Nelson Cruz joined Miguel Sano, Mitch Garver and other Twins teammates on the field before Monday's game for extra batting practice. Instead of a coach throwing to them, they brought out a machine, set it up in front of the mound so it's closer to the batter and had it fire 99-mile-per-hour fastballs.
Sano and Garver are trying to find a groove, so their extra work make sense. Cruz, on the other hand, seems to never be out of a groove.
But the 40-year-old Cruz has never been afraid of work, and that work has him producing more than players much younger than him.
On Monday, he opened and closed the Twins' scoring with solo home runs during a 4-1 victory over Kansas City at Target Field. Cruz has a team-high eight home runs and has clobbered 13 home runs in his past 16 games against the Royals.
"I think everything starts with the preparation," Cruz said. "The way I prepare for every game. Trust what you've got, trust what you see, trust the report that they give us and from there, you take off."
Cruz, Garver and Sano were all in the lineup Monday against Kansas City lefthander Kris Bubic. Garver hit into a double play and struck out in his first two plate appearances. Sano struck out swinging, then looking.
Cruz? He walked in the first inning then blasted a 416-foot homer off Bubic that struck the facing of the second deck in left. It was the 408th home run of his career, passing Duke Snider for 56th on the all-time list.
"Nelson is getting to a lot of pitches in the zone and finding the barrel," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "When you're at ground level, and getting to see the actual adjustments he's making during the at-bats, he's not just up there swinging. He's not just a power hitter who goes up there looking to hit home runs. He puts good, under control swings on the ball, and he knows what he's up there looking for."
