Hello from sunny Target Field. Brandon is covering the game today, I’m just doing pregame. Follow him @Brandon_Warne. I’ll be back tomorrow.
It was supposed to be Kyle Gibson’s return today, but he is out with a sore back and Phil Hughes (1-7, 5.74 ERA) will start in his place. He will face lefty Matt Moore (2-3, 5.31 ERA) of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Minnesota Twins briefly put Hughes in the bullpen when a logjam was created with Pat Dean’s success in the rotation and Gibson’s return from the DL. Hughes is expected to go as long as he would in a normal start because he was basically pushed back a day.
Here’s today’s lineup. Apparently I can’t take a picture right — sorry about that. Red-hot Nunez on top, Mauer, who’s had success against Tampa Bay, gets the No. 2 spot. Grossman moves up to the fifth spot.
Gibson says that he had to be talked out of starting today by GM Terry Ryan and the team trainers. He has not pitched since April 22 vs. Washington.
“It’s disappointing news, and I’m sure for him, personally, as well,” said manager Paul Molitor.
“He did everything we asked in terms of getting that shoulder back in shape, and as we all know, we had him slated to pitch tonight. But I think after his last bullpen he as fine, and was in getting his work in and started to notice some discomfort in his lower back and even some pain that was going down into his leg, and that’s usually not a very good sign.”
Molitor said it was nothing major. Gibson pitched a full bullpen session, 40 pitches, without complications. But then as soon as he sat down for an extended period of time, his back flared up.
“I think he feels it more when he’s sitting for long periods of time, driving and things like that,” said Molitor. “Next time he pitches, he might have to stand in between innings or something.”
Molitor was joking, of course. Gibson will likely have a rehab start in Triple-A Rochester before rejoining the team.
Buxton looking to bounce back
Buxton is hitting below the Mendoza line in 19 major league games this year, but the super prospect, who was drafted No. 2 overall in 2012, hit .336/.403/.603 in 29 games (129 plate appearances) in Triple-A. Keep in mind, he’s over four years older than most of the players at that level.
In the video above, he says he’s taking a more aggressive approach to hitting in the majors, focusing on hitting at the second baseman in order to improve the chances he’ll hit the ball squarely.
“Did he get that from Torii? I thought maybe that was a [Torii thing],” quipped Molitor.
“Different guys have different ways to envision how to keep themselves on the ball a little bit better. It’s not that far removed from something I tried to do when I would try to imagine almost every situation like I had a guy on second base with nobody out.
It doesn’t mean I want to hit a weak grounder to second, but I wanted to try to use the field from the shortstop over, and hopefully if there was an off-speed mistake, I could still do damage.”
“Generally not too many hitters are gonna be looking at the left field corner,” added Molitor. “That’s just not the way to hit, you just kind of look out to where you have a chance to cover as many pitches as you can.”
Molitor says that getting a young hitter going is equal parts physical and mental. Buxton has added a leg kick, which should improve timing, but he’s also only 22 years old and there’s a big gap in the level of competition between Triple-A and the majors.
“We always talk about that contact point past the actual contact point, if your barrel gets extended past contact as opposed to cutting your swing off,” said Molitor. “And envisioning the ball up the middle, over the second baseman’s head, that kind of adds to that picture.”
Molitor has been fine with Buxton’s performance since being called up in Oakland to replace the injured Danny Santana. It’s only been two games, but he’s seeing pitches and has shown renewed confidence.
“I don’t want to overly-judge,” said Molitor. “I just want to kind of leave him alone and hopefully some of the things that he’s worked on and the confidence that he’s built will just continue to get extended up here.
Mauer dominates the Rays
Joe Mauer is having a bounce-back season, producing numbers fans haven’t seen since he was concussed at the end of the 2013 season — an injury that removed him from behind the plate and led to two seasons of struggles.
Mauer is hitting .284/.392/.426 (125 OPS+) and has stayed healthy, playing in 51 games this season. He offers his explanation as to why he’s doing well in the video above.
Against the Rays, specifically, he has reached safely in 214 straight games and is hitting .369 vs. them in his career. His average and .463 on-base percentage both rank as the highest against Tampa Bay all-time.
Be sure to follow Brandon (@Brandon_Warne) for coverage of this game tonight. We will be splitting the homestand, which includes 10 games in the next 11 days.
Ed. Note: The original title stated that Gibson was replacing Hughes. Hughes is replacing Gibson tonight, as is stated in the article.
