Joe Mauer singled in the eighth inning on Wednesday and was replaced by pinch runner Danny Rams. Mauer went 1-for-4 against Palm Beach and threw out two runners - one trying to steal second and one going for third.
According to the Fort Myers online broadcast, Mauer is scheduled to be the designated hitter on Thursday.
Still no word when Mauer will be ready to rejoin the Twins. He can come off the 60-day disabled list on Sunday but he hasn't caught back-to-back games yet. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he hoped that Mauer would play some games at Class AAA Rochester before returning to the Twins.
Just speculation here. IF Mauer has to catch in back-to-back games at Fort Myers and IF he has to go to Rochester, doesn't that suggest another week?.
Tsuyoshi Nishioka was 1-for-3 with a double,run scored, two strikeouts and an error. I expect him to be back sometime next week. Then again, Gardy wanted him to play some at Rochester too.
Carl Pavano's change up is back and he looks like a different pitcher.Pavano didn't get the decision on Wednesday but pitched seven strong innings.
``l'm feeling better and the results are showing that," said Pavano, who has a 1.69 ERA over his last two outings. ``My change up, I had lost it for awhile. My arm strength is getting better, so there is more of a difference between my fastball and change up, which helps me."
Finally, the Twins went 6-4 on this road trip, with three of their losses by one run. If they had cleaned up a couple things in Detroit, it could have really been a good trip for them.
