Torii Hunter is back in the lineup, as he promised he would be, but Joe Mauer is getting a night off. Mauer just left the batting cage; he looks fine. He’s probably getting a night off against a good lefthander, the Tigers’ Nate Robertson (2-1, 2.05 ERA).

Update: Gardenhire said he was going to rest Mauer either tonight or tomorrow, since there’s a day game following a night game. Gardenhire also mentioned that Mauer has a sore quad. Mauer said he’s “a little banged up, like everybody,” but said he’s fine. Gardenhire predicted he would catch the final two games of this series.

Interesting to note that Pudge Rodriguez is also getting a night off because of a bruised left foot. So both All-Star catchers are sitting this one out.

Twins lineup: Nick Punto 3B, Luis Rodriguez 2B, Mike Redmond C, Michael Cuddyer RF, Justin Morneau 1B, Torii Hunter CF, Josh Rabe DH, Jason Kubel LF, Jason Bartlett SS. Pitcher: Ramon Ortiz

Tigers lineup: Curtis Granderson CF, Placido Polanco 2B, Gary Sheffield DH, Magglio Ordonez RF, Carlos Guillen SS, Sean Casey 1B, Craig Monroe LF, Mike Rabelo C, Brandon Inge 3B. Pitcher: Robertson.

Comerica Park. Scheduled first pitch: 6:05 (Central).

This entry was posted on Friday, April 27th, 2007 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.