Plouffe typifies Twins' offensive struggles

The Twins offense has fizzled on their current homestand, with the team scoring only 10 runs in the first five games, a 2.0-run average that's less than half its 5.3-run average in the first 26 games at Target Field.

That doesn't mean big changes are necessary, manager Paul Molitor said. He doesn't intend to be a knee-jerk manager, reacting to every slump or surge.

"Most of the time, you just have to kind of let it run its course," Molitor said. "If you try to address it in a way that you make it bigger than it is … sometimes it can add to the difficulties. I'm not going to make a big deal about it."

That includes leaving Trevor Plouffe in the cleanup spot as he fights through a deep June slump. Plouffe had the Twins' only hit Tuesday, a triple, but he's only 2-for-32 in June after batting .312 with five homers and 21 RBI in May.

"I'm sure [Plouffe and hitting coach Tom Brunansky] have looked at the mechanics of it," Molitor said. "You see patterns in how people are getting him out — they're making pitches early, a lot of times he's getting behind, and then maybe he expands [the strike zone] a little. He's been chasing a little bit. But you learn from your failures just like your successes up here. When guys are continually finding ways to get you out, especially when it's repetitive, you at least try to be aware of it and make an adjustment."

Drew Butera is no longer the Catcher to the Stars, but he doesn't mind.

The former Twin, who backed up Joe Mauer behind the plate from 2010-12, spent last season with the Dodgers, and discovered an interesting perk.

"The one cool thing about being the backup catcher is, I caught all the [ceremonial] first pitches, and the Dodgers have a department that works on getting [celebrities] out there all the time. So every day, I got to meet movie stars, singers, actors, all kinds of big stars," Butera said. "My favorite was probably Will Ferrell. But another cool one was Frank Sinatra Jr., who was there to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Tommy Lasorda. I'm a huge Frank Sinatra [Sr.] fan, and when I closed my eyes, I would swear I was listening to Sinatra."

Now Butera is in Kansas City, after the Royals acquired him from the Angels when Erik Kratz tore the plantar fascia in his left foot in May, and it's turned out to be a perfect match: a player known for his defense on a team that values defense more than any other.

"Every day, somebody is making an unbelievable play," Butera said. "We kind of tip our caps after the game to the guy who makes a great play, and it's fun to be a part of that."

The Kendrys Morales that plays for the Royals today is a lot more dangerous than the one who suited up for the Twins last season, as his two-run blast into the right field upper deck on Monday demonstrated. In retrospect, it's not difficult to figure out why, General Manager Terry Ryan said: Missing six months of baseball while waiting to sign a contract was too big a setback.

"Last year, even when he was traded over to Seattle, he struggled. I just think he never got caught up last year, that's all," Ryan said. "There's nothing we could do about it."

• Outfielder Eddie Rosario will miss Wednesday's game to be present for the birth of his child, but with an off day Thursday, he will miss only one game, rejoining the team in time for Friday's game. To take his place, Class AA shortstop Jorge Polanco was called up for Wednesday's game. Polanco, who made a couple of similar fill-in appearances last season, was batting .312 at Chattanooga.