MILWAUKEE — Couple interesting developments on the farm for the Twins:

(*) Jeff Manship has been promoted to Class AAA Rochester from Class AA New Britain. Seth Stohs had the scoop Tuesday night. I’m hearing Manship likely will start Thursday for the Red Wings. As Seth noted, Manship was 6-4 with a 4.28 for New Britain but 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in his past five starts.

(*) Danny Valencia had an impressive debut for Rochester on Tuesday, going 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. As Wings manager Stan Cliburn told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, he expects Valencia to be a regular at third base and in the No. 5 spot of the lineup. Valencia batted .284 (.373 OBP, .482 SLG) with seven home runs in 218 at-bats for New Britain before his promotion.

(*) Also worth noting that Alexi Casilla hasn’t played for Class AAA Rochester since injuring his groin while chasing a foul ball in Game 1 of Sunday’s doubleheader. And RHP Anthony Swarzak is 0-0 with a 3.14 ERA (5 ER, 14.33 IP) in two starts since getting sent back to Rochester. 

Note: Check back this afternoon for tonight’s starting lineups.

MILWAUKEE — Twins catcher Joe Mauer went 0-for-5 in Tuesday’s 7-3 victory over Milwaukee, lowering his batting average to .395.

It’s just the second time this season his average has been under .400. Mauer was batting .397 after going 1-for-4 against the White Sox on May 20 and came back the next day in Chicago and went 3-for-4, with two doubles and a home run.

This was just the 10th time in Mauer’s career that he’s gone hitless with at least five at-bats.

“I think you ought to be happy you witnessed that,” Manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Because not too many people are going to witness those things. Just like [Mauer] said, he’s going to go 0-for-4, 0-for-5. He’s going to have nights where he just doesn’t get a hit. He’s been so good that the expectations are so high.”

INJURY UPDATES

(*) Denard Span has a bruised palm, but Gardenhire said it won’t stop the Twins from activating Span from the DL on Thursday. He will fly from Rochester, N.Y., to Milwaukee on Wednesday, work out with the Twins and likely be in the lineup for Thursday’s series finale.

(*) Nick Punto had cramping in his ribs. Gardenhire said it didn’t sound like a pulled muscle but Punto will be re-evaluated on Wednesday.

OTHER NOTES

(*) Francisco Liriano threw a career-high 117 pitches, earning his first victory in eight starts. I wrote about him in our game story. His previous career high for pitches was 111, on July 18, 2006 against Tampa Bay.

(*) Carlos Gomez opened the game with three good at-bats, scoring two runs and igniting the Twins with an aggressive baserunning play in the second inning. Look for more on him in Souhan’s column.

(*) Gardenhire praised R.A. Dickey for his two innings of near spotless relief. I’m praising him, too. I don’t think I would have made deadline if it hadn’t been for him.

MILWAUKEE — The Twins waited to post their lineup, so they could check on Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel.

Morneau is back in there after missing Sunday’s game with “general soreness.” Kubel is out with “general illness.” The way the Twins are describing their ailments these days, it makes me feel like I should salute.

Anyway, Nick Punto (bruised ribs) returns to the lineup, and the report on Denard Span’s first game from Class AAA Rochester was encouraging, so if all goes well tonight, it sounds like he’ll be activated from the DL on Thursday.

Bobby Keppel is here, wearing No. 44. Manager Ron Gardenhire also revealed today that Luis Ayala had asked to be traded three weeks before the Twins designated him for assignment on Monday. I’ll have much more on that in the notebook.

The clubhouses were completely revamped after last week’s flood damage. New carpeting, furniture, the works. Pretty impressive how fast they’ve gotten the work done. There are a few feet of dry-wall missing in certain parts of the service level, but health department inspectors have been through and the Twins were assured there are no health hazards.

Update: It sounds like Kubel has cold and flu symptoms. “He threw up [Sunday], and the fateful word: a little ‘dizzy,’ so we’ll see,” Gardenhire said.

(*) Here’s Gardy on Ayala: “He wanted an eighth-inning role; that’s why he signed over here. He wasn’t pitching well enough to be an eighth-inning guy. So there you have it.

“His thoughts were if we gave him the ball in that eighth inning, he’d be able to do the job. My thoughts are if you’re not getting them out, you’re not going to pitch in the eighth inning. We’re trying to win. So there’s your difference.

“When you walk into my office and tell me you don’t like your role, and he talked about his contract for next year — you lose me right there. I don’t deal with that. We’re talking about winning now. That’s why he’s out the door and another guy’s in there to pitch. And it’s not because he’s a bad guy. His theories are a little different.”

Interesting to note the Twins still have nine days to try and trade Ayala or pass him through waivers.

Update: The Brewers placed RHP Dave Bush on the 15-day disabled list with a micro tear in his right triceps muscle. Mike Burns will be recalled from Class AAA Nashville to pitch Thursday against the Twins.

Update: Span left tonight’s game for Rochester after getting hit by a pitch in his final plate appearance. Span, who was 1-for-2, remained in the game after appearing to get hit in the hand and stole second base but was later removed for a pinch hitter. Will have the update here ASAP.

Update: Punto left the game with cramping in his ribs. Matt Tolbert replaced him at second base in the seventh.

Update: Span has a bruised left hand. Nothing serious, we’re told. He was taken out for precautionary reasons.

TWINS (35-36)

1. Carlos Gomez, CF
2. Brendan Harris, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Joe Crede, 3B
7. Delmon Young, LF
8. Nick Punto, 2B
9. Francisco Liriano, P

BREWERS (37-32)

1. Jason Kendall, C
2. Casey McGehee, 2B
3. Ryan Braun, LF
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Corey Hart, RF
6. Mike Cameron, CF
7. J.J. Hardy, SS
8. Bill Hall, 3B
9. Jeff Suppan, P

Miller Park. First pitch: 7:05 p.m.

MILWAUKEE — Just landed at the Milwaukee airport and wanted to expand on something I hinted at in today’s series preview.

Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson rarely emerges from a pitcher’s practice session discouraged, at least outwardly, so take this with a grain of salt, but he raved about Francisco Liriano’s latest tuneup Saturday.

Liriano will pitch tonight, when the Twins open a three-game series against the Brewers at Miller Park. On Saturday, Liriano threw for 12 minutes in a pregame bullpen session and hit bullpen Nate Dammann’s glove on all but about three pitches.

“His pen was nasty,” Anderson said. “Nate walks away after catching him and says, ‘Shoot, he’s got the best stuff of anyone. Just a matter or taking it into the game.’ ”

Liriano is 2-8 with a 5.91 ERA for the season but 0-1 with a 3.79 ERA in his past three starts. His mechanics have been more consistent of late, Anderson said, and there’s hope that refining Liriano’s repertoire might keep him even more consistent.

Turns out, Liriano had been throwing two different sliders. One was the sharp-breaking slider he uses as an out pitch. The other had a shorter break. Liriano told Anderson that one of the two homers he allowed last Wednesday against Pittsburgh came on his “short slider.”

This was news to Anderson. No wonder Liriano’s mechanics go haywire sometimes.

“I said, ‘You’re going to decide — short one or big one. Throw one biter, and don’t mess around around in between them.’ ”

At least Liriano doesn’t seem defeated, which is a natural concern considering he entered the season 19-9 for his career with a 3.14 ERA.

“I try not to think about [the record],” Liriano said. “I try to put it behind me and move forward, try to get better each start. Try to take it one-by-one. Sometimes you need to be lucky in this game.”

Liriano has been good in the windup but struggled out of the stretch. Consider this breakdown of opposing hitters success with men on base vs. nobody on base:

2008
Nobody on base: .250/.318/.406
Men on base: .260/.338/.374

2009
Nobody on base: .243/.314/.399
Men on base: .325/.413/.595

“That’s been the problem,” Liriano said. “When I’ve got men on base, I miss pitches sometimes, try to do too much.”

The Twins have been encouraged by Liriano’s recent outings.

“If you watch the hitter’s reactions, he’s throwing the ball pretty good,” Manager Ron Gardenhire said. “He’s not easy to hit. He makes a few mistakes here and there, but he’s got good stuff.”

Tonight, we’ll see if refining that stuff helps Liriano regains his old form.

Note: Check back here this afternoon for tonight’s starting lineups, along with injury updates on Justin Morneau and Nick Punto.

Update: Joe Mauer is this week’s Sports Illustrated cover story, a piece written by Tom Verducci. This is Mauer’s second SI cover.

The Twins just announced that reliever Luis Ayala has been designated for assignment, making room on the roster for righthander Bobby Keppel, who has been promoted from Class AAA Rochester.

Keppel, 27, was 3-3 with a 2.43 ERA in 23 appearances for Rochester, including three starts. He had a clause in his contract that would have allowed him to become a free agent if he wasn’t added to the major league roster by July 1.

Ayala, 31, posted a 4.18 ERA for the Twins in 28 appearances after signing a one-year, $1.3 million contract on Feb. 9. The Twins had grown increasingly frustrated with Ayala’s inconsistency with his sinker.

They spared lefthander Sean Henn, who has posted a 7.36 ERA in 13 appearances.

“We don’t want to give up on [Henn],” Twins General Manager Bill Smith said. “He’s lefthanded and he’s got velocity. He’s another one who’s been inconsistent, but he’s got upside. We felt that Keppel was a good fit for us right now, and unfortunately it cost Ayala a spot.”

Keppel, 27, last pitched in the majors for Colorado in 2007, when he had an 11.25 ERA in four relief appearances. He had an 0-4 record for the Royals in 2006 with a 5.50 ERA in eight games, including six starts.

Keppel was the 36th player drafted in the 2000 amateur draft, signing with the Mets, who released him in 2005. Last season, pitching for Class AAA Albuquerque, he had a 9-11 record and 5.99 ERA in 28 games, including 27 starts.

Update: Smith said the team remains hopeful that Justin Morneau will return to the lineup Tuesday after missing Sunday’s game with general soreness. Also, Nick Punto (bruised ribs) did not have an MRI exam today, suggesting he could be close to returning, as well.