Twins

5/3 PREGAME NOTES: Santiago vs. Graveman, Hitters Heating Up and Perkins Speaks!

Photo credit: Brian Curski, Cumulus Media

Good afternoon from Target Field, where it’s 65 degrees and overcast. It’s expected to be cloudy at game time and hover around the 60s before dropping to 54 by 10:00 pm.

It’s Hector Santiago (L, 2-1, 2.43 ERA) vs. Kendall Graveman (R, 2-1, 2.25). Santiago will be pitching after being activated off the bereavement list after the death of his grandmother.

“I haven’t (talked to him),” said manger Paul Molitor. “He just got in not too long ago, I wanted to have a little conversation, just make sure that first of all he’s doing well personally, and see how things transpired as far as having a chance to go pay respects to his grandmother.

“To come back in and step into a uniform and go out there and pitch a game will be a little bit challenging for him,” he added. “But it might be a nice way to turn the page for him as well.”

Old friend Trevor Plouffe is batting second for the Oakland Athletics:

And Kennys Vargas is in at DH for the Minnesota Twins, while Jorge Polanco gets a break amidst a 2-for-18 slump:

Miguel Sano, Jason Castro, Brian Dozier (twice), Byron Buxton and Joe Mauer all homered last night. For Dozier, Buxton and Mauer, it might be what they need to get going after a tough April.

“He’s, you can tell he’s been in a little bit of a search mode, watching him take his batting practice and watching video,” Molitor said of Dozier.

“He kinda can get hot, and sometimes you put together a game like that and they can come in bunches. You can see he’s trying to figure out his timing and he’s been working on his top hand being not so dominant, some of those type of things, and to be rewarded, especially the one to center, that means you’re really staying on the ball.

“I’m sure coming into today, after hitting a couple homers, you’re starting to feel like some of that burden that you might be carrying has been lifted a little bit.”

Asked if teams are pitching Dozier differently after his 42 home run season last year, Molitor shook his head.

“No,” he said. “As a leadoff guy, he’s gonna get some pitches to hit. We all know that the bottom of the lineup was having a tough time, so he wasn’t getting a lot of opportunities, and when you’re coming off a season like that, you might a little bit more subconsciously looking for balls to see where you’re at in terms of your power in the next year.

“But you watch, you know how they pitch him, they try to get ahead away a lot of times, and get him to expand up at times, and chase at times,” he added. “Last night was a good step.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmhAwYOrZgs

Molitor said he also noticed that Buxton had some pep in his step.

“What he endured here the first three weeks or so, and the way he consistently came out here every day, he’s ahead of his years in terms of being able to handle those type of things,” said Molitor.

“But it’s been better, obviously, in that he’s starting to get some return on his work and how he’s been playing. And I know that more than anything, he’s happy to be contributing more than just defensively, and that will swing some games.”

As for Mauer, his name in particular was not brought up, although power hasn’t really been part of his game — especially after the concussion. Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press, and frequent guest on our baseball podcast, Midwest Swing, had a good piece on his April.

And regarding all the home runs in what has been regarded a pitcher’s ballpark for most of its existence, Molitor said: “We’ve seen a spark in a lot of different conditions. We’ve seen it play really, really big, and then there are other days where, for whatever reason, the ball gets outta here in a hurry in all different parts of the park.

“It was a relatively calm, cool night, and the ball got up and it just kept going. I kinda have stopped trying to figure out the patterns here. Every once in a while you get a nice, warm day and you see the flags blowing straight out, and you know it’s gonna be an offensive day. But some of the days are a little bit more mysterious.”

Perkins speaks!

Perkins, who hasn’t pitched since April 10 due to a shoulder injury, said he’s still working through rehab — although he’s doing it in Minnesota now after spending this April in Florida.

He said he’s between 50 and 100 percent recovered, has no concrete timetable and is getting a second opinion on the rehab just to make sure he’s doing the right thing.

Watch the whole video above in order to get the lowdown on his recovery. He goes pretty in-depth on the process and how he’s handling everything.

[Note: This video may be unavailable due to a copyright violation, likely because of the music going on in the background. (h/t to @TCAnnelle for bringing this to my attention). Here is an transcript of the exchange, edited for clarity and brevity.]

Notes

  • Miguel Sano’s appeal hearing is Friday, and the team will find out if he can play that day. “They’ve got a lefty going that night,” said Molitor. “Hopefully he’s in there.” He was suspended for “aggressive actions” in a bench-clearing brawl during a Tigers game on April 22.
  • Ehere Adrianza didn’t play last night because Triple-A Rochester was snowed out in Rochester, but he may get the call-up sooner than later. According to minor league reports relayed by Molitor, he’s taking to the outfield well and taking good at-bats. “He’s doing well,” he said. “Days are getting X’d off one at a time as we get closer to figuring out what we’re gonna do.”

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