Blast and a bloop make Twins a winner

Not many hours after he hit a game-winning grand slam in the 13th inning late Wednesday night, Joe Crede slunk groggily into the clubhouse to prepare for a Thursday matinée.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, cautious about overworking Crede's surgically repaired back, approached Crede at his locker and asked if he could play. Crede nodded and said something in his soft-as-sea-foam voice. Gardenhire laughed, walked away, and typed Crede's name into the lineup.

"His answer, you can't print," Gardenhire said. "Let's just say it was old-school."

What could have been a day of rest thus became a day of reaffirmation. About 15 hours after becoming the fifth player in big-league history to hit two walk-off extra-inning grand slams, Crede blooped a two-run single to center in the bottom of the seventh, completing a six-run rally that gave the Twins a 6-5 victory over Detroit at the Metrodome.

Crede produced the winning runs in all three games of the Twins' sweep of the Tigers. For a veteran free agent trying to fit into a clubhouse filled with young, homegrown players, a big hit is more impressive than a testimonial, more persuasive than a World Series ring.

"Coming over to a new team, you don't want to step on anybody's toes, or be too loud," Crede said. "You want to sit back and see how everybody goes about their business, and learn from it. I think your comfort level will just rise with more time and more games."

Crede's comfort level is likely to rise even if his voice never does. If he fits into the Twins clubhouse, it's because he makes Joe Mauer sound like an televangelist.

"I think being new here is only a small portion of him being quiet," outfielder Michael Cuddyer said. "I think he's the quietest guy on the team. Maybe that's because he's not as familiar with his teammates. You can ask me again in September, and I might have a different answer. But right now, I'll go with Crede."

Crede even handled a personal drama quietly and professionally. While so many modern ballplayers seem to want their own maternity leave, Crede dealt with his son, Jace Taylor, being born five weeks early and missed only one game.

Crede just happened to be at his home in Missouri during a Twins day off on April 30. The next morning, his wife, Lisa, went into labor.

Doctors were concerned about Jace's lung development, but Crede quickly became comfortable with his son's health and returned to the team.

"It was our third one, and I felt very confident in the way he was doing," Crede said. "We had been through this before, and the first or second time you're always very worried about what was happening. We were very confident he was going to come out on top.

Mauer, in his quiet way of welcoming newcomers to the clubhouse, has asked Crede to teach him about hunting, fishing and camping. "I'm trying to learn a little bit from him and Brian Buscher -- me, the city boy, trying to learn about the outdoors," Mauer said. "I think he's kind of like me. He just comes and tries to do his work. He's not a guy who wants to draw a whole lot of attention to himself."

Personalities matter in the big leagues only when a player succeeds. After six weeks in a Twins uniform, Crede is hitting .237 and has fielded well. On the Twins roster, only Justin Morneau has more than Crede's five homers, and he's fifth on the team with 15 RBI. "He's been a great fit," Mauer said.

Thursday, Crede volunteered to play and delivered his second game-winning hit in 15 hours. If he didn't feel comfortable in a Twins uniform before Wednesday, he probably does now.