It's a quick turnaround this morning for the Twins, after last night's walk-off win. Batting practice was brief and voluntary, and only about half of the players came out. The rest will all hit in the batting cages before the game. Torii Hunter was in a hurry to finish, so he could watch Notre Dame's Blue and Gold football game, featuring wide receiver Torii Jr.
In response to an email I received last night, I asked Joe Mauer about his beard. It started on a whim (he figured it might help get through the cold cities this month), has remained because his wife likes it, and after a couple of conversations with friends on the Wild, has morphed into a playoff beard. He won't get to see today's game, of course, because he'll be at first base during today's Wild game.
Trevor Plouffe was last night's hero, smashing an 11th-inning home run, but as was arranged before that game, he's out of the lineup today in order to get Eduardo Nunez some playing time. "It's important to get everyone in there, especially right out of spring training," manager Paul Molitor said. He checked to see if the cut on Nunez's index finger on his throwing hand had healed. It has.
Phil Hughes will make his third attempt at a victory, and for the first time, he's not facing another team's ace. Hughes has pitched against David Price and Chris Sale this season, so his chances at victory figure to be a little stronger against Cleveland righthander Danny Salazar. Of course, it's easy to forget that Hughes didn't win any of his first three starts last year, either, before going on a six-game winning streak.
Here are the lineups for today's 1:10 p.m. start:
INDIANS
Bourn CF
Kipnis 2B
