The Twins got news that Torii Hunter would be the third Twin added to the DL in the past few days. An MRI found that Hunter had a fracture in his foot. Rondell White rejoined the roster today to replace Shannon Stewart and Nick Punto again found himself in the unfamiliar territory of center field on Sunday. Carlos Silva put together a fair start and the Twins managed to take the series 3 game to 1. The victory was most impressive considering the Twins did it with a team that resembled their AAA affiliate Rochester Redwings. On April 4th the following players were in AAA:

1. Pat Neshek
2. Dennys Reyes
3. Jason Bartlett
4. Terry Tiffee
5. Jason Kubel
6. Jason Tyner
7. Josh Rabe

All seven of those players will be on the Twins active roster for tomorrow’s game against Tampa Bay after Josh Rabe joins the club to fill Hunter’s roster spot. Many of the players don’t fit into the Twins long term plans, but the Twins will be counting on them to keep the Twins afloat over the next couple weeks.

One of those players, Jason Tyner, has been doing more than the Twins could’ve hoped for. In the three games since getting called up he’s hitting .500 and has 5 RBI. He delivered a 2-run single in the fourth inning on Sunday after Cleveland left fielder Todd Hollandsworth allowed a Metrodome double to Rondell White to keep the inning alive.

The other three runs for the Twins came on solo homeruns. Luis Castillo led off in the first with a solo homer. Michael Cuddyer hit a bomb to left in the fourth and Rondell White hit his first homer as a Twin in the seventh inning. Yesterday I wrote the following about White:

“In 13 games at AAA Rochester White batted only .235 with 1 walk and 1 homerun. While I didn’t see him play in AAA, the numbers provide no indication that he’s going to be any better than he was in April and May.”

While White certainly made me eat my words with his homer on Sunday, I’m going to let a week or so pass before I’m convinced that I was wrong. I hope I am wrong.

Game Notes

• Castillo, Punto, White and Tyner had 2 hits each.
• Joe Mauer hit into two double players in the game as he continues to struggle since the All-Star break. He did hit a single in his third at-bat.
• Joe Nathan recorded his 16th save of the year.
• Jesse Crain pitched scoreless 7th and 8th innings.
• Silva gave up 5 hits and no walks in 6 innings.

  No off days

More than anything else, the Twins could use an off day, but they won’t see one anytime soon. They have a 4-game series coming up against Tampa Bay before heading to Cleveland for a weekend series. The Twins won’t be off again until Thursday, July 27th.

Yankees sweep White Sox

Some good news is that the Yankees completed the sweep of the White Sox on Sunday. This moves the Twins within 6.5 games in the wildcard race. The unfortunate thing is that the Twins also trail the Yankees and Blue Jays in the race. The White Sox struggles may continue as they open up a series against Detroit this week.

Also, the two players that have been most rumored to be traded for the Twins will now sit out at least the rest of July with injuries. Will the need for players turn the Twins into buyers, or are the Twins more likely to sit idle through the trade season. They have needs, but the playoffs are still a longshot.