Twins manager Ron Gardenhire met with Carlos Gomez on Tuesday to inform him that he was being moved to the ninth spot in the batting order. Denard Span, batting .370 since being called up on June 30, will lead off tonight against the Yankees.

“If it’s better for the team, it’s better for me. Do it,” Gomez said. “You have to try different things.  With myself, Denard and (Alexi) Casilla, he can mix and that’s good.

Gomez was 0 for 5 on Monday, extending his slump to a horrific 5 for 58 (.086). Gomez was batting .274 on July 2 but is now at .247.

It appeared that frustration was setting in. Gomez nearly slammed his helmet after grounding out during Monday’s game and was visibly upset as he left the clubhouse following the game. Gomez claimed he was more upset that the team lost 12-4 than his struggles at the plate.

Actually, he said he’s felt better at the plate lately.

“I don’t swing at bad pitches,” he said. “Early on, they throw a lot of balls in the dirt and I swing. The last couple days you see I don’t swing. I got my strike zone smaller.”

Nick Punto returns to the lineup after recovering from a sore left ring finger.

The CT Scan on Michael Cuddyer’s sore left middle finger/palm showed no damage to the bone. Cuddyer will meet with Twins doctor soon to figure out the next step.

And righthander Shooter Hunt, the Twins’  sandwich pick between the first and second rounds in the June draft, has been promoted from rookie league Elizabethton to Class A Beloit.

Twins (55-44): 1. Denard Span, RF. 2. Alexi Casilla, 2B. 3. Joe Mauer, C. 4. Justin Morneau, 1B. 5. Jason Kubel, DH. 6. Delmon Young, LF. 7. Brian Buscher, 3B. 8. Nick Punto, SS. 9. Carlos Gomez, CF. Pitching: Kevin Slowey.

Yankees (54-45): 1. Johnny Damon, DH. 2. The Captain, SS. 3. Bob Abreu, RF. 4. A-Rod, 3B. 5. The Moustache, 1B. 6. Robinson Cano, 2B. 7. Melky Cabrera, CF. 8.Chad Moeller, C. 9. Brett Gardner, LF. Pitching: Darrell Rasner.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.