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The Twins, still in the afterglow of qualifying for the wild card game, wrap up road trip today

The Twins clinched a spot in the wild card game at about 11:20 p.m. central time last night. Now, they are in playoff mode.

September 28, 2017 at 3:24PM
Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer, right, and a teammate embrace early Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Cleveland. The Twins earned an AL wild-card berth after the Los Angeles Angels lost to the Chicago White Sox. The Twins had lost 4-2 to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
Minnesota Twins' Joe Mauer, right, and a teammate embrace early Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, in Cleveland. The Twins earned an AL wild-card berth after the Los Angeles Angels lost to the Chicago White Sox. The Twins had lost 4-2 to the Cleveland Indians on Wednesday night. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane) (Dave Denney — Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Can't wait to see the lineup.

As many of you saw on our website, the celebration last night was pretty spirited. You never know when you are going to be back to the playoffs, so you celebrate when you can.

And the Twins did a pretty thorough job of that last night.

With nothing else to play for, the Twins are expected to rest several players between now and the end of the regular season. Look for your favorite youngsters to get playing time. Today might be a little tricky, as the Indians are still going for the best record, so opposing managers usually put out their most competitive lineup.

But it might not matter who Paul Molitor starts today. It looked like everyone had a beer in their hand or was chugging Brut as 1 a.m. neared. We will see...

I don't expect Jose Berrios to make his start on Saturday. One, the Twins want to watch his innings, as his 184 innings between the minors and majors are a career high. Two, they might have him in the bullpen for the Wild Card game, so they might use him in relief during the last few days of the season to get familliar with it.

We will also get to ask Paul Molitor the juicy questions about what his wild card roster will look like. How many pitchers, 10 or 11? Can Gabe Moya really make the team? Will they carry three catchers? Is there any chance Miguel Sano can be on the roster?

And who is the most hung over?????

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The answers to these questions, and more, are coming up. Will check back soon with lineups. The bus isn't leaving the hotel until 10:30 before a noon (eastern) game. That tells you what mode the Twins are in today.


UPDATES:


Kyle Gibson will start as scheduled tomorrow (sorry, forgot he was moved to Friday). Everything else is up in the air after that. I'm betting that Jose Berrios does not start on Saturday, or throws no more than 40 pitches.

Molitor plans on mixing up the lineups the rest of the way, to give some players a break. He's also mindful of making sure they stay sharp.

There are no plans yet to hold a simulated game during the homestand, but that could change. If Miguel Sano has a good workout today, I expect them to schedule one. They want Sano to face live pitching to see what he can do after missing over a month of games. There is a chance he could be on the wild card roster.

Ervin Santana said he did not have anything to drink last night.

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Twins

Zack Granite, CF
Ehrie Adrianza, 3B
Jorge Polanco, SS
Kennys Vargas, 1B
Max Kepler, RF
Robbie Grossman, DH
Jason Castro, C
Mitch Garver, LF
Niko Goodrum, 2B

Ervin Santana, RHP

Indians

Fransisco Lindor, SS
Jason Kipnis, CF
Jose Ramirez, 2B
Edwin Encarnacion, DH
Jay Bruce, RF
Carlos Santana, 1B
Lonnie Chisenhall, LF
Yandy Perez, C
Giovanny Urshela, 3B

Carlos Carrasco, RHP

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about the writer

about the writer

La Velle E. Neal III

Columnist

La Velle E. Neal III is a sports columnist for the Minnesota Star Tribune who previously covered the Twins for more than 20 years.

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Simeon Woods Richardson, promoted from Class AAA to make the start, gave up seven runs in his 4⅔ innings, and the bullpen added to the trend.

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