Here are three quick thoughts following the Twins' 5-2 loss to the White Sox
1. DEDUNO TIRED? Samuel Deduno was knocked out of the game after five innings Sunday after plunking three batters and struggling with his control. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire is beginning to wonder if Deduno is getting tired. Deduno might be hitting a wall, but he shouldn't be tired. One person with the team pointed out that he had a late start to the regular season after missing several weeks because of a groin pull following the World Baseball Classic. He has thrown 99 innings with the Twins, 16.2 with Class AAA Rochester.
2. OFFENSIVE WOES: What can be added to the fact that the Twins are batting .167 with runners in scoring position over the past 11 games? That's just nasty. When stuff like this happens, it's more mental than mechanical.
3. MINOR DETAILS: Lefty Logan Darnell pitched eight shutout innings today for Rochester in a 1-0 victory over Louisville. Michael Tonkin got the save. I checked the boxscore to see if Aaron Hicks was off the DL, and he wasn't. So it looks as if he'll be activated tomorrow. Hicks was playing poorly before he injured his right heel and will have to turn it on if he wants a September callup. "It's all up to him," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It is all on his shoulders. He's got to play and get hits and be ready, the bottom line. To call people up here, they have to get it done down there." One other thing I noticed from the Red Wings boxscore: The battery of Darnell and Eric Fryer threw out Bats outfielder Billy Hamilton, who has 71 stolen bases this season. One last note: Lefthander Pedro Hernandez, not B. J. Hermsen, will start for Class AA New Britain in their televised game on FSN. "Sano and Friends" begins around 6:05 p.m.
