Twins battling despite spotty pitching staff

In Ron Gardenhire's eight seasons as manager of the Twins, he's never run into a shortage of major- league caliber pitching like he has this year.

Kevin Slowey was 10-3 before going out for the season after having surgery on his hand.

Gardenhire expects Francisco Liriano (tired arm) to be inactive for at least two weeks. And Glen Perkins, who also is on the disabled list, is rehabilitating in Florida and hasn't thrown a ball yet, the manager says.

There was some talk about Boof Bonser, who has been beset all season with arm trouble, might be ready to help out in the final weeks of the season. But Gardenhire said that is unlikely.

The Twins have called up all of the pitchers from Class AAA Rochester who had even a little success, but the top farm club didn't make the playoffs this year, so that indicates what type of pitching staff they had.

"We are scoring runs, but our pitching -- we can't get behind. When you start playing the Detroits and Chicagos, if you get deep behind, they are too strong pitching-wise for you to be able to get back in all these games," Gardenhire said. "We are going to have to pitch, it is going to take a full team effort, 25 guys.

"We are trying all kinds of different things for those spots in the lineup and in the rotation, but we are just going to battle and do the best we can.

Crain pitched the seventh and eight innings Tuesday against the Orioles, retiring all six hitters. But when Nolan Reimold doubled to open the ninth with the score tied, Gardenhire went to Jose Mijares.

Gardenhire said one of the bright spots in the lineup has been the hitting of Alexi Casilla.

"He is showing a lot of confidence at the plate, and he is battling, and even though he didn't get a bunt down tonight [Tuesday], he stayed in there and he didn't lose his confidence and he put a nice swing on the ball," Gardenhire said. "He has been up and down a couple times, and finally he is relaxed enough to just let it happen and let it play and he is into the game mentally. He is really into the game mentally, and he is running around having fun.

"Cuddy [Michael Cuddyer] has been hot. When Morny [Justin Morneau] went down [with an ear infection], we needed some people to step up, and Cuddy has been swinging it real good in his place."

Gardenhire sang the praises of outfielder Denard Span, who is hitting .306 and playing great in the outfield.

The Twins had won five games in a row before Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Orioles at the Metrodome, leaving them only four games behind division-leader Detroit, and they were 9-2 in the previous 11 games.

"For us to get back in this thing, we had to have a streak here, and now we have to continue that streak," Gardenhire said.

The Twins still have enough games with the Tigers (seven) and White Sox (six) to win the AL Central. It's not a very good division this year, and that is why the Twins still have a shot despite all of the problems they have had this year.

Jottings While he filled in at first base for Morneau, Cuddyer hit .327 with five homers, four doubles, eight RBI, two walks and nine strikeouts. Cuddyer ranks seventh in the league in extra-base hits (19) since the All-Star break. And his two errors while playing mostly right field rank first among starting right fielders this season.

Casilla seems to have regained his confidence -- he is batting .444 from Aug. 14 to 25 with four RBI, two stolen bases, nine runs, two doubles, one triple and a .593 slugging percentage. However, he has lifted his batting average to only .209. Last year at this time, he was hitting .301 with 15 doubles, 41 RBI and a .413 slugging average. ... Morneau, with 29 home runs going into Wednesday's game, is nine ahead of last year at this time.

There's no doubt John Sullivan has locked up the Vikings' center position with a very good performance in the first two preseason games, but coach Brad Childress had some things to say about backup Jon Cooper. "What I have said right along about Coop is that he is exceptional from a competitive standpoint ..." Childress said. "He has the skills, ability and mind to be able to direct traffic in the front. He has natural leverage. Good shotgun snapper, he is a force to be reckoned with in there."

Cooper, a free agent, was the starting center at Oklahoma last year, playing alongside fellow Vikings rookie, right tackle Phil Loadholt.

Terrell Combs, who left the Gophers football team and transferred to Louisville, saw very little action last year, when he was moved from defensive line to tight end late in the season and back to defensive end this spring. He played briefly in three games last year. He no doubt transferred because he didn't see any future here.

Napoleon Harris, the linebacker who came to the Vikings from the Raiders in the Randy Moss deal, is back with the Raiders after signing as a free agent. ... Green Bay fans will be able to see a lot of Brett Favre, with stations there carrying eight Vikings games.

Wild defenseman Brent Burns is at Hockey Canada's national men's team orientation camp in Calgary. Burns is one of only 16 defensemen vying for a spot on Canada's Olympic roster. ... Former Minnesota North Star Gord Dineen was recently named an assistant coach of the Toronto Marlies, the Maple Leafs' American Hockey League affiliate.