Jason Tyner has warned us that he was going to hit a homer one of these games, and he did on Saturday.

“I think it surprised a lot of people,” Cleveland pitcher Jake Westrook said.

Tyner’s shot in the third gave the Twins a 1-0 lead and ended his homerless streak at 1,220 at-bats, the longest active streak in the majors.

“I’ve hit balls a lot better than that at the Metrodome,” he said. “That ball would not have been out at the Metrodome, but I’ve definitely hit some balls harder than that.”

Tyner thought the ball hit the fence, so he was digging hard toward second when he found out it was gone.

“Between second and third it was kind of seeping in,” he said. “I was kind of excited so I couldn’t get into a home run trot.”

Gardy bet Tyner that he would wear a Texas A & M shirt if Tyner went deep (Gardy’s a Longhorn). And Johan Santana told us that he was betting Tyner that he would hit one during interleague play before Tyner got his first one, so it was a relief.

The ball landed in the Twins dugout and was retrieved by Pat Neshek, who immediately had it authenticated for Tyner.

“My biggest fear was that Neshek would have it up on his website before the game was over,” Tyner said.

With Tyner now taken care of, guess which major leaguer has the longest homerless drought now?

Luis Castillo at 612.

“Ha, ha, ha,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, “passing the torch.

The Twins got a big scare in the eighth when Casey Blake’s blistering foul liner hit Scott Ullger on the left side of his jaw. We can see into the visitor’s dugout from the pressbox, and everyone converged on Ullger as soon as it happened. It looked scary.

But Ullger left for the trainer’s room under his own power and came back with a ice pack on his jaw to watch the final inning.

“I look like I’ve been hit by Mike Tyson,” said Ullger, whose face was starting swell.

He knows he’s going to be sore on Sunday, but he wasn’t seriously hurt.

Santana was rather wound up after the game while talking about how poorly the team has played and how he wants to show them that it’s not time to throw in the towel. I respect his resolve, but the hill may be too steep.

Twins third base coach Scott Ullger was struck by a wicked foul ball hit into the Twins dugout by Casey Blake in the eighth inning. Teammates and medical staff immediately rushed to his attention. Ullger was able to leave for the clubhouse with little assistance but was holding a towel to his face.

The eerie thing was Ullger was telling a story a few days ago about a line drive that came into the dugout while he was talking to Terry Crowley several years ago. The ball went between their faces and hit the wall behind them. This, of course, was in reaction to the Mike Coolbaugh death last week.

Steve Liddle replaced Ullger at third base….now they’re announcing that Ullger will be O.K.

It was as low in the clubhouse after last night’s game as I’ve seen it all year. Today, I spent the pre-game talking with players who are worried about getting traded - and asking Gardy how to deal with that.

It’s obvious that trade rumors are affecting this team’s play. After talking with scouts and one should-be Hall of Fame pitcher from Holland during dinner, the belief is that feeling that way is unavoidable sometimes.

So the Twins just have to deal with it and try to help Johan Santana get in the Cy Young race with a win tonight.

Twins: 1. Castillo, 2B. 2. Bartlett, SS. 3. Mauer, C. 4. Morneau, 1B. 5. Hunter, CF. 6. Kubel, LF. 7. White, DH. 8. Buscher, 3B. 9. Tyner, RF. Pitching: Santana.

Cleveland: 1. Sizemore, CF. 2. Blake, 3B. 3. Martinez, C. 4. Hafner, DH. 5. Garko, 1B. 6. Peralta, SS. 7. Gutierrez, RF. 8. Michaels, LF. 9. Barfield, 2B. Pitching: Westbrook.

Folks, you can feel the tension in the clubhouse today. I can tell that a bunch of players are worried about getting traded, and I don’t blame them.

Torii Hunter said he’s prepared to be dealt if it happens. He wants to stay but understands the business side of baseball. If the club decides to use him to get other players, he hopes he winds up in the postseason.

Luis Castillo, Juan Rincon and Lew Ford are other players who could be dealt if GM Terry Ryan decides to build for 2008. To me, it makes too much sense for Castillo to bat second behind Jose Reyes for the Mets. The Mets have scouted the Twins recently so you’ve got to wonder just want type of discussions Terry Ryan may be having with Omar Minaya.

Kenny Lofton - an old Twins’ nemesis - has arrived and is in the starting lineup. Tad Iguchi has been dealt to the Phillies. Will the Twins’ join in the fun? 

Onto the lineups: Brian Buscher is here and is starting at third base. He’ll probably start tomorrow then get Sunday off when C.C. Sabathia starts.

Bartlett is 1 for 15 against Paul Byrd, so he’s not starting.

Twins: 1. Castillo, 2B. 2. Tyner, RF. 3. Mauer, C. 4. Morneau, 1B. 5. Hunter, CF. 6. Kubel, LF. 7. White, DH. 8. Buscher, 3B. 9. Punto, SS. Pitching: Bonser.

Cleveland: 1. Sizemore, CF. 2. Lofton, LF. 3. Martinez, 1B. 4. Hafner, DH. 5. Peralta, SS. 6. Blake, 3B. 7. Nixon, RF. 8. Shoppach, C. 9. Barfield, 2B. Pitching: Byrd.

Ken Harvey ended up having a wasted year. He pulled a chest muscle in the spring training opener. A few weeks later he needed knee surgery. And now he’s been shut down for the rest of the season because of more knee surgery. Harvey went back to Kansas City recently to have the second surgery done by Royals team physician Dr. Steve Joyce.

Harvey hit .235 with a homer and 5 RBI in five games and 17 at-bats with Rochester. He becomes a free agent after the season. The Twins will decide during their organizational meetings if they want to sign him back. It’s unfortunate because Harvey would have been called up at some point this season if he had stayed healthy and kept hacking…

In 31 games since being demoted to Class AA New Britain, third baseman Matt Moses is batting .284 with 3 homers and 25 RBI. But check out the splits. He’s batting .318 against righties and just .179 against lefties…

Rochester righthander Nick Blackburn on the disabled list because of a strained right forearm should return to the mound within the next week. Lefthander Ricky Barrett (strained lat muscle) could be back next week, too…

Kevin Slowey starts tonight for Rochester, with Brian Duensing going on Saturday…

Rob Antony, the Twins director of baseball operations, is in Beloit watching the Snappers. I asked him about Christopher Parmalee and Joe Benson, two highly-regarded outfielders who aren’t putting up big numbers.

Antony said both continue to show a lot of promise. He said Benson has a chance to be a five-tool player in center field and Parmalee does have very good power. It’s the first full season for both hitters, so the Twins want to see how they respond next season.

Outfielder Ben Revere, this year’s first-round pick, has particles in his knee that will need to be cleaned up after the season. But he’s well enough to play and has been fairly impressive for the Twins’ rookie team. He’s batting .306 with nine steals in 11 attempts. But those three walks in 24 games are concerning.

The Twins have announced that they will select the contract of Class AAA third baseman Brian Buscher. He’s expected to be in uniform Friday night when the Twins make their final stand against the Mighty Defenders of the Cuyahoga.

Buscher, 26, hit .308 with 7 homers and 37 RBI in 63 games for Class AA New Britain. He then went .313-6-20 in 35 games with Class AAA Rochester.

Buscher was a third-round pick of the Giants in 2003 but hit only .268 with 17 homers and 183 RBI over 391 games over four seasons with the Giants organization. The Twins selected him in December in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.

It’s unclear how this affects their approach as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline near. All indications are that they remain interested in Tampa Bay third baseman Ty Wigginton and they also may have talked with Philadelphia about offensive help.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Buscher, the Twins will move outfielder Josh Rabe, who is out with a shoulder injury, to the 60-day disabled list.