Clete Thomas batted .362 in April at Class AAA Rochester. As Aaron Hicks' big league baptism was getting rough, Thomas looked more and more like a viable option — although he wasn't on the Twins' 40-man roster at the time.
But Thomas has had chances in the majors before. Was some of what he was doing with the Red Wings transferrable to the majors?
On Wednesday night, the lefthanded-hitting Thomas, dug in against Phillies lefthander Antonio Bastardo in the eighth inning and smashed a double to right-center that drove in the tying run. Later in the inning, he advanced to third on a bunt single and scored on a wild pitch.
Thomas' fingerprints were all over the Twins' 4-3 comeback victory over Philadelphia. He was 4-for-4 with two double, two RBI and a run scored. With Hicks on the disabled list, fans will be seeing a lot of Thomas in center field. On Wednesday, he gave the Twins reasons to believe they will like what they see.
"It's great," Thomas said. "It's been what I was looking for ever since I got up here."
Oswaldo Arcia was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Righthander Mike Pelfrey went seven innings in perhaps his best outing of the season. Brian Duensing won in relief for the second night in a row. And Glen Perkins picked up his 15th save.
Thomas batted just .239 after his smoking hot April. He also landed on the disabled list with a strained quad that knocked him out of action for nearly two weeks.
He was still looking for a his swing when the Twins called him up on June 3. He stepped into center field when Hicks landed on the disabled list on Monday.