Joe Mauer Injured Sunday After Collision At Plate, Might Not Miss Any Time

The life of a catcher is never easy when someone is barreling toward you down the third base line looking to score, and though the Minnesota Twins won the game on Sunday over the Milwaukee Brewers, Joe Mauer sustained a bit of an injury in just that situation.

Rickie Weeks was trying to score from third base during the 5-4 extra innings win by the Twins, and Weeks ended up hitting Mauer in the thigh with his knee. Mauer returned to the game, but had lost much of his speed when trying to run the bases on a later hit. He was eventually pulled for a pinch runner.

"It didn't feel very good; it actually got worse as the game wore on but, you know, I told Gardy, 'I'll give you everything I got,' " Mauer said.

"I hit a ball down the first-base line that probably should have been a double but I was going as fast as I could go. Gardy talked to me about it and said, 'If you get on again, I'm probably going to have to take you out.' That's what the situation called for."

Fortunately, according to Twincities.com, Mauer is unlikely to miss much time, if any. It helps that the team has Monday off, which should give him an extra day to get his quad back in shape before the opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.

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Twins Vs. Brewers Final Score: Minnesota Avoids Sweep, Outlasts Milwaukee In 15 Innings, 5-4

The Minnesota Twins narrowly avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers on Father's Day with a thrilling 5-4 victory in 15 innings.

Even after the game was halted in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 41-minute rain delay, the two teams still could not manage to send a runner across the plate. That was, until a Denard Span walk-off single in the bottom half of the 15th inning gave the Twins a much-needed victory. In addition to his clutch hit, Span finished 4-for-8 from the plate to move his season average up to .287.

Minnesota reliever Anthony Swarzak picked up his first win of the season after throwing 15 pitches in the 15th, while Milwaukee's Tim Dillard was saddled with the loss after allowing multiple hits to open the frame. Back on track now after a four-game skid, the Twins will next shift their focus to a three-game interleague road series with the Pittsburgh Pirates, one of baseball's biggest surprises of 2012.

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Twins Vs. Brewers Score Update: Game Delayed In 11th Inning Due To Rain

Deadlocked at four runs apiece after 10 innings of their series finale, the Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers will each get a brief intermission before resuming the bottom of the 11th inning on Sunday as rain has caused a weather delay.

Opposing starters Zach Greinke and Nick Blackburn were both knocked around for four earned runs, but neither team could muster a run off the opponent's bullpen and the game was forced to head into extra innings. Greinke yielded 11 hits to Minnesota batters before exiting before the ninth, while Blackburn's day was ruined after serving up a three-run homer to Corey Hart in the fifth.

Offensively, as many as four Minnesota hitters have already recorded multi-hit games for the Twins. Catcher Joe Mauer turned in a 3-for-4 day with a pair of RBI before leaving the game in the 7th inning, while second baseman Jamey Carroll is also 3-for-5 with an RBI of his own. A vital blow if he's forced to miss time, Mauer reportedly left the game with a leg injury, but be sure to stay with SB Nation Minnesota for updates on his status.

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Matt Capps Injury: Twins Closer Sidelined With Sore Right Shoulder

Minnesota closer Matt Capps has a sore right throwing shoulder and is expected to miss Sunday's game.

Twins Vs. Brewers: Game 3 Preview, TV Info And More

The Minnesota Twins will look to right the ship after falling to the Milwaukee Brewers for the second straight game on Saturday, fourth overall. The Brewers put six runs on the board to the Twins' two, led by a pair of solo home runs by Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez.

Nick Blackburn will be the next pitcher the Twins trot out to try to halt their skid and the fact that Blackburn is a ground-ball pitcher should bode well against a power lineup like the Brewers.

Here's what Blackburn said on MLB.com about the game.

"I'm going to give up a lot of hits that are ground-ball hits," Blackburn said. "All I can hope for is they hit it at somebody. Obviously not going to happen every time. So that's definitely a positive that I'm still getting the ground balls and showing that I have good movement."

Blackburn will face the Brewers' top gun this season in Zack Greinke, who is 7-2 with a 2.96 ERA this season. The last time Greinke faced Minnesota he only allowed one run on five hits in 6 2/3 innings in a 16-4 win for the Brewers.

Date/Time: Sunday, June 17, 2:10 p.m. ET

TV: FS-N

Online streaming: Mlb.tv

Read more about the Minnesota Twins at Twinkie Town and head over to Brew Crew Ball for the Milwaukee Brewers fans' perspective. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Twins Vs. Brewers Final Score: Milwaukee Hits 3 Home Runs As Minnesota Loses, 6-2

For the second game in as many days the Minnesota Twins fell to the Milwaukee Brewers at Target Field, this time by a score of 6-2. It was the power the Brewers' batting lineup that led to three home runs by the team, which put the Twins behind and in a situation they could not recover from.

The Brewers' assault began with a two-run single by Norichika Aoki in the second inning, which scored Rickie Weeks and Taylor Green. In the third inning, Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez added to that with a pair of solo home runs in the third inning to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead.

Minnesota did manage to score a run in the third and another in the sixth inning, but a second homer of the game from Braun, and another blast from Cody Ransom proved to be too much for the Twins to handle.

Read more about the Minnesota Twins at Twinkie Town and head over to Brew Crew Ball for the Milwaukee Brewers fans' perspective. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Joe Mauer Injury: Twins Catcher Misses Game 2 Vs. Brewers

If you've been following the Minnesota Twins' Saturday afternoon game against the Milwaukee Brewers, you probably noticed Twins catcher Joe Mauer is missing in action, reportedly sideline with a sore hamstring.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Mauer tweaked his hamstring in the loss to the Brewers on Friday night, but which hamstring was not specified. Gardenhire says Mauer felt discomfort early in the game, but played the rest of the way.

Mauer, who has bad luck in his history with injuries, was held from Saturday's action as a precaution. Meanwhile, Minnesota is on the verge of losing to the Brewers again, falling 6-1 after the sixth inning as Milwaukee has three home runs on the day. The Twins are down 6-2 in the eighth.

Read more about the Minnesota Twins at Twinkie Town and head over to Brew Crew Ball for the Brewers fans' perspective. Baseball Nation is your source for news, notes and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Twins Vs. Brewers: Game 2 Preview, TV Info And More

The Minnesota Twins look to respond from their 5-3 series opening loss the to Milwaukee Brewers when the two teams resume action Saturday at Target Field. It will also be a chance for the Twins to better their abysmal home record of 12-21 against a Brewers team that it isn't exactly dominate on the road (13-18).

What's going to be fun to play close attention to will Trevor Plouffe, who hit a pair of home runs on Friday in the Twins' losing effort. Plouffe was also celebrating his 26th brithday. But Saturday is an opportunity for him to become the first Twins player in the last 17 years to hit a home run in five straight games.

Brewers pitcher Michael Fiers (1-2, 4.50 ERA), who just happened to be celebrating his 27th birthday at the same time Plouffe was sending balls out of the park on Friday, will be tasked with limiting Plouffe and the Minnesota batting lineup.

Liam Hendriks (0-2, 9.00 ERA) will get the start for the Twins. Take a look at the game schedule and broadcast information below.

Date/Time: Saturday, June 16, 2:10 p.m. ET

TV: Fox Sports (local affiliates)

Online streaming: MLB.tv

Read more on the Minnesota Twins at Twinkie Town and head over to Brew Crew Ball for the Milwaukee Brewers fans' perspective. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.

Twins Vs. Brewers: Ninth Inning Collapse Sinks Twins, 5-3

Matt Capps was having a fine June. In six appearances, prior to Friday's game, Capps had yet to allow a run, and surrendered only four hits. He hit a speed bump in the Twins' opener against the Milwaukee Brewers, giving up a two-run homer to Martin Maldonado for a 5-3 loss.

Francisco Liriano gave up three earned runs in six innings, the same as his counterpart on the bump for the Brewers, Yovani Gallardo. It was a slightly better outing than his last one, a four-run loss to the Cubs.

Trevor Plouffe went deep twice for the Twins, once in the fifth and again in the very next inning. That gives him 14 for the season, the team lead for the Twins in round trippers.

It was the third loss in a row for the Twins, who dropped two of three in their previous series with the Phillies. Prior this stretch, the Twins won their previous four series. They get another chance against the Brewers on Saturday.

For more on the Twins, visit Twinkie Town. For more MLB news and analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Brewers: Starting Lineups For Friday's Opener

Francisco Liriano's 2nd stint in the rotation moves forward on Friday evening at Target Field, as the Minnesota Twins will kick off a three-game interleague series with a tough Milwaukee Brewers squad.

Friday's game will mark Liriano's 4th start for the Twins since being banished to the bullpen by manager Ron Gardenhire for erratic command back in May. And after tossing six shutout inings against Oakland on May 30, Liriano has appeared more composed and looks to have a better command of his pitches than he did to open the season.

Liriano will hope to get the better of a Milwaukee lineup that features two of the most dangerous bats in the National League in former MVP winner Ryan Braun and third baseman Aramis Ramirez. The Twins will counter with the duo of Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham on a night where slugger Justin Morneau was given a day off.

Here are the starting lineups for Friday's game:

Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - 1B
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Ryan Doumit - DH
6. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
7. Brian Dozier - SS
8. Drew Butera - C
9. Jamey Carroll - 2B
Francisco Liriano - SP

Brewers
1. Norichika Aoki - RF
2. Carlos Gomez - CF
3. Ryan Braun - LF
4. Aramis Ramirez - 3B
5. Corey Hart - 1B
6. Rickie Weeks - DH
7. Cody Ransom - SS
8. Martin Maldonado - C
9. Edwin Maysonet - 2B
Yovani Gallardo - SP

For more on the Twins, visit Twinkie Town. For more MLB news and analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Brewers: Minnesota Looks To Get Back On Track Against Milwaukee

The Minnesota Twins will host the Milwaukee Brewers for a series over the weekend as they look to get back to winning after a series loss to the Phillies.