Good morning!
Reggae music played in the background this morning as the Twins prepared for a possible sweep of the Oakland A's.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he was going to check with his bullpen to see who as available today. If Francisco Liriano struggles early, Anthony Swarzak will replace him. Glen Perkins is expected to get today off after throwing in four of the last five games.
Brian Duensing said he was hit on the right ankle by Jemile Weeks' comebacker yesterday, but he's good to go today if needed.
I checked with Alex Burnett, who didn't throw any curveballs during his outing on Monday. So I wondered if his recent elbow issue made him reluctant to throw the pitch. Burnett said he was able to throw curves during warmups but didn't need the curve in the game. He had a minor elbow issue last week but said he's not afraid to spin one if he has to.
Ben Revere continues to work on bunting, a skill he's really hasn't developed. He got a bunt hit in the seventh when he popped one over the pitcher's mound but failed to get down a bunt in the ninth inning, popping it up for an out. If Revere can improve his bunting he could have 10-15 more hits a year.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Josh Willingham's walk-off homer on Tuesday was the first time since 1995 that a Twins player erased a deficit of two or more runs with a walk-off homer. Kirby Puckett last did it with a three-run homer against the Mariners that year.
Congratulations to Twins' PR maven Dustin Morse, whose wife, Meghann, gave birth to their second child at 12:11 early Wednesday morning. Griffin Easton Morse weighed in at 9 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Good grief, Dustin.
