitches, all fastballs that hit 95, 96 and 97 miles an hour on the stadium radar gun.

``I think (the balk) bothered him," Molitor said, ``after seeing the next three pitches."

Sano's defense

Miguel Sano missed a catchable fly ball in the third inning on Sunday.

The first two batters of the inning reached base, then Ben Gamel sent a fly ball to Sano's left. Sano chased after the ball, stuck out his glove and watched the ball deflect off of it.

Instead of there being one out with runners on first and second, the bases were loaded with no outs. And the Yankees scored three times in the inning to take a 3-2 lead.

It's the second time Sano has made a noticeable mistake in the outfield, the other coming March 3 during the spring training home opener, when he misjudged a line drive and had it sail over his head. Otherwise, Sano has held his own.

Molitor said that coach Butch Davis, who works with the outfielders, spoke to Sano after the play. Sano had left the clubhouse by the time reporters were allowed to enter following the game.

``For the amount of innings he's been out there, there hasn't been a lot of balls where he's been challenged," Molitor said. ``That one tailed away from him. He closed on it well."

Buxton's nice swing

Byron Buxton was down 0-2 to Ivan Nova in the fifth inning when he got an 0-2 changeup over the plate and pounded it off the wall for a double. Molitor said Buxton was looking better at the plate before he got sick a week ago, so he was pleased to see the rookie pick up where he left off.

Molitor wants to see better at bats from Buxton, especially with two strikes on him, If Buxton can put the ball in play instead of striking out he would get on base more often, with his blazing speed.

Meyer decision

The Twins should decide this week if they are going to leave Ale Meyer in the bullpen or convert him back to being a starter.

ETC.

Ryan Pressly has given up one run over seven innings this spring, including a scorless inning on Sunday during which he hit 96 on the gun. Molitor is very comfortable with Pressly, to the point where it would be hard to not see him on the Opening Day roster.