Patrick Reusse: Morneau, swing refuse to quit

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was going through a litany of Justin Morneau's sore spots following his team's 2-1 victory over Washington on Tuesday night.

"His body has been beat up," Gardenhire said. "He has a sore shoulder, sore legs, sore back. But he comes out here every day, does his workout, gets ready for the game.

"He's out there every day. He's diving around at first base. He's a big guy. He runs the bases hard. He gives it his best in every area."

The Twins received the first strong pitching effort from Livan Henandez in exactly a month, and yet they were trailing 1-0 against Washington lefthander John Lannan in the sixth.

There were two outs and Lannan appeared ready to cruise through another inning when Joe Mauer singled to center. This was only the fourth time a Twins hitter had earned his way on base, and three of those were Mauer -- a walk, a double and now this single.

Morneau was 0-for-2 against Lannan. He still was collecting an RBI here and there, but the No. 4 hitter had not homered since May 30.

"I was looking for something offspeed," Morneau said. "That's the way he had started me earlier in the game. But those pitches were down."

Morneau came through with a full-throttle rip and sent the pitch into the Metrodome's second deck. The estimated distance was a stout 421 feet. And the big lefty's first June home run was what the Twins needed to start a crucial stretch of 15 out of 18 home games with a victory.

The game speed was breakneck -- 1 hour, 59 minutes -- meaning there will be no new fines coming in Gardenhire's direction for "not complying with pace of game rules."

That was the charge against Gardenhire and Houston's Cecil Cooper when fines were announced Tuesday. Gardenhire's failure to comply involved telling Brian Runge, Sunday's plate umpire in Milwaukee, that his judgment was very flawed in allowing a third strike to zip past Brendan Harris' head as he tried to get time.

Gardenhire avoided the topic Tuesday, other than to say: "This was a short ballgame. A lot of people like that."

It would have been short and unsweetened for the Twins if not for Morneau's mighty swing. Was he aware of the June drought for home runs?

Morneau said the surprise for him came Sunday as the Twins made the flight back from Milwaukee.

"I didn't realize that it was the 15th already," he said. "We had been on the road so long, I lost track."

Morneau's average is .305 and he has a solid total of 53 RBI. He has 11 home runs, compared to hitting his 20th of 2007 on June 17.

"The home runs are a little down, but I'm not going to complain," he said. "If you had told me I'd have 53 RBIs in the middle of June, I would've taken them."

Morneau was asked about playing in the banged-up condition that his manager was describing after the game.

"That's what Torii [Hunter] was talking about here a couple of years ago. You have injuries, soreness, but you play, because this might be the night you get two hits, or do something else to help the team win.

"You grind it out. And the older you get, the more you realize that's the way you have to approach it. You have to play."

Morneau is the only Twin to start all 71 games -- 68 at first base, three as the designated hitter.

He's in the lineup because you never know. This might be the night when your club seems dead-set on wasting excellent pitching, and then a talented rookie lefty will hang you a curveball, and you'll use that strength and quickness to smash it beyond the boundaries and provide a victory that absolutely, positively was needed.