CHICAGO — The Twins sent catcher Jose Morales back to Class AAA Rochester after today’s 20-1 victory over Chicago, as expected, to make room to re-instate Delmon Young from the Family Medical Emergency List.

Morales went 3-for-4 with two walks today, raising his average to .358, but the Twins already have two catchers in Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond.

Morales said he understood the move, but it wasn’t easy for the Twins. Manager Ron Gardenhire called it a fitting move for the end of a “goofy” road trip, having to send out a player after he reaches base five times.

Young isn’t expected to return to the Twins until Sunday, following his mother’s funeral, but major league rules only permit a player to stay on the FMEL for seven days.Â

CHICAGO — Phone blog from the clubhouse.

Updates later, but it sounds like the White Sox have agreed to a deal for Jake Peavy pending Peavy’s permission.

Update: Anthony Swarzak is here. He threw a bullpen session with pitching coach Rick Anderson and is looking forward to Saturday’s start against Milwaukee.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said he just wanted to “mix it up,” with today’s lineup, noting the struggles the team has had in the No. 2 spot. The Twins’ No. 2 hitters combined rank last in the majors, batting .186/.244/.289.

(*) Gardenhire said he wanted to start Jose Morales because he’s been working hard and had a good at-bat as a pinch hitter Wednesday night. Also worth noting, Mike Redmond is 0-for-4 with two strikeouts for his career against Bartolo Colon.

(*) The Twins’ losing streak is at six. They haven’t lost seven in a row since they had an eight-game losing streak in July 2003. They’ve also lost nine straight on the road. The Twins also lost nine straight on the road from June 30 to July 13, 2003. The last time they had a longer road losing streak was when they lost 11 straight in 1994.

TWINS (18-23)

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Joe Mauer, DH
3. Justin Morneau, 1B
4. Jason Kubel, LF
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Joe Crede, 3B
7. Jose Morales, C
8. Matt Tolbert, 2B
9. Nick Punto, SS

Starting pitcher: RH Nick Blackburn (2-2, 4.38 ERA)

WHITE SOX (17-22)

1. Scott Podsednik, LF
2. Alexei Ramirez, SS
3. Jermaine Dye, RF
4. Jim Thome, DH
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
6. A.J. Pierzynski, C
7. Wilson Betemit, 3B
8. Chris Getz, 2B
9. Brian Anderson, CF

Starting pitcher: RH Bartolo Colon (2-3, 4.21 ERA)

U.S. Cellular Field. First pitch: 1:05 p.m.

CHICAGO — As La Velle reported, Oakland claimed lefthanded reliever Craig Breslow, and the Twins filled the spot with RHP Anthony Swarzak, who will make Saturday’s start in place of injured Glen Perkins.

La Velle also noted pitching coach Rick Anderson’s comment to KFAN (AM-1130) that the Twins got good news on Perkins’ MRI, as his left elbow injury is nothing major. I’ll get some more details on these moves later.

Update: Perkins’ MRI showed no structural damage. He was diagnosed with irritation of the ulnar nerve and mild swelling. No timetable on his return, but this is good news.

(*) Delmon Young is expected to return by Sunday, with his mother’s funeral on Saturday in Vicksburg, Miss. His time on MLB’s Family Emergency Medical List will expire on Friday, so the Twins will make a roster move after Thursday’s game — likely sending catcher Jose Morales to Class AAA Rochester — and play with 24 men on their 25-man roster on Friday and Saturday.

(*) And yes, it is Wednesday. Take caution: You are reading the words of a scribe who doesn’t even know what day of the week it is. Harris is at shortstop, too. Twins aren’t going with some radical alignment with two second basemen.

TWINS (18-22)

1. Denard Span, RF
2. Brendan Harris, SS (Corrected from earlier)
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, DH
5. Michael Cuddyer, 1B
6. Jason Kubel, LF
7. Joe Crede, 3B
8. Carlos Gomez, CF
9. Matt Tolbert, 2B

Starting pitcher: LH Francisco Liriano (2-4, 5.21 ERA)

WHITE SOX (16-22)

1. Scott Podsednik, LF
2. Jayson Nix, 2B
3. Jermaine Dye, RF
4. Jim Thome, DH
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
6. Brian Anderson, CF
7. Alexei Ramirez, SS
8. Josh Fields, 3B
9. Corky Miller, C

Starting pitcher: LH John Danks (2-3, 4.82 ERA)

U.S. Cellular Field. First pitch: 7:11 p.m.

CHICAGO — The Twins will send Francisco Liriano to the mound tonight, trying to stop their five-game losing streak.

They’re facing John Danks, who was superb in that 1-0 tiebreaker victory for Chicago on Sept. 30 and opened the season 2-0 with an 0.95 in his first three starts. But he is 0-3 with an 8.83 ERA in his past five starts and lasted just three innings in his last start against Toronto.

(*) Joe Mauer will catch tonight and likely DH again Thursday. Manager Ron Gardenhire is less thrilled about using Mauer as the DH when the team only has two catchers, but the Twins are going to take advantage while they have three catchers. Jose Morales, however, is likely headed back to Class AAA Rochester on Friday when Delmon Young’s time on the Family Emergency Medical List expires.

Mauer didn’t look to good in his first two at-bats on Tuesday against Mark Buehrle. Then he smacked his seventh home run of the month, extending his hitting streak to 12 games.

(*) Justin Morneau looked like he had hit his 13th homer in the fourth inning, when he crushed a pitch to deep right-center, but that ball got caught up in the wind, and Jermaine Dye caught it on the warning track. Morneau did double in the ninth inning, raising his average to .500 (10-for-20) on this road trip.

(*) Asked how he thought the players responded to last night’s postgame pep talk, Gardenhire made note of the loud reggae music pulsing through the clubhouse, Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” again, and shook his head. Normally major league clubhouses are very quiet after losses, and here came those lyrics:

“Don’t worry … about a thing. ‘Cause every little thing … gonna be alright!”

“It’s a great response by that baseball team,” Gardenhire said. “What do you expect out of that team right there? I don’t know. I think they’ll be fine. They play hard. Tonight was just a little frustrating for me.”

CHICAGO — Sean Henn is at U.S. Cellular Field, ready to pitch out of the Twins bullpen, as they open a three-game set with the White Sox.

No update on Glen Perkins yet. Updates to come.

Update: Some sad news to pass along. Delmon Young’s mother, Bonnie, passed away last night after a 3 1/2-month battle with liver and pancreatic cancer. The family is planning services in Vicksburg, Miss., and the funeral is expected to be Saturday.

Delmon will return to the Twins soon after the services.

(*) It doesn’t sound like we’ll get the results of Glen Perkins’ MRI exam until Wednesday. His appointment was this afternoon.

(*) Manager Ron Gardenhire said the team is in discussions about which pitcher will be called up to make Saturday’s start in Perkins place. He said he didn’t want to publicly state his preference, but Anthony Swarzak is a strong candidate, at 3-4 with a 2.25 ERA for Class AAA Rochester. (Corrected from earlier.)

Also notable, Brian Duensing held Durham to one run over seven innings on Monday, and he would be right in line to pitch on Saturday. He opened the season with the Twins.

(*) R.A. Dickey’s fingernail is fine, and he said he is ready to pitch again tonight, if needed. Gardenhire said he likes him in the long-relief role, which seems to negate the chances of Dickey starting Saturday.

(*) I’ll have more on Henn in my notebook, but here’s a quick thumbnail: He had Tommy John surgery in 2002 and has battled injuries throughout his professional career. Now 28, he is at full health and has become a hard-throwing lefthander specialist in the mold of White Sox reliever Matt Thornton.

Granted, that’s a steep comparison, but Henn does have a hard fastball. He doesn’t have the great slider, like Dennys Reyes, as his breaking pitch is more of a slurve. But Henn is a former starter, who also has a change-up to help battle righthanders.

He is 2-6 with a 7.56 ERA in 40 major league appearances (36 for the Yankees and four for the Padres). He had a 1.13 ERA in 15 games for Rochester this year.

(*) Gardenhire said he was going to give Joe Mauer a break tonight, but Mauer talked his way into the lineup at DH. The Twins are going to take advantage while they have three catchers on the roster. Gardenhire said Mauer will probably catch Wednesday and DH again Thursday.

TWINS (18-21)

1. Denard Span, LF
2. Brendan Harris, 2B
3. Joe Mauer, DH
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Joe Crede, 3B
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
7. Mike Redmond, C
8. Carlos Gomez, CF
9. Nick Punto, SS

Starting pitcher: RH Scott Baker (1-4, 6.95)

WHITE SOX (15-22)

1. Scott Podsednik, LF
2. Josh Fields, 3B
3. Jermaine Dye, RF
4. Jim Thome, DH
5. Paul Konerko, 1B
6. A.J. Pierzynski, C
7. Brian Anderson, CF
8. Chris Getz, 2B
9. Alexei Ramirez, SS

Starting pitcher: LH Mark Buehrle (5-1, 3.00 ERA)

U.S. Cellular Field. First pitch: 7:11 p.m.