Twins' Doumit again shows why he's a great fit

KANSAS CITY, MO. - Of the many decisions a manager makes on a daily basis, the first ones deal with who is in the starting lineup. And Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was rubbing his temples Sunday morning about Ryan Doumit.

"I knew we had to get him in there one way or another," Gardenhire said. "We were looking at different routes and a lot of different things."

Since Chris Parmelee is up while Justin Morneau is on paternity leave, he wanted Parmelee to play. Joe Mauer would DH and Drew Butera would be entrusted with trying to guide Samuel Deduno to victory.

But Gardenhire wanted Doumit's bat in the lineup. So Parmelee sat, Doumit was the designated hitter and Mauer was at first.

The three-catcher alignment was too much for Kansas City on Sunday. Doumit became only the third player in club history to homer from both sides of the plate as the Twins held off a late charge to beat the Royals 7-5 at Kauffman Stadium and take two of three games of the weekend series. Doumit's big game helped Deduno win his first major league game in his third-ever start and ninth appearance.

It was another example of why Doumit is such a great fit for the team.

He's not the primary option behind the plate, in the outfield or at first base -- and not a lock as the daily designated hitter.

He's a switch hitter with pop. He's looking to crush the ball and worries about what position he plays after he gets to the park. The last one is a key trait on a team with Mauer and Morneau on it.

Doumit didn't start for a week in May because of a sore calf -- but he talked his way off the disabled list and was bouncing off the walls to return to the lineup a few days later. That suggests he's a gamer.

After playing the first seven seasons of his major league career with Pittsburgh -- impressing the Twins during meetings during spring training -- Doumit decided to try on the American League to see if it fits. The league, and the Twins, seem to suit him well.

"This is a perfect fit for me because I'm getting the opportunity to play different positions and do other things," said Doumit, 31. "You mix that in with the great coaching staff and guys on the team, there's not any other place I'd rather be."

He proved that about a month ago when he signed a two-year, $7 million extension.

Doumit got the Twins on the board in the second inning when he connected off of righthander Jeremy Guthrie for a home run to right-center. The Twins had hit only one home run since Wednesday, and that was by Darin Mastroianni.

The Twins came back with four runs in the third, with Doumit lining a single to left with the bases loaded and two outs, driving in Jamey Carroll and Ben Revere. Brian Dozier followed with a two-run double to left.

"Home runs are great," Gardenhire said, "but staying on the ball and driving it the other way was huge."

Hard-throwing lefthander Tim Collins replaced Guthrie for the sixth. Doumit, the first batter of the inning, turned around and blasted a home run to left.

Doumit joined Roy Smalley (1986) and Chili Davis (1992) as Twins players who have homered from each side of the plate in a game. He has had six two-homer games in his career, but never from each side of the plate in the same game.