Twins

Rod Carew receives warm welcome upon his return to Twin Cities

By La Velle E. Neal III

July 4, 2017 at 5:13AM

1:04

Rod Carew was worried about his fastball.

The seven-time American League batting champion with the Twins was asked to throw out the first pitch during his return to Target Field on Monday, so he headed for the indoor batting cages to test his arm.

"I don't know how I'm going to get it up there," he said.

Carew, 71, later took to the field under a standing ovation, making his first Minnesota appearance since undergoing a heart transplant on Dec. 16. The Hall of Famer walked out to second base and doffed his cap. The stadium videoboard showed a picture from 1977 — when his run at batting .400 ended at .388 — in which Carew was in a similar pose.

He then walked to the front of the pitcher's mound and delivered a strike to old friend Tony Oliva as fans cheered.

It's been a long road for Carew since he suffered a massive heart attack in September 2015. But he has made strides since surgery and has been cleared to travel, and the Twins couldn't wait to honor him for his MVP season 40 years ago as well as his rookie of the year campaign in 1967.

Carew also is using the time to promote his Heart of 29 campaign to encourage people to have their hearts checked regularly.

"It's great to come back," said Carew, who also met with the Twins before they played the Angels in California last month. "This is my first trip flying, so I was really looking forward to it. Every time I come back to the Twin Cities I feel like I'm coming back home."

Carew stopped by Twins manager Paul Molitor's office Monday afternoon for a chat. Then he spoke to some players in the batting cages.

"For him to travel for the first time since the procedure and be here just brought some tremendous awareness of his cause, the Heart of 29 program, and the fact that we are going to acknowledge one of the greatest players in the history of the game," Molitor said.

Dozier scratched

Twins second baseman Brian Dozier was scratched less than an hour before Monday's game because of lower back tightness.

The Twins didn't believe the injury was serious. Eduardo Escobar took over at second base and batted second while Joe Mauer moved up to the leadoff spot, only the second time all season Mauer has hit first.

Santiago situation

Molitor met with Hector Santiago on Monday to make sure they were on the same page after the lefthander's outing Sunday at Kansas City.

Santiago, apparently without discussing it with the coaching staff, took a few miles off his fastball in an effort to throw more strikes. According to Brooks Baseball, his fastball averaged 87.48 miles per hour Sunday, about 3 mph slower than usual.

Molitor saw that, unaware it was intentional, and removed Santiago in the fourth inning. "Watching it, it didn't seem right to me," Molitor said. "It got to a point where I thought it was the best decision. I will stand by the decision."

Santiago also questioned the positioning of the outfield when he gave up a run-scoring double to Eric Hosmer. But Molitor was more concerned about Santiago's game plan and wanted to talk with him.

"I don't have any problems with players' emotions and being able to express what he feels," Molitor said. "Hector has been really, really good for me as far as taking the ball and stepping up when I needed him."

Santiago was seen entering Molitor's office moments after the manager met with the media.

Etc.

• Infielder Ehire Adrianza (right oblique strain) will be activated from the disabled list Tuesday, with Kennys Vargas sent back to Class AAA Rochester. Vargas went 1-for-4 as the designated hitter Monday.

• Lefthander Craig Breslow (right thoracic rib soreness) threw around 40 pitches during a simulated game and said the session went well.

In his first visit to the Twin Cities since receiving a heart transplant in December, Hall of Famer Rod Carew threw a ceremonial first pitch to former teammate Tony Oliva on Monday night. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)