Twins rookie May finds fine mentor in Hughes

The fact that following Phil Hughes' advice helped Trevor May make the first quality start of his career Sunday encouraged the Twins. The fact that May sought out the advice is what really delighted them.

"If I was Trevor May," General Manager Terry Ryan said one day after May gave up three runs over six innings in a 6-4 victory over the White Sox in Chicago, "I'd be in Phil Hughes' back pocket."

May credited a discussion with his veteran teammate for giving him the confidence to attack hitters with his fastball, a strategy that produced 10 strikeouts and the longest start of May's month in the majors.

"I like the idea that one of our kids would go up and ask the right questions," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You see a guy like Hughesie having success, you want to pick his brain."

They are a good match, Ryan said, despite Hughes' 15-victory success and May's 7.71 ERA difficulties. "They've got the same type of body, the same type of arm. Both [are] righthanded. They both can strike people out," Ryan said.

However it happened, Ryan said he is optimistic about May finishing strong.

"That's the kind of guy we saw in Triple-A this year, and that's the kind of guy we were hoping we traded for," Ryan said of May, who was acquired from Philadelphia in the Ben Revere trade in December 2012. "He's got some out pitches there. He got his breaking ball over, he got his changeup over, and he located his fastball down, which was pretty good. … But let's see if he can back it up a couple of times. Then we'll have lot more optimism, going into the offseason, that he's going to be competitive for a job next year."

In fact, Gardenhire said, "I hadn't seen anything wrong with" Hicks' lefthanded swing. "He stays on the ball; he's not trying to jerk everything. He's using the middle of the field, opposite field, not trying to pull everything. He's shortened his swing; it's more compact to the ball, quick to the ball, both ways."

The switch-hitting outfielder, who briefly gave up hitting lefthanded earlier this year, has a lifetime .184 average from the left side. He is batting .259 overall since rejoining the team at the start of the month.

Tommy Milone's season isn't over yet, the Twins believe. The lefthander, who missed one start because of a tired shoulder and another due to soreness in his neck, underwent a magnetic resonance imaging exam Monday, and while the test pinpointed inflammation that's caused him pain, it also ruled out any structural damage. Another start or two in the season's final two weeks "is a possibility," Ryan said.

Milone, acquired from Oakland on July 31, has given up 17 runs in 20⅓ innings in his five starts for the Twins, a 7.40 ERA.

The Vikings had hoped to honor Gardenhire for earning victory No. 1,000 back in April, but the two teams' schedules never worked out. So the NFL team had a framed jersey, with uniform No. 1000, delivered to the manager's office while the team was on the road last week.