Three quick leftovers, with tomorrow's day game only 13 hours away:
KEEP ME IN, COACH: Ron Gardenhire sent his pitching coach to the mound in the eighth inning to tell him to walk David Ortiz. He was surprised by the response.
"We were going to walk Ortiz, and we were going to go after Naps [Mike Napoli], but Phil said 'I'd just as soon take my chances and make David chase,' " Gardenhire said. "It shocked me when Andy came back in said he wants to pitch to him."
How'd that conversation go? "He said, 'I want this guy,' and I said, 'well, we've got a righty on deck,' " Anderson said. "But he said, 'No, I want this guy, I can get him. ... I love it. I love that attitude."
Napoli was 6-for-15 against Hughes, Ortiz 10-for-28. Still, "I really wanted to go after Ortiz," Hughes said, "and I really don't like walking guys either."
No kidding. Tuesday's loss was Hughes' third straight start without a walk, and ninth in his last 10 starts.
So Hughes went after Big Papi. Three pitches later, Ortiz reached for a cutter off the plate and flew out harmlessly to left.
SUZUKI HOT, ARCIA NOT: A couple of hitters are going in opposite directions near the bottom of the Twins' lineup. Kurt Suzuki singled in the fifth inning, giving him hits in nine of his last 10 games. He's batting .371 over that span, with two doubles.
