Joe Mauer Could Set Twins All-Time Games Caught Record

Joe Mauer has a chance to set the all-time Twins record for games played at catcher on Monday night.

Minnesota Twins News: Justin Morneau Says Effort Is Not A Problem

The Minnesota Twins are in the midst of a disappointing season, but first baseman Justin Morneau says the guys on the team are still playing hard.

"We understand what we're doing. We understand how we're playing. Nobody's really turning into selfish, me-time or anything. We're still playing for each other. We're still trying to do the right things, just trying to play the game that we're supposed to play. When things get bad are when guys start becoming selfish, saying, ‘I've got to get my numbers. I've got to do this, I've got to do that,' instead of saying, ‘I've just got to do what's right for the team.' I can still see that happening. If it starts to go the other way, I'm sure Gardy will say something. But we've got enough guys that have been around that I don't anticipate letting that happen."

Morneau added that he thinks the Twins are at least as good as Kansas City and Cleveland in the AL Central.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more in-depth coverage, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town. And for more news and notes from around baseball, check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rangers Final Score: Minnesota Avoids 4-Game Sweep In Texas With 6-5 Win

On a wet and wild day at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, the Minnesota Twins outlasted a dangerous Texas squad to take the fourth and final game of the series, 6-5.

The Twins opened the afternoon with a Josh Willingham RBI single in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, but were then forced to sit for exactly one hour and 25 minutes while intermittent rain splattered the playing surface and forced the two squads into their respective dressing rooms.

Despite having his usual routine altered significantly by the weather, Minnesota starter Cole De Vries returned to the mound to post five innings of three-hit ball with five strikeouts to earn his third career victory. De Vries was originally forced to throw exactly five pitches in the rainy conditions in the bottom of the first inning before umpires delayed the game, but did not appear bothered whatsoever by the break in his workload.

All six Minnesota runs were knocked home by separate players in Sunday's game, as Ben Revere, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Trevor Plouffe and Pedro Florimon each added an RBI in addition to Willingham. More importantly than erasing a possible four-game sweep, however, was the fact that Ron Gardenhire's team won for just the second time since Aug. 14.

Next up for the Twins is another four-game set against a playoff-caliber opponent, as the Seattle Mariners will travel to Target Field for game one on Monday evening. The upstart Mariners recently capped off a three-game sweep of Minnesota back on Aug. 19, but starter Liam Hendriks (0-6) will take the mound hoping to return the favor, as he aims for his first win of 2012.

Check out Twinkie Town for more Twins coverage, and be sure to visit Lone Star Ball for more on the Rangers. Also head over to Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Minnesota Twins Don't 'Foresee' Firing Manager Ron Gardenhire

The 2012 baseball season has been a tough journey for Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, and it's only natural to question the veteran coach's long-term staying power after a brief glance at his team's 51-75 overall record.

But Twins owner Jim Pohlad doesn't appear to be looking at things in quite the same way, and told 1500ESPN.com that he has no plans to overhaul his club's managerial staff anytime soon. As far as Pohlad is concerned, the decisions on personnel will come from his now-interim general manager, Terry Ryan, who has impressed the organization with his decision-making over the last few months.

Gardenhire has not once expressed publicly that he is interested in wrapping up his career at this point, so there's no logical reason for the Twins to go on the record about possibly looking elsewhere. The consensus seems to be that Gardenhire is still very much the playoff-caliber manager that everyone once viewed him as during his heydey, and that Minnesota's overwhelming lack of talent (re: pitching) has been the main thing handcuffing him recently. Above all, though, it's awfully hard to imagine the Twins being able to find a manager heading into next season that will give them a better chance to win than Gardenhire will.

Check out Twinkie Town for more Twins coverage, and be sure to head over to Baseball Nation for even more news from around the league.

Twins Vs. Rangers: Rain Delays Series Finale In Bottom Of 1st Inning

After opening the game quickly with a Josh Willingham RBI single, the Minnesota Twins were forced to the locker room on Sunday afternoon in the bottom of the first inning, due to a rain delay.

Twins players were bombarded with rain while out in the field preparing for the bottom half of the inning, and starter Cole De Vries was then forced to throw exactly five pitches before umpires temporarily called the game. Grounds crew members switched back and forth between removing and re-applying the tarp shortly thereafter, but it now appears all involved are fully confident the weather will clear.

Already staked to a quick lead by Willingham's offense, it will be interesting to see how De Vries, a 27-year-old rookie, responds to having his usual routine broken up like this. With his team desperate to avoid dropping its sixth straight game, the inexperienced right-hander will need to be sharp with his command in order to quell a dangerous Texas lineup on such a rainy day.

Check out Twinkie Town for more Twins coverage, and be sure to visit Lone Star Ball for more Rangers news. Also head over to Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Twins Vs. Rangers Preview: Minnesota Looks To Get Back In The Win Column After Dreadful August

The Minnesota Twins look to get back in the win column after dropping their last five games and 14 out of their last 16.

Right hander Cole De Vries will take the mound for Minnesota. De Vries allowed only two runs on six hits in 5.2 innings in his last start against the Oakland Athletics, however, he took the loss, dropping his record to 2-5. He enters Sunday with a 4.89 ERA and a WHIP of 1.31.

For the first place Texas Rangers, Scott Feldman will look to complete the weekend sweep. Feldman has struggled of late, losing each of his last three starts, but enters today's game supported by a red-hot Rangers offense. Texas has scored at least eight runs in each of its past four games. Feldman is currently 6-9 with a 4.77 ERA.

Game Date/Time: Aug. 26, 3:05 p.m. EST

Location: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

TV: Fox Sports North

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rangers: Brian Duensing Gives Up Nine Runs, Rangers Guaranteed Series Victory

Minnesota Twins starter Brian Duensing gave up nine runs in 2.1 innings pitched and the Texas Rangers completed a three-game sweep of the Twins 9-3 Saturday.

Ian Kinsler homered in the first and Nelson Cruz had an RBI double. Mitch Moreland hit a three-run home run in the second inning and the Rangers got four more runs in the fourth on an RBI-single by Geovany Soto and a bases loaded triple by Kinsler.

Justin Morneau, who was 4-for-4, hit a solo home run in the fourth to get the Twins on the board. Joe Mauer had an RBI-double and Pedro Florimon drove in the other run with a single.

Minnesota's bullpen held Texas scoreless after the third inning.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rangers Lineups: Multiple Changes For Minnesota Saturday

After losing their last four games overall and the first two games of their series against the Texas Rangers, the Minnesota Twins have shaken up their lineup in preparation for Saturday's game.

In the outfield, Denard Span will leadoff in center this afternoon, letting Ben Revere move over to right field to replace Darin Mastroianni. Josh Willingham is back in the lineup in left field after missing Friday's game with a stiff neck.

The infield looks almost completely different today with Jamey Carroll moving from third base to second, replacing Alexi Casilla. Trevor Plouffe replaces Carroll at third after being the DH yesterday, and Joe Mauer will have DH duties for today. To finish with the changes, Ryan Doumit moves from left field to replace Mauer behind the plate today.

Full lineups are below

Minnesota Twins Lineup:

P Brian Duensig

Texas Rangers Lineup:

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

MLB Trade Rumors: Dodgers Pursued Twins Justin Morneau Last Week

Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times wrote Saturday the Dodgers were involved with talks about a waiver move for Twins first baseman Justin Morneau as recently as last week.

Talks reportedly broke down between the Dodgers and the Twins for Morneau before the trade deadline. A second attempt at finding ground for a deal was made last week, but also came up with no success. So the Dodgers followed up with Boston about first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. The Dodgers and Red Sox have reportedly completed a nine-player deal that includes Boston sending Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to L.A.

Morneau has struggled since suffering a concussion in July 2010. Although he has played the majority of this season, he is struggling against left-handed pitchers, batting .216/.255/.297.

He's .301/.372/.557 against right-handers, with 14 of his 16 home runs coming against them.

The Twins have nearly clinched their second consecutive losing season and were not active players at the trade deadline. Morneau has one year left on a six-year, $80 million deal he signed in 2008.

Be sure to head over to Twinkie Town and SB Nation Minnesota for more on the Twins. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Twins Vs. Rangers: Brian Duensing Looking For 1st Win in Last 6 Games

The Minnesota Twins have lost 12 of their last 14 games, including the last two at Texas, where they've allowed 18 runs in 18 innings to the AL West-leading Rangers.

Twins Vs. Rangers Score Update: Twins Blanked In 8-0 Loss

The Minnesota Twins broke up Texas Rangers starter Matt Harrison's no-hitter in the top of the seventh inning, but that was possibly the only positive in the team's 8-0 loss on Friday night. That first hit came from DH Trevor Plouffe, but it was much too little and much too late.

The Rangers went up 1-0 in the first inning on an Adrian Beltre triple, and then put up five runs in the second inning on Minnesota starter Samuel Deduno. In that inning, Deduno shot himself in the foot when he uncorked an errant throw on a Craig Gentry bunt that allowed a run to score and broke the floodgates open. In his five innings of work, Deduno gave up 11 hits and seven runs.

Harrison, meanwhile, gave up only two hits through eight innings and improved his season record to 15-7.

Game three of the series will kickoff Saturday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. ET.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Scott Diamond Suspension: Twins Pitcher Suspended For Throwing Near Josh Hamilton's Head

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Scott Diamond has been suspended for six games by Major League Baseball for throwing near the head of Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton in Thursday night's game. Here is a .GIF of the incident:

Twins Vs. Rangers: Both Teams Talking About Thursday's Ruckus

When Texas Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt hit Minnesota Twins star Joe Mauer with a pitch on a 2-0 count during the top of the third inning on Thursday, it didn't go over well with anyone on the Twins' bench. Shortly after that, Twins pitcher Scott Diamond buzzed the tower with Josh Hamilton, which led to the ejection of Diamond and (eventually) manager Ron Gardenhire. Things cooled down and no further actions had to be taken, but heading into Friday's game Oswalt is trying to make nice while Mauer is still a bit miffed:

"Truthfully, I can't keep the ball on the left side of the plate," Oswalt said when asked if he hit Mauer. "I don't know what I'm doing. I threw a good pitch on 2-0 that actually stayed there. I told myself, ‘I can throw that same pitch and I can get him to swing at it and jam him.'"

Said Mauer: "All I know is, there's a base open, three-and-oh, and I almost got one in the neck. Guys have each other's backs," Mauer said. "I don't think he was trying to throw it there. It was just, people in this clubhouse have each other's backs, and that's all I can say."

quotes via the Pioneer Press.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Roster Moves: Kyle Waldrop Returns, Replacing Matt Carson

The Minnesota Twins decided to make some roster moves following Thursday night's game, shuffling outfielder Matt Carson back to Triple-A Rochester so the team could re-insert Kyle Waldrop back in the bullpen.

The Twins went with an extra outfielder while Denard Span dealt with his recent injury, but since Span returned Thursday night -- and the Twins bullpen has been battered as of late -- the team has decided to go back to having an extra arm on the roster.

The Minnesota Twins announced following Thursday night's game that they have recalled right-handed pitcher Kyle Waldrop from Triple-A Rochester. The former first round draft pick will be in uniform when the Twins play Texas Friday night in Arlington.

Waldrop will be making his second stint with the Twins this year, after appearing in 24 games with the Red Wings, posting a 3.34 ERA (35.0 ip, 13 er) with four saves.

Waldrop's return certainly can't hurt as balance is re-attained in the Twins' lineup.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Josh Willingham Injury: Twins Slugger Out With Sore Neck

Josh Willingham is known as one of the few consistent batsmen in the Minnesota Twins lineup, so it was a bit unnerving when an injury kept him out of Thursday night's game -- especially considering Denard Span was just returning to the lineup after a lengthy absence of his own.

Fortunately for Twins fans, though, Willingham's injury doesn't seem to be anything that should linger past Thursday night. In fact, according to the Pioneer Press, his sore neck was simply due to awkwardly sleeping.

Minnesota Twins outfielder Josh Willingham, who was scheduled to start at designated hitter on Thursday, Aug. 23, against the Texas Rangers, was scratched from the lineup with a sore neck after sleeping on it awkwardly.

Ryan Doumit filled his designated hitter duties on Thursday night, but it sounds like Willingham should be back in the lineup for Friday's contest.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rangers: Game Preview, TV Time And More

After blowing things in the series opener, the Minnesota Twins are hoping that they can fare better as they face the Texas Rangers on Friday night. The Twins were tied 4-4 entering the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday before allowing six runs in the 10-6 defeat against Texas.

Rookie starter Sam Deduno is scheduled to make his ninth career start with the Twins on Friday. The 29-year-old has been a pleasant surprise for Minnesota so far this season, posting a 3.33 ERA over 46 innings despite a miserable 30-to-36 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Twins are 6-2 in Deduno's eight outings this year, though, so there's reason to be optimistic even as Matt Harrison takes the mound for the AL West-leading Rangers.

Game Date & Time: Thursday, Aug. 23, 7:05 p.m. CT

TV: Fox Sports North

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rangers: Texas Wins Game After Final Two Innings Filled With Offense, Errors

The Texas Rangers scored six runs in the eighth inning Thursday to break open a tie game and beat the Minnesota Twins 10-6 in the series opener in Arlington, Texas.

After a one-out double by Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz reached on third baseman Trevor Plouffe's fielding error. A double by Mitch Moreland scored Beltre to break a 4-4 tie. An error by shortstop Pedro Florimon allowed Cruz to score and loaded the bases. A walk to Ian Kinsler scored a run and singles by Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton drove in three more runs.

Minnesota threatened in the ninth inning, loading the bases with two outs and getting two runs on an error by Andrus, but Texas closer Joe Nathan came in and got the final out.

Twins starter Scott Diamond and manager Ron Gardenhire were ejected in the third inning after Diamond threw a pitch that went over Hamilton's head. Gardenire was ejected after he came out of the dugout to argue.

Jared Burton (1-1) took the loss for Minnesota, giving up six runs (only one of them earned) in 0.2 innings. Mike Adams (3-3) picked up the win for Texas. Plouffe and Jamey Carroll each had three hits for the Twins and Denard Span had two hits.

For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Minnesota. For more comprehensive coverage of this series, visit Twins blog Twinkie Town and Rangers blog Lone Star Ball. And for more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Twins Vs. Rangers: Scott Diamond Looks To Cool Off Adrian Beltre, Texas

The Twins' AL West woes might continue with a 4-game set against the Rangers starting tonight.