Twins-Royals: Thome returns to lineup

At least there are signs of life today.

Yesterday, reporters entered the visitors clubhouse here and noticed that the television was off, there was no music playing and the room was quiet.

That was before the game.

Then the Twins went out and lost a mistake-prone game to the Royals. Today, the TV's are on and music is playing. And the How much of a difference will it make, who knows?

Today., Jim Thome is back in the starting lineup after recovering from a mild strain of his left oblique.

And the Twins have their best starter on the mound in Brian Duensing. Duensing is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. He given up two or fewer runs in three of his four starts.

In his short career, Duensing is 17-5 with a 3.02 ERA.

Twins (9-16)

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Matt Tolbert, SS
3. Jason Kubel, RF
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, 2B
6. Jim Thome, DH
7. Danny Valencia, 3B
8. Steve Holm, C
9. Rene Tosoni, LF

Pitching: Brian Duensing, LHP

Royals (13-13)

1. Mike Aviles, 3B
2. Melky Cabrera, CF
3. Alex Gordon, LF
4. Bill Butler, 1B
5. Jeff Francoeur, RF
6. Wilson Betemit, DH
7. Alcides Escobar, SS
8. Matt Treanor, C
9. Chris Getz, 2B

``Well, just get Nishi well and we will make all the decisions on when and where. We know he can play both sides of the infield. Whatever makes our team better is what we'll do when nishi comes back.''