Jered Weaver's No-Hitter Is Perfect Symbol Of Twins' Awful Start

Jered Weaver's no-hitter of the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday night was a microcosm of the Twins' futility in 2012.

Jered Weaver Deals No-Hitter Against Minnesota Twins, Ending Ugly Series

Jered Weaver has been pretty solid this season for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but Wednesday night's performance was easily an improvement over anything else he's done this year. It was only against the Minnesota Twins, but a no-hitter is always impressive -- and that's exactly what Weaver dealt Wednesday night.

Weaver very rarely even challenged by the Twins lineup as only a foul ball from the Twins in the eighth inning looked like it had a chance of doing any damage before hooking foul in the corner of left field. Just a few batters later and his mission was accomplished, though, as a deep fly ball from Alexi Casilla was caught by Torii Hunter to end the game.

Weaver struck out nine and walked just one batter on his way to the near-perfect game. It took him 121 pitches, 71 of which were strikes, to accomplish the no-hitter agains the hapless Twins.

The perfect game was ruined by Josh Willingham's walk, but that was the only thing that could be construed as positive for the Twins in the 9-0 loss. Starting pitcher Liam Hendriks gave up nine hits and six runs in just a little more than two innings to fall to 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA.

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Twins Vs. Angels: Jered Weaver Has A No-Hitter Through 5 Innings

The 6-17 Minnesota Twins are on their way to losing their third straight game and eighth in their last nine, but they're also well on their way to being no-hit by 2011 Cy Young candidate Jered Weaver, who is a passed ball strikeout away from perfection through five innings on Wednesday night.

Worse, the Twins actually don't have a hit since the third inning of Tuesday night's loss. The Angels on the other hand are putting together their best game of the season with 13, already a season high through five innings.

Liam Hendriks got the start for the Twins and lasted only two-plus innings, allowing six runs on nine hits. After Matt Maloney got the final two outs of the third inning after giving up a measly hit, Alex Burnett relieved him and promptly gave up a three-run homer to Howie Kendrick in the next half.

Weaver just took the mound in the sixth with six strikeouts through five and no walks. Clete Thomas, who has struck out 15 out of his last 18 at bats, will leadoff for the Twins.

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Twins Vs. Angels: Danny Valencia Out Of Wednesday's Lineup With Stiff Back

Danny Valencia will not play in the series finale against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night as a result of a stiff back. He is still active on the roster, but will not be available. Justin Morneau is also listed as active, but unavailable.

Here is the Twins' lineup:

1. Denard Span, CF

2. Alexi Casilla, 2B

3. Joe Mauer, DH

4. Josh Willingham, LF

5. Ryan Doumit, C

6. Chris Parmelee, 1B

7. Trevor Plouffe, 3B

8. Clete Thomas, RF

9. Jamey Carroll, SS

Liam Hendriks is pitching.

The Angels' lineup is as follows:

Erick Aybar, SS

Vernon Wells, LF

Albert Pujols, 1B

Kendrys Morales, DH

Torii Hunter, RF

Howie Kendrick, 2B

Mark Trumbo, 3B

Chris Iannetta, C

Peter Bourjos, CF

With Jered Weaver on the bump.

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Twins Vs. Angels Preview: Minnesota Trying To Avoid Sweep

The Minnesota Twins are trying to avoid being swept at the hands of the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday. Minnesota dropped game two by a score of 4-0, and game one by a score of 4-3. Prior to that, they bested the Kansas City Royals to snap a six-game losing streak. They'd like to avoid that kind of skid this time around.

Minnesota will be up against Jered Weaver, who has been great this season, save for one outing - a game against the Twins earlier in the year. Still, he's 3-0 with a 2.02 earned run average and had a no decision in his last outing with no earned runs over six innings of pitching.

He'll be up against Liam Hendriks, who is 0-1 with a 6.89 ERA and had a horrible outing when he saw the mound last, giving up seven runs in four innings to the Boston Red Sox on April 25. Prior to that, he'd only allowed one run in six innings of work against the Rangers, but it was ultimately a loss for the Twins either way.

After this series wraps up, the Twins will take on the Seattle Mariners in a three-game set before returning home for nine games. Game three against L.A. is set for 10:05 p.m. eastern.

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Twins Vs. Angels Final Score: LA Wins 4-0 Behind Pitching Gem From Fifth Starter

Usually people don't associate the words 'pitching gem' and 'Jerome Williams' with each other, but the Minnesota Twins saw just how dangerous the veteran 30 year old righty could be on Tuesday night as he inspired the LA Angels to a 4-0 win off a complete game shut out. The journeyman threw only 109 pitches on the night, 75 of those were for strikes.

Offense did come in small bursts for Minnesota, but only to the tune of three hits as six Twins struck out on the evening. Howie Kendrick did most of the heavy lifting for the Angels, hitting a single, triple and solo home run as the game progressed.

Francisco Liriano was able to hold off Albert Pujols, but at this point in the season that's really no big feat with the highly paid slugger struggling mightily to live up to the enormous contract that he signed. Still, that was one of the new positives on a night where not much went right for the Twins.

Minnesota will try to avoid being swept by LA on Wednesday evening.

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Twins Vs. Angels: Joe Mauer Back In Minnesota's Lineup On Tuesday

Joe Mauer sat out his first game of the season on Monday night due to a sore knee that was hit by a foul tip during Sunday's game. Mauer is back in the Twins' lineup against the Angels on Tuesday night, though, doing the designated hitting.

#Twins lineup vs. #Angels: Span CF, Casilla 2B, Mauer DH, Willingham LF, Valencia 3B, Doumit C, Parmelee 1B, Thomas RF, Carroll SS & Liriano

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) May 1, 2012

Francisco Liriano will do the pitching for the Twins.

The Angels' (8-15) lineup is as follows:

1. Mike Trout, CF

2. Alberto Callaspo, 3B

3. Albert Pujols, 1B

4. Torii Hunter, RF

5. Mike Trumbo, DH

6. Howie Kendrick, 2B

7. Vernon Wells, LF

8. Erick Aybar, SS

9. Chris Ianetta, C

Jerome Williams will do the pitching.

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Sean Burroughs Designated For Assignment To Make Room For Drew Butera

After recalling catcher Drew Butera from Triple-A on Tuesday morning, the Minnesota Twins announced Tuesday evening that the corresponding move to make room for Butera is designating third baseman Sean Burroughs for assignment. The club will now have 10 days to decide what to do with Burroughs; they can either place him on waivers, trade him or release him outright. Burroughs is immediately removed from the 40-man roster.

Initially, Butera's move may have been construed as a preemptive one, bracing for bad news with Justin Morneau, but following good news, the Twins still had to make a coinciding move, one that may have been in the plans all along.

Burroughs, a one-time top prospect for the Padres, was hitting .118/.167/.343 through 17 at bats for the Twins this season.

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Drew Butera Recalled By Minnesota Twins, Could Replace Joe Mauer Or Justin Morneau

The Minnesota Twins have decided to bring a familiar face back up to the big club as they've announced that Drew Butera is being added back to the 25-man roster. The team didn't mention who he'll be replacing on the roster, though both Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer could miss Tuesday night's game due to injury.

According to the release posted on the team's website, the corresponding move will be announced sometime prior to Tuesday evening's game.

The Twins will recall catcher Drew Butera from Triple-A Rochester in time for Tuesday night's game against the Angels, the club announced. To make room for Butera on the roster, the club will make a corresponding roster move before the game.

In 15 games with Rochester, Butera hit .279 with three doubles, one homer and five RBIs.

Considering he's a catcher, it'd make sense that Mauer might be missing another game, even though Morneau is expected to be out until at least Friday.

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Twins Vs. Angels: After Skipping Start, Francisco Liriano Goes For First Win

Hopefully the trick worked.

The Minnesota Twins had Francisco Liriano skip his last start in order to, in the words of MLB.com, "clear his head."

The Twins are in dire need of a solid start from Liriano -- and so is Liriano.

The lefty had a forgettable April, going 0-3 in four starts and compiling an 11.02 ERA. He has given up five earned runs in each start and has failed to make it past the fifth inning. Opponents are hitting .368 against him this season.

Luckily the Angels' offense is mired in its own season-long slump. LA has just 80 runs through 23 games -- well under four per outing. The four runs they scored last night were the most since scoring six against the Baltimore Orioles back on April 21.

Jerome Williams, 1-1 with a 5.51 ERA, will start for Los Angeles.

First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 Central.

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Justin Morneau Injury: Twins' 1B Exits Game With Sore Wrist, Flies Back To Minnesota To Have It Checked Out

After grounding out and striking out, Minnesota Twins' first baseman Justin Morneau was replaced by a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh inning with what the team deemed a sore left wrist. It's the same wrist on which Morneau had minor surgery during the offseason to stabilize a tendon after it landed him on the disabled list during the season.

After Monday night's loss, beat writer Rhett Bollinger tweeted that Morneau boarded a plane and was on his way back to Minnesota to have the wrist checked out by his specialist. Morneau said he started feeling discomfort in the Tampa Bay series and it continued to get worse. He's hopeful it's just scar tissue breaking apart, but it's concerning he needs to fly back to Minnesota while the Twins are only beginning a six-game west coast swing.

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Twins Vs. Angels Final Score: C.J. Wilson, Los Angeles Edges Minnesota, 4-3

After the Minnesota Twins took two of three from the Los Angeles Angels earlier this season, the Angles took the first of three on Monday night, 4-3.

Playing without Joe Mauer in the lineup for the first time this season, the Twins struggled getting their offense going against Angels starter C.J. Wilson and fell behind 4-0 heading into the late innings.

In the top of the eighth, the Twins finally got to C.J. Wilson, plating two runs on an Alexi Casilla double and a single by Denard Span. Danny Valencia added another run off reliever LaTroy Hawkins later in the inning, which also putting the tying run in scoring position. The Angels responded by calling on Scott Downs to get the final out of the inning, who left the tying and go-ahead runners stranded.

In the ninth, the Twins put the tying run on, but Downs nailed down the save by getting Span to ground out to Howie Kendrick.

Casilla had three hits and Valencia had two in the game for the Twins. Nick Blackburn (0-3) tossed a quality start, going six innings and only giving up three runs, but he took the loss.

The second of three games is on Tuesday at 10:05 p.m. ET.

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Twins Vs. Angels: Joe Mauer Not In Monday's Lineup

As expected, Joe Mauer is being held out of Monday night's lineup against the Los Angeles Angels. Mauer is pretty sore after being hit in the left knee by a foul tip on Sunday, but Ron Gardenhire said he expects Mauer to be back in the lineup on Tuesday night.

Here is the Twins (6-15) starting lineup for Monday night's game:

1. Denard Span, CF

2. Jamey Carroll, SS

3. Josh Willingham, LF

4. Justin Morneau, DH

5. Danny Valencia, 3B

6. Ryan Doumit, C

7. Trevor Plouffe, RF

8. Chris Parmelee, 1B

9. Alexi Casilla, 2B

Nick Blackburn is on the bump.

The lineup for the Angels (7-15) is as follows:

1. Mike Trout, CF

2. Maicer Izturis, 3B

3. Albert Pujols, 1B

4. Kendry Morales, DH

5. Torii Hunter, RF

6. Howie Kendrick, 2B

7. Vernon Wells, LF

8. Erick Aybar, SS

9. Chris Ianetta, C

Free agent acquisition C.J. Wilson pitches for the Angels.

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Twins Vs. Angels: Game One Set With Nick Blackburn, C.J. Wilson Battling

The Minnesota Twins just snapped a six-game losing streak that saw them swept by the Boston Red Sox and lose two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays and one of two games against the Kansas City Royals. Minnesota took game three of that three-game set (with game two being postponed), a 7-4 victory on Sunday. Their offense hasn't been in a sorry state, it's just that their pitching hasn't been up to snuff. In three of their last four losses, they scored at least five runs.

Now, they've got a three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels, who are in a slump of their own. L.A. has lost six of their last seven games, returning from a 1-5 road trip. Their lone win was a 2-1 decision over the Cleveland Indians, while they were shutout twice on the road trip.

The two teams have met in a three-game set once this season, with the Twins winning two of three, including a tight 10-9 outing. Nick Blackburn will take the mound for the Twins in game one. He's 0-2 with a 7.53 earned run average - mostly due to an 11-2 loss to Boston on Tuesday in which he only went three innings. C.J. Wilson will be pitching for the Angels, and he's not faring too much better in recent outings. He's 2-2 with a 2.42 ERA though.

There is sentiment that catcher Joe Mauer may not be able to play, as he's got some nagging injuries and soreness. It's a sore knee, so if he can't play at catcher, he could always move over to first base or even be the designated hitter.

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Joe Mauer Injury Update: Twins Catcher Might Not Play Monday

Joe Mauer took a foul ball to the knee on Sunday and is now questionable for Monday's game against the LA Angels.