CLEVELAND -- Justin Masterson has a pronounced advantage against right-handed hitters (they have a .604 OPS against him, as opposed to a .797 OPS for lefties), and Josh Willingham is 2-for-12 with six strikeouts against the Indians' ace. So tonight is a good night to keep Willingham on the bench, Ron Gardenhire decided.
Arcia in Willingham's spot against Masterson
Twins' left fielder Oswaldo Arcia will play the outfield on Friday, manager Ron Gardenhire decides as the Twins kick off a three-game series with the Indians.
Oswaldo Arcia will take Willingham's place in the lineup, and in left field, where the rookie has played four straight games already. The 21-year-old is batting .294 with a .368 on-base percentage over the past five games, so he seems to be getting more comfortable. Willingham, who hasn't played left field since last Saturday due to some minor knee soreness, will be back tomorrow afternoon against lefty Scott Kazmir, Gardenhire said, and he plans to use Ryan Doumit as his catcher, too.
It's absolutely gorgeous here, 75 at the moment, and the Twins are enjoying the weather. The manager is even mildly sunburned after a round of golf yesterday that was enjoyed by about a dozen members of the Twins' traveling party. "That rough was about as thick as it gets," Gardenhire said. "If we hadn't been playing a scramble, we'd have needed lawn mowers.
A couple of other Twins notes:
-- Darin Mastroianni had a CT scan on his left ankle in Minneapolis yesterday, and it revealed that he hasn't made as much progress as the Twins hoped. He'll have to wear the walking boot for at least another week, require at least another week before he's ready to play, and the delay means he almost certainly will require a rehab stint as well. The Twins are putting no timetable on his return from the stress reaction, but it doesn't sound like he'll be back until late May at the earliest.
-- Deibinson Romero, held up for three months by visa problems, has arrived in Fort Myers, and will remain in extended spring training for the moment until the Twins determine he's ready to start a minor-league season, most likely at Rochester.
-- The April 19 game in Chicago that was postponed by cold weather will be made up at U.S. Cellular Field on Aug. 9 at 1:10 p.m., before the regularly scheduled 7:10 p.m. start that night. Sounds like neither team was particularly anxious to sacrifice an off day to make it up, especially since both teams have a couple of other makeup games to schedule. Still no word on the new date at Target Field for the April 17 game with the Angels.
Today's lineups -- note that Indians first baseman Nick Swisher remains out for a third day with a sore shoulder.
TWINS
Dozier 2B
Mauer C
Morneau 1B
Doumit DH
Parmelee RF
Plouffe 3B
Arcia LF
Hicks CF
Florimon SS
Hernandez LHP
INDIANS
Brantley LF
Kipnis 2B
Cabrera SS
Reynolds DH
Santana 1B
Raburn RF
Aviles 3B
Gomes C
Stubbs CF
Masterson RHP
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