Justin Morneau

Twins edged the Detroit Tigers 6-5 Wednesday night to win 2 of 3 games against Detroit this week. Justin Morneau had a 2-out 2-run single with the bases loaded in the 9th inning to break the 4-all tie. Joe Nathan allowed an earned run in the 9th inning but still records the save, his 11th. Matt Capps helped bail out an ineffective Glen Perkins in the 8th inning to get the win.

The Twins took the day off Thursday and will begin a 3-game series at Cleveland against the Indians tonight at 6:05, pregame on WJON at 5:35. Righthander Carl Pavano (6-9) gets the start on the mound for the Twins and righthander Justin Masterson (9-7) toes the rubber for the Indians.

The Twins activated 2nd baseman Alexi Casilla from the 15-day disabled list after the game Wednesday night and optioned infielder Trevor Plouffe to triple-A Rochester. Casilla has been out with a hamstring strain. Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire says the Twins will activate 1st baseman Justin Morneau off the 15-day disabled list Friday.

The Twins got some good news on first baseman Justin Morneau. He had successful neck surgery to relieve a pinched nerve and expects to rejoin the team in August. Outfielder Denard Span will travel with the Twins to Chicago this week as he recovers from a concussion. No timetable for Spans return yet.

The Twins placed first baseman Justin Morneau on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a left wrist sprain. The move is made retroactive to June 10. Morneau will have his left wrist immobilized for the next 10 days. Shortstop/2nd baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka and relief pitcher Glen Perkins are both expected to fly to the Twin Cities today and could be activated from the disabled list tonight.

The Detroit Tigers beat the Twins 8-7 Tuesday night in Detroit. The Tigers scored a run in the 7th inning to tie the game at 7 before Detroit pulled ahead with a run in the 8th inning. Brandon Boesch had the go-ahead sacrifice fly against Twins' reliever Phil Dumatrait in the 8th inning for the Tigers. Justin Morneau hit 2 homeruns and drove in 3 runs for the Twins.

The Twins scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning but came up short in their comeback attempt and fall to the L.A. Angels 6-5 Sunday afternoon at Target Field. Denard Span and Justin Morneau each singled a run in in the 9th inning but Michael Cuddyer flew out to centerfield to end the game. Span and Morneau each had 3 hits and Morneau drove in 2 runs for Minnesota.

The Twins won their 3rd straight game 11-1 in Oakland against the Athletics Thursday afternoon. Justin Morneau led the Twins going 3-5 with a 2-run homerun, Trevor Plouffe added a 3-run homerun and Michael Cuddyer went 3-4 with a run scored and 1 RBI for the Twins. Nick Blackburn threw 7 innings with 5 hits and 1 earned run to get the win and improve to 3-4.

Justin Morneau was in the lineup for the first time in an exhibition game for the Twins Friday in their 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers, Florida. Morneau went 0-2 at the plate and reached on an error. He played first base. Morneau played in the "B" game Tuesday and hit a double and a homerun.

Baltimore beat the Twins 11-2 Wednesday afternoon. Francisco Liriano allowed 5 hits and 6 runs in 1 2/3 innings for the Twins and takes the loss. Jim Hoey also got hit hard yesterday by the Orioles. He allowed 3 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning. Denard Span had 2 hits for Minnesota and Luke Hughes hit his 3rd homerun this spring.