Twins General Manager Terry Ryan spoke with catcher Joe Mauer on Thursday night and had no problems with Mauer's desire to remain with his wife and newborn daughters.
Mauer's paternity leave was scheduled to end in time for him to play on Saturday. Now, Mauer will be moved to the restricted list and will not be paid for two games.
``I'll never question a person for wanting to take care of his kids and wife," manager Ron Gardenhire said.
That means Drew Butera, called up to replace Mauer on the roster, will remain with the team through the end of the homestand. And he's in tonight's lineup.
Too bad Mauer can't be in two places at once. He's a career .424 hitter against Felix Hernandez. Pedro Florimon and Trevor Plouffe are 1 for 3 against him. That's it for Twins players doing well - and that's not even a sample size.
I guess it's one way of stating just how tough of a challenge the Twins face tonight. Hernandez is 6-5 with a 2.17 ERA in his career against the Twins, but has thrown 24 consecutive innings against the Twins. The Twins were shutout by Jered Weaver, nearly shut out by Hisashi Iwakuma and now have to solve King Felix. Pack. A. Lunch.
The Mariners have placed catcher Mike Zunino on the disabled list with a broken hammate bone and have singed Humberto Quintero.
Twins (43-56)
