Third baseman Joe Crede tried to downplay the homer he hit against his former team.

 “I wasn’t trying to get back at them, I was going out there and trying to help this club win a ballgame,” he said.

He does, however, intend to get back at former teammates Paul Konerko and Brian Anderson.

Crede, last season, played a prank on a slumping Anderson after he tapped back to the pitcher in a game. As he went to the plate before his next at-bat, Crede make sure a Lionel Richie song played over the soundsystem. Anderson tapped back to the pitcher again.

“He face was red!” Crede said while chuckling before the game.

But when Crede batted in the second inning on Friday, `All Out of Love,’ played over the sound system. Anderson was seen smiling in the dugout. It looked like Crede was smirking as he dug in at the plate.

Talk about Air Supply.

Crede homered, and fans at The Cell booed him around the bases. 

“ We have seen that so many times, him running the bases here, it was like, `shoot, he did it again,’ ” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, “but this time it was for us.”

Crede can’t wait for the White Sox to come to the Dome so he can pay Anderson back. And he’s including Konerko in it too - he just figures Konerko had a part in the gag.

“I’ve got some good stuff for them,” Crede said. “Especially B.A. and Konerko because I know they had something to do with that. It was all in good fun.” 

SHAKE AND BAKE REPORT

Righthander Scott Baker allowed one run over seven innings on five hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

I was concerned about Baker throwing only 70 pitches during his outing. But he explained to Fort Myers News Press reporter David Dorsey after the game that he was fine.

“The thing is, it’s not the number of pitches I was throwing,” Baker said. “It was sitting down and getting back up and warming up again. I felt good about that.”

More from Dorsey:

Steve Singleton hit a two-run homer in the first and tripled in the seventh. He also combined on a double play.

After the game, Baker paid for the entire team meal - supplied by popular Italian restraunt Nino’s - approved by yours truly. 

“It’s nice to play with a big leaguer like that,” Singleton said of Baker. “You can just tell he’s a big league guy. He doesn’t really get himself into any trouble.”

Baker likes the Miracle team. (Ben Revere made a diving catch for him in the sixth inning with no one on, ending the inning).

“They played very well,” Baker said of the Miracle. “They had a couple of baserunning mistakes. But they play the game the right way. I see them doing very well this year.”

Righthander Carlos Gutierrez - one of the Twins’ two first-round picks last year  - followed Baker with two scoreless innings, including two strikeouts. The Twins were very impressed with Gutierrez during spring training and some people with the club wouldn’t be surprised if Gutierrez moves quickly through the system.

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