Nolasco's back, and Suzuki's in middle of lineup

Kurt Suzuki's name has appeared in every position in the Twins' lineup except first or ninth in his two seasons here. Now he's batting fifth for the third straight game against the White Sox

May 2, 2015 at 4:29PM
Minnesota Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki (8) is greeted in the dugout by manager Paul Molitor, middle, and teammate Oswaldo Arcia, right, after hitting a two-run 8th inning homerun against the Kansas City Royals. The Twins beat the Royals 8-5 Thursday, April 16, 2015, at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN.
Minnesota Twins catcher Kurt Suzuki (8) is greeted in the dugout by manager Paul Molitor, middle, and teammate Oswaldo Arcia, right, after hitting a two-run 8th inning homerun against the Kansas City Royals. The Twins beat the Royals 8-5 Thursday, April 16, 2015, at Target Field in Minneapolis, MN. (Tom Wallace — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Kurt Suzuki's name has appeared in every position in the Twins' lineup except first or ninth in his two seasons here, so batting fifth for a third straight day, as he will this afternoon against the White Sox, isn't that unusual. But it really has more to do with his teammates than Suzuki, his manager said.

"You kind of go day-to-day, in where guys are going to fit in and how you think your best chance is of finding a way to score runs," Paul Molitor said after writing out a lineup that bats Suzuki and Eduardo Escobar ahead of Oswaldo Arcia. "Today, [against Chicago starter Hector Noesi], he's done OK against him. I've got [Kennys] Vargas out of there, and Arcia is still trying to find consistency, so I like him down a little bit."

Ideally, though, Molitor prefers to bat Suzuki eighth, as he has done in 11 of his 18 starts this year.

"I like having him at the bottom, because I think he's a veteran presence down there, and a guy I can count on to have good at-bats if we have opportunities to score runs," Molitor said. "But certain times, depending on who's in there, if I want to emphasize speed at the bottom or whatever the personnel is, if other guys are having trouble handling those middle slots or driving in runs, I can always stick him in there because I know he's going to give me good at-bats."

The White Sox will try to have good at-bats today against Ricky Nolasco, who is making his second start of the season after more than three weeks on the disabled list with elbow inflammation. Nolasco will be limited to 75-80 pitches, Molitor said, but he's feeling good and is eager to resume his season.

"We're glad to have him," Molitor said. "I think we're all excited to see how Ricky's season is going to unfold after having a really good spring."

The Twins have outscored Chicago 13-2 in the first two games of this series, and 25-13 in their five games so far this season. Of course, Chicago is last in the majors in scoring.

Fans were lined up well before the gates opened this morning, in order to claim a fur-lined bomber's cap. It's 70 degrees right now, so those should come in handy. Here are the lineups those fans will see during today's 1:10 p.m. game:

WHITE SOX

Shuck CF

Cabrera LF

Abreu 1B

LaRoche DH

Garcia RF

Ramirez SS

Gillaspie 3B

Soto C

Johnson 2B

Noesi RHP

TWINS

Dozier 2B

Hunter DH

Mauer 1B

Plouffe 3B

Suzuki C

Escobar LF

Arcia RF

Schafer CF

Santana SS

Nolasco RHP

about the writer

about the writer

Phil Miller

Reporter

Phil Miller has covered the Twins for the Minnesota Star Tribune since 2013. Previously, he covered the University of Minnesota football team, and from 2007-09, he covered the Twins for the Pioneer Press.

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