Both Denard Span and Joe Mauer return to the lineup today as the Twins face Jeff Samardzija. Jeff can hump it up to 95 miles an hour and he has a pretty good slider.
If you didn't notice, five homers were hit yesterday. And Justin Morneau hit his first triple since 2010 with a one-handed swing. The ball just kept carrying to the right-center wall.
Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said the ball was carrying well during batting practice again today. It will be interesting to see how Jeff attacks Twins hitters. Someone with his stuff might want to be aggressive pitching in a big ballpark like this. But the humid air appears to be helping fly balls.
One more thing from last night. If Mauer had pinch hit and the Twins failed to score, Gardy would have had to put Mauer at first, Chris Parmelee to right field and move Darin Mastroianni to second. Mastroianni has played second before.
For those of you who can't let go of the dream, the Twins will hold tryout camps at the Dome on June 19-20. Show up at Gate D at 8:30 to register. You must be a high school graduate, a junior in college or at least 21 years old. Skills and fundamentals will be tested on day one, with players invited back for day two.
Cubs (19-39)
1. Reed Johnson, LF
2. Starlin Castro, SS
3. David DeJesus, RF
4. Alfonso Soriano, DH
5. Jeff Baker, 1B
6. Joe Mather, CF
7. Steve Clevenger, C
8. Darwin Barney, 2B
9. Ian Stewart, 3B
Jeff Samardzija, RHP
