Twins fall behind early, lose

Making his first start of the season in the majors, left-hander david Huff held the Twins to four hits and two walks over seven innings as Cleveland beat the Twins 5-2 in the first game of a doubleheader on Monday.

Huff was 2-11 for the Indians in 2010.

Anthony Swarzak was the losing pitcher for the Twins, giving up four bruns (three earned) in six innings.

Michael Cuddyer hit a twi-run homer in the ninth for the Minnesota runs, and Joe Mauer, who played first base, had three of his team's six hits.

More details later at startribune.com.

Joe Mauer is starting at first base in Game 1 of today's doubleheader and will likely catch Game 2 tonight, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said this morning.

Gardenhire started Jim Thome at DH for Game 1 because he is 4-for-6 with 2 HR against Cleveland lefthander David Huff, who was promoted from Class AAA Columbus to make this start.

Lefties were hitting .289 against Huff in Class AAA, compared to .256 for righties. Thome remembered facing him, and his face lit up when Gardenhire told him he wanted to see it again today.

It'll be interesting to see who plays both games. The Twins have a cold pool in their clubhouse, and there will be a long break with Game 2 starting at 7:10 p.m.

Scott Diamond will make his major league debut for the Twins in that game. Also, Chuck James is here, ready to put on his Superman cape in relief.

Injury updates

Last night, Denard Span (concussion) and Jason Kubel (sprained foot) began rehab stints for Rochester. Span went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and played five innings in center field. Kubel was the DH and went 1-for-4 with a double. Kyle Gibson gave up nine runs in that 13-4 loss to Buffalo.

* Scott Baker will rest for a couple days, throw a bullpen and probably have a brief minor-league rehab appearance before being activated from the DL.

* The Indians placed Grady Sizemore on the DL with a bruised right knee. It's his third trip to the DL this year.

INDIANS (49-44)

1. Michael Brantley, LF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
3. Travis Hafner, DH
4. Carlos Santana, C
5. Matt LaPorta, 1B
6. Travis Buck, RF
7. Luis Valbuena, 2B
8. Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B
9. Ezequiel Carrera, CF

Starting pitcher: LH David Huff (2011 debut)

1. Ben Revere, CF
2. Alexi Casilla, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, 1B
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Jim Thome, DH
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Danny Valencia, 3B
8. Drew Butera, C
9. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, SS