The Twins received some good news this week, as Justin Morneau returned to the lineup on Friday for the first time since early June. Alexi Casilla returned as well, and it seemed like the Twins might get a boost from having a full lineup for the first time since April.
But the injury bug struck the Twins again, as Michael Cuddyer, the Twins most consistent player this season, hurt his neck during batting practice and was a late scratch, and Casilla was pulled after he tweaked his hamstring in the 6th inning.
Manager Ron Gardenhire has ruled out Cuddyer for today’s game, but he hopes that Casilla’s hamstring strain is mild, and should be able to play. If he isn’t, the depth for the Twins will be mighty thin.
Brian Duensing will get the start for Minnesota tonight, who is 8-10 with a 4.56 ERA on the season. Duensing, like every other Twins starter this season, has been up and down. His last three starts he’s been 1-2 with a 4.74 ERA, yet for his career against Cleveland, he’s 3-0, and back in April he went 7 innings against them and only gave up one hit.
First pitch is at 6:05 from Progressive Field.