Minnesota Twins Daily Clips

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

 Correia holds off Angels as Twins hitters feast. StarTribune.com (Neal) pg. 1  Arcia sent down after making big-league debut. StarTribuen.com (Neal) pg. 2  Three Twins postgame thoughts from LEN3: Correia, Hicks, Arcia and BONUS Mauer. StarTribune.com (Neal) pg. 3  Angels’ pitching problems show up in loss to Twins. StarTribune.com (Campbell-AP) pg. 4  ’ Josh Willingham: Aaron Hicks ‘knows we’re behind him.’ PioneerPress.com (Berardino) pg. 5  Day: Everyone wears ‘42’ today. PioneerPress.com (AP) pg. 6  Minnesota Twins recall Oswaldo Arcia. PioneerPress.com (Staff Reporter) pg. 7  Twins, Timberwolves, Wild open with moments of silence for Boston Marathon bombing victims. PioneerPress.com (Berardino) pg. 7  Twins 8, Angels 2: Kevin Correia helps Minnesota end five-game skid. PioneerPress.com (Berardino) pg. 8  Minnesota Twins’ Oswaldo Arcia makes brief stay a memorable one. PioneerPress.com (Berardino) pg. 9  Fans, players react to news of Boston explosions. MLB.com (Miller) pg. 10  homers, picks up four hits as Twins rip Angels. ESPN.com (AP) pg. 12  Wearing No. 42 with pride, MLB honors Jackie. Twinsbaseball.com (Cassavell) pg. 13  Mired in slow start, Hicks gets break from lineup. Twinsbaseball.com (Bollinger) pg. 15  Twins hold Jackie Robinson Day pregame celebrations. Twinsbaseball.com (Bolllinger) pg. 15  Arcia sent back to -A after Major League debut. Twinsbaseball.com (Bollinger) pg. 15  Longtime skippers Sciscia, Gardenhire battle on. MLB.com (Boor) pg. 16  Twins roll behind strong nights from Correia, Mauer. MLB.com (Bollinger) pg. 17  Oswaldo Arcia singles, commits error, gets demoted all in one day. 1500ESPN.com (Warne) pg. 18  Morneau honored to be in Robinson biopic ’42.’ Foxsportsnorth.com (Mason) pg. 18  Answer Man: Glen Perkins talks Minnesota, sabermetrics, cars, fishing, deer urine and famous acquaintances. Yahoo! (Brown) pg. 19  fall to 2-9 for worst start since at least 1966. DemocratandChronicle.com (Mandelaro) pg. 24

Correia holds off Angels as Twins hitters feast

La Velle E. Neal III / StarTribune.com – 4/16/13

Righthander Kevin Correia signed a two-year, $10 million deal with the Twins in December, and the move was met by many with a collective “meh.”

He doesn’t miss bats. He has a losing career record. And he just wasn’t one of the sexy names out on the free-agent market during the offseason.

But three starts into his first season with the Twins, and in the , he has been the most reliable player on the roster. He led the Twins to a 8-2 victory over the Angels on Monday to open a three-game series at .

He shook off solo home runs by Peter Bourjos and Brendan Harris and handled the more dangerous names in the lineup to help end the Twins five-game losing streak. ~ 1 ~

Bourjos, whose first career homer was against the Twins in 2010, started things off by hitting a 2-2 pitch from Correia 413 feet to left to open the scoring. It could have been the start of short night at the park.

“Who you got next? You’ve got [Mike] Trout, you’ve got [Albert] Pujols, you’ve got [Josh] Hamilton,” Correia said. “It’s not a good time to start feeling sorry for yourself with those guys coming up. You’ve really got to refocus and try to leave it at that one .”

Correia went through Trout, Pujols and Hamilton to get out of . By the time he left after seven , he had held the Angels to two runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out five. He has pitched at least seven innings in all three of his starts.

“Kevin threw the heck out the ball, again,” Ron Gardenhire said. “Got us deep in the game.”

The Twins came back with a run in the first after Bourjos’ . After Harris went deep in the third, the Twins came back with a run in the bottom of that two.

Correia stayed out of trouble and the Twins kept pouring it on.

Trevor Plouffe lined a home run to left on the first pitch his saw in the fourth inning. Joe Mauer — who was 4-for-4 on the night — cranked a 1-0 pitch from Angels starter Jeff Blanton over the left field wall in the fifth, giving the Twins a 4-2 lead. And, while facing lefthanded reliever Michael Roth in the sixth, Mauer grounded an RBI to right to put the Twins ahead 5-2.

Correia avoided trouble with one out in the seventh when outfielder Oswaldo Arcia, making his major league debut, dropped a fly ball for an error. Correia struck out Luis Jimenez then struck out Bourjos to end the inning. Fans jumped to the feet as Correia walked to the dugout, bumping fists with teammates.

Correia sounded as he likes life in the American League. He had three starts of seven innings all of last year while with Pittsburgh. “I think it’s an opportunity in the American League, where you can go out there and see how long you can pitch,” Correia said. “In the , I might have been out of the game a lot earlier in all three starts for pinch- purposes. It’s nice to be able to go out there and get seven.”

Arcia sent down after making big-league debut

La Velle E. Neal III / StarTribune.com – 4/15/13

Oswaldo Arcia’s haul from his first day in the majors: The ball from his first major league hit — and a plane ticket back to Class AAA Rochester.

Arcia, one of the Twins’ top prospects, went 1-for-3 at the plate and 0-for-1 in the field during the Twins’ 8-2 victory over the on Monday. The Twins talked excitedly about getting a look at the attack-minded hitter as he replaced Wilkin Ramirez, who was away on paternity leave.

General Manager Terry Ryan, before the game, hinted that Arcia could stay longer than three days. But that was not the case, as Ramirez will return to the team Tuesday after being present for the birth of his daughter, Venice, in New York.

“Wilkin will be back [Tuesday] so we sent the kid back down, as hard as it will be for everybody involved,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. “It’s fun to watch him walk up to the plate. He will get plenty of opportunities if he keeps doing what he’s doing in the minors.” Arcia took a break from packing to speak with reporters with the help of translator Bobby Cuellar.

“I take away how they play the game here, watching people hit, watching people take pitches, how people look for their pitches and how good it feels and how good it looks, watching a game in the major leagues,” Arcia said.

The Twins didn’t mince words when talking about Arcia before the game. “I love the way he swings the bat,” Gardenhire said. “He’s on a mission with a bat in his hand and he just doesn’t believe anyone can get him out.” ~ 2 ~

Arcia certainly showed that in his first major league at-bat, when he laced a fastball from Joe Blanton into right for single. He advanced to second on an error by .

But he let a fly ball pop out of his glove in the seventh inning for a two-base error. He was scheduled to be the on Monday but was moved to left field when Josh Willingham showed up at the park under the weather.

When asked what happened on the fly ball, Arcia grinned sheepishly and said in clear English, “I don’t know.”

Arcia is .414 with three homers, eight RBI and eight runs in nine games at Rochester. He is a career .316 hitter in the minors. Etc.

• Aaron Hicks was replaced by Darin Mastroianni in center field on Monday but entered the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, walked, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single. Hicks is expected to be in the starting lineup on Tuesday. Gardenhire said hitting Tom Brunansky wants to work with the struggling rookie , but Hicks might be moved elsewhere in the lineup at times.

• It was Jackie Robinson Day across baseball Monday, meaning every player in the majors wore the No. 42, but Gardenhire used Sunday to head to a local movie theater and watch “42,” the movie about Robinson’s path to the major leagues. Gardenhire said the audience applauded at the end of the movie.

• Righthander Tim Wood (shoulder) will begin a rehabilitation assignment Tuesday at Class A Fort Myers. If all goes well, he likely will move to Class AAA Rochester.

• Righthander Cole De Vries (forearm) played catch Monday and it went well.

• Righthander Samuel Deduno (groin muscle) will pitch in an extended game Tuesday.

Three Twins postgame thoughts from LEN3: Correia, Hicks, Arcia and BONUS Mauer

La Velle E. Neal III / StarTribune.com – 4/15/13

Here are three things on my mind following the Twins' 8-2 victory over the Los Angels Pujols of Troutheim:

1. CORREIA CRUISING: The Twins believe that Kevin Correia can give them 180 solid innings this year and, hopefully, next year. At $5 million a season, they view that as a bargain. This logic was hard to swallow, given Correia being ground ball intensive and coming over from the National League. But he pitches inside and outside and has stayed out of big trouble. It;s working now, and the Twins look like have made a sold investment. We'll check back in 30 more starts. ``It's always important for your starter to go out there and give you a chance,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Correia. ``He works fast. He gets the ball and throws it and doesn't screw around.'' Three starts, all at least seven innings.

2. HICKS STICKS: The clubhouse was closed for longer than normal after the game. We sensed a roster move. We wondered if it was going to be Aaron Hicks. No, it wasn't. The Twins remain committed to giving Hicks more time to figure things out. Hicks entered the game as a late- inning defensive replacement, walked, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single. ``That's the guy we saw all spring training,'' Gardy said. He added that they might not bat Hicks in the leadoff spot, which might help him relax. Gardy was asked how much better off Hicks would be if he figures things out up here instead of in Rochester. ``There's been lots of players who have had to go down to the minors. Our preference if for him to get going up here and let's quit worrying about it. There's issues, we've seen it. And we're trying to straighten them out now. Talking with (hitting coach Tom) Brunansky, he wants to work with this kid. He had him out there today early and did some things with him and believes he can get him right. You know what? I'm with Tom. We'll see what happens.''

3. ARCIA'S ONE-GAME CAREER: Arcia didn't mess around. He saw a pitch he liked, and he went after it. He ripped a Joe Blantoin pitch to right for a single in his first at-bat, flew out to center in his second at bat then hit a slider off a lefty to the warning track in left-center in his third at ~ 3 ~

bat. He saw a total of six pitches. ``It's fun to watch him walk up to the plate,'' Gardy said. ``He will get plenty of opportunities if he keeps doing what he's doing in the minors.'' I'll give him a mulligan on the dropped fly ball. First game. Was supposed to DH but moved to the outfield when Willngham showed up sick. One workout ever at Target Field. Arcia, 21, handled the questions well after the game, with the help of an translator. After we were done, he ripped off a long sentence in Spanish. We were like, ``What did he say,'' Translator: ``You guys need to learn Spanish.'' We laughed.

3A. MAUER LOCKED IN: Joe Mauer looked ready to mash in his first at bat when he hit a off the wall in right-center. That's right, he pulled the ball a little. Two at-bats later, he homered to left. He had four hits on the day, his average rising from .298 to .346. The counts on when Mauer got his hits: 2-2 (double), 0-1 (homer), 0-2 (single), 0-2 (single). ``One of the best hitters I've ever seen with two strikes,'' Gardy said. ``It's incredible how he can go deep into a count and never panic, never have any fear, have a nice swing and barrel it just about every time.''

Angels’ pitching problems show up in loss to Twins

Dave Campbell - AP / StarTribune.com – 4/16/13

MINNEAPOLIS - Without Jered Weaver, starting pitching has been an early-season problem for the Los Angeles Angels. Joe Blanton hasn't done much to help the cause.

Joe Mauer had a home run among his four hits and drove in three runs for the Minnesota Twins in an 8-2 victory over the Angels on a cold, windy Monday night that helped send several fly balls to the deepest parts of Target Field.

"I've just been a little bit off. I've not been locating my fastball like I did in spring," Blanton said. "That's kind of the key for a lot of ." Kevin Correia (1-1) earned his first American League win after finishing seven innings for the third time in as many starts with the Twins, getting two double-play grounders to help him limit the Angels to solo home runs by Peter Bourjos and former Twins utility Brendan Harris.

Blanton (0-3) was battered again for nine hits, one walk and four runs in 4 2-3 innings. Mauer doubled and scored in the first and led off the fifth inning with a homer to left-center. Trevor Plouffe also went deep off Blanton, and Justin Morneau drove in a run with a double.

Mauer added RBI singles against relievers in the sixth and eighth, when Pedro Florimon also hit a two-run double.

The Angels, with the sixth-highest payroll in the majors this season, fell to 4-9.

"I don't know if you can put it all on the starting pitching, but you talk about it being the heartbeat of the club. It's where everything starts," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "You have to establish the fact of getting guys one after another pitching to a certain point of the game, deep enough where you keep certain roles in the bullpen and giving yourself a chance to win. That's been a little bit hit and miss. Well, it's been mostly miss."

Blantonhas been throwing a bunch of hittable pitches all month. As one of three newcomers in the rotation with Tommy Hanson and Jason Vargas, Blanton has an 8.59 ERA over three starts. He has allowed 26 hits and six home runs in 14 2-3 innings.

Garrett Richards, on Saturday, was the only Angels starter to pitch into the seventh inning in 13 games this year. Weaver, the staff and three-time All-Star, is out for at least another three weeks because of a broken bone in his left (non-throwing) elbow.

"It's early. You can only say that for so long. Three starts in, I think you look at history. I think guys will turn around once we start going that seven innings and hopefully be able to stay there," Blanton said.

NOTES: Trout had his team-high sixth multihit game, going 2 for 4 to raise his average to .286. ... Scioscia said SS Erick Aybar, rehabilitating a bruised left heel at the team's spring training facility in Arizona, isn't close yet to beginning baseball activities. ... Vargas will pitch on Tuesday, with Mike Pelfrey taking the mound for the Twins. ... Harris went 117 at-bats between home runs. He has 30 home runs in 1,603 career at- bats. Harris spent the last two seasons with Triple-A teams for Baltimore and Colorado. He played in Aybar's place.

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Minnesota Twins’ Josh Willingham: Aaron Hicks ‘knows we’re behind him’

Mike Berardino / PioneerPress.com – 4/16/13

Josh Willingham couldn't recall going through any slump as horrific as the one rookie Aaron Hicks is enduring. Never struggled for 40-plus at-bats as a young player?

"I don't think so," said Willingham, the Twins' . "I don't remember. You'll have to look that up."

With the radio talk shows and message boards burning up with suggestions/demands that Hicks be taken out of the leadoff spot in the midst of his 2-for-43 start, Willingham expressed support for the 23-year-old.

Darin Mastroianni got his second start of the season in center field Monday night, April 15, against the Los Angeles Angels. Newly promoted Oswaldo Arcia made his big-league debut in left field in place of Willingham, who was sick, and went 1 for 3.

"He's trying ... probably too hard," Willingham said of Hicks. "Nobody wants him to do well more than he does. He knows we're behind him. He's got all the support in the world, but that doesn't make it any better."

Opportunities to drive in runs have been rare for Willingham, batting third between left-handed stalwarts Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Just 11 of Willingham's 48 plate appearances in 2013 have come with runners in scoring position.

Willingham is 1 for 10 with a walk and four in those chances. Just two of his five runs batted in have come with runners in scoring position.

Hicks' troubles in getting on base (.109 on-base percentage) have been a big part of that. Before Monday's 8-2 victory, the Twins had been outscored 33-12 while losing five straight, an average of 2.4 runs per game.

"I think obviously the weather hasn't exactly been the best weather to hit in," Justin Morneau said at a charity appearance Monday at Starkey Hearing Technologies in Eden Prairie. "I think Hicksy (will be fine) once he settles down a little bit and starts hitting like he's capable of, the way we saw in the spring.

"Obviously, it starts at the top. You need guys on base to score runs. You can't put the whole offense on him. We all have had opportunities to do a little better. I think we need to be better with runners in scoring position, take advantage of those opportunities and things will turn around."

Both for Hicks and the Twins in general.

"It's still early," Morneau said. "We still believe we have a good baseball team."

Willingham, who actually survived a 5-for-38 (.132) slump as a Marlins rookie in 2006, echoed those sentiments. Willingham's skid, which ran from May 20 through June 2, included 10 strikeouts and just four walks.

Hicks entered Monday with 20 strikeouts and three walks.

"We want (Hicks) to do well because if he does well, we do well as a team," said Willingham, who has a .417 on-base percentage. "Obviously, he'll be a big part of our team this year. There's no doubt in my mind. It's just something he's got to battle through."

Willingham also said there is really nothing he or any other Twins player could say to help Hicks emerge from this career-opening nightmare. "He's got to figure it out on his own," Willingham said. "He's had a lot of people tell him stuff. It's just going to come from experience. He's a good player. He's got ability. He'll get himself out of it."

Briefly

~ 5 ~

Twins outfielder Wilkin Ramirez (paternity leave) was reinstated after Monday's game. His fiancee, Karaine, gave birth to the couple's first child, a 7-pound girl named Venus. Ramirez also has a child from a previous marriage. Arcia was sent back to Triple-A Rochester to make room. ... Right-hander Cole De Vries (forearm) rested Monday after playing catch the previous two days. If he keeps progressing, the best case would have him throwing from flat ground late this week and tossing a light bullpen early next week. ... Mastroianni said the "severe bone bruise" near his left shin still isn't 100 percent but keeps getting better. The area, he said, "Responded better than expected" the day after making his only previous 2013 start April 9 in Kansas City. ... Reliever Tim Wood (shoulder) will start his rehab assignment on Tuesday with Class A Fort Myers. He is expected to pitch on consecutive days and make a stop at Triple-A Rochester before forcing the Twins to make a roster decision. Wood is out of options. ... Right-hander Samuel Deduno (groin) will pitch in an extended spring game on Tuesday.

Jackie Robinson Day: Everyone wears ‘42’ today

AP / PioneerPress.com – 4/15/13

BOSTON -- Everybody in uniform at the game Monday, April 15, against the at Fenway Park wore the "42" as celebrated its fifth annual Jackie Robinson Day.

Fans will see more of that number on jerseys before the next couple of days are out. All the teams in action -- there were eight night games on the schedule, in addition to the Rays-Red Sox day game -- were asked to wear Robinson's number on the 66th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Teams that didn't play on Monday planned to pay tribute Tuesday.

The anniversary is drawing special attention this year with the release of the film "42" about Robinson, which went into wide release over the weekend.

"We had a screening down in spring training," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "It was open to all of our personnel."

More than 100 players and other club employees watched the film at a theater in Port Charlotte, Fla., the Rays' spring training site, "and I think a lot of guys walked away with a greater appreciation" of Robinson's contribution, Maddon said.

Maddon said Robinson's debut on April 15, 1947, helped lead to the broader civil rights movement.

"I still don't think people understand how much it plays into the Martin Luther King situation," he said. "The revolution that occurred at that particular moment, it mattered. That had to happen first to set that whole thing up.

"So when you're talking about Jackie Robinson, I don't think people realize the significance and really courage that went behind that, and in the movie it points that out -- the courage to not fight back, to be able to win over that particular mind set to be able to make all of this work."

Red Sox manager John Farrell said baseball "reflects society in so many ways, whether it's the color barriers being broken down. In our clubhouse you've got six or seven countries coming together. As a group of 25, you look to not only co-exist, but (recognize) the individuality of everyone in there.

"Certainly, the Robinson family and, certainly, Jackie himself may be one of the most significant situations in our country's history, breaking down segregation to the point of inclusion and I think that happens in the game today."

The movie "42" earned an estimated $27.3 million over the weekend, according to Warner Brothers, its distributor.

The subject's popularity extends to the sale of licensed sports merchandise. Fanatics.com, a large online retailer of those items, said sales of Jackie Robinson gear on its site since the season began increased by more than 1,000 percent over the same time period last year.

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Minnesota Twins recall outfielder Oswaldo Arcia

AP / PioneerPress.com – 4/15/13

As expected, the Minnesota Twins recalled outfielder Oswaldo Arcia from their Triple-A team in Rochester on Monday, April 15, to take the roster spot of Wilkin Ramirez, who is on paternity leave.

The Twins play host to the Los Angeles Angels at 7:10 p.m. Monday at Target Field.

Arcia started the season with Red Wings, and has batted .414 (12 for 29) in nine games with three home runs and eight RBIs. The 21-year old, who signed with the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in 2007, will wear uniform number 31.

Twins, Timberwolves, Wild open with moments of silence for Boston Marathon bombing victims

Staff Reporter / PioneerPress.com – 4/15/13

The Twins and Timberwolves held moments of silence before their home games Monday night, April 15, to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings earlier in the day. The Calgary Flames did the same before their game against the Wild at Scotiabank Saddledome. The postponement of Monday night's NHL game between the Bruins and Ottawa Senators, and the cancellation of Tuesday's NBA game between the Celtics and Indiana Pacers -- both events to be held in Boston -- were the most tangible reactions by sports officials to the explosions at the marathon finish line that killed two people and injured many others.

No other events from top professional leagues around the country were immediately called off.

Still, other effects of the explosions could be seen quickly, such as bomb-sniffing dogs sweeping the arena before the doors opened for an NHL game in Nashville between the Predators and Canucks, and armed police officers posted in front of each dugout at the Padres-Dodgers baseball game in Los Angeles.

Here's how local teams handled the news:

Twins

Footage from the tragedy in Boston was showing on the television in Twins manager Ron Gardenhire's office at Target Field while he met with the media.

At one point, he looked up and shook his head sadly.

"Oh, boy. Nothing ever makes any sense," he said. "Boston Marathon ... doesn't make any sense. Sad to see. I guess we'll know more in the coming days. Somebody is going to claim it. I guess we'll find out what this all means. It's sad. Unsuspecting people standing there enjoying a race."

Lizz Downey, an assistant in the Twins' public relations office, was concerned about her boyfriend, Will Schulz, and his family. Matt Schulz, Will's brother, ran his first Boston Marathon and finished in 3 hours, 2 minutes -- more than an hour before the bombs went off. The brothers' parents were at the finish line, along with Matt Schulz's girlfriend.

Twins outfielder Darin Mastroianni, who is from the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, had a longtime friend in Boston on business Monday afternoon.

"He had just checked into a hotel right down the street," Mastroianni said. "I got a text from him saying he was all right. I didn't even know he was going there." -- Mike Berardino ~ 7 ~

Timberwolves

Security officials at Target Center contacted state and local federal agencies to make sure there were no potential threats leading up to the Timberwolves' game against the Utah Jazz.

"Everybody informed us that if there was something we needed to know about, we would be notified," Aaron Liepins, director of security at Target Center, said before Monday's game. "We know a lot of our patrons that come in tonight might be a little more concerned than normal. We know what happened in Boston is on their minds."

Liepins declined to say if there would be an increased presence of FBI personnel and other agencies at Monday's game. Liepins, however, said the Boston tragedy was discussed in detail with Target Center security personnel during the staff's regular pregame meeting. "We're not doing a lot different than we normally do, but we reminded our people that this example in Boston is why we do what we do," Liepins said. "I'm confident in our normal operations and the staff we have." -- Ray Richardson

Wild

Fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome participated in a moment of silence for all those affected in the Boston Marathon tragedy before the game between the Wild and Calgary Flames.

The impact was still felt here, another country away.

Before the game, the Jumbotron flashed an image of the Boston skyline, while the announcer called Boston "one of North America's greatest cities."

The moment of silence followed for 10 seconds. --Chad Graff

Vikings The Vikings, like all NFL teams, follow a comprehensive set of security measures for their home games, team spokesman Jeff Anderson said. Those procedures include a 24-hour lockdown of the Metrodome and bomb sweeps of the stadium before games, a 100-foot security perimeter around the stadium and security inspections of every commercial vehicle entering the stadium on game day.

Additionally, the Vikings inspect all fans with metal detector wands and search their bags before letting them into the stadium. The team works with more than 500 staff members of Whalen Security, more than 60 Minneapolis police offers and 15 members of its own security staff on game days, Anderson said. They also establish a command post with members of the FBI, the Hennepin County Sherrif's Department, the Minneapolis police and fire departments and their internal security team.

For smaller events, like the team's draft party at the Metrodome next week, the Vikings will work with the same personnel they would use for a home game.

Depending on the event, Anderson said, the Vikings use many of the same security procedures they would implement on game days. -- Ben Goessling

Twins 8, Angels 2: Kevin Correia helps Minnesota end five-game skid

Mike Berardino / PioneerPress.com – 4/15/13

Kevin Correia was excellent for the third straight outing as a Twin. This time he was rewarded with his first victory for his new franchise after tossing seven innings of two-run ball. Joe Mauer had four hits lacked only a triple for the first cycle of his career. He had three RBI, two runs and hit his second homer of the year. Struggling rookie Aaron Hicks entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth, walked and stole his first big-league base.

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MEANING: Winning for the first time in eight days, the Twins (5-7) were able to snap a five-game losing streak and escape the basement of the . They edged a half-game ahead of the , who lost Monday at Toronto.

ETC: Mauer's double off the wall in the first inning tied him with (252) for seventh-most in club history. He is nine doubles behind Justin Morneau, who is fifth on the all-time Twins list. ... Twins SS Pedro Florimon bunted for a hit in the fourth and added a sacrifice bunt his next time up.

UP NEXT: vs. Angels, 7:10 p.m., Tuesday, FSN, KTWN-FM 96.3.

Minnesota Twins’ Oswaldo Arcia makes brief stay a memorable one

Mike Berardino / PioneerPress.com – 4/16/13

Mike Scioscia brought in the left-hander.

That might be all you need to know about the immediate impact Oswaldo Arcia had on the Twins lineup in his one-and-done debut Monday night, April 15, at Target Field.

"It's fun to watch him walk to the plate," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said after his team snapped a five-game losing streak with an 8-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels. "He's not afraid. He's going to hack."

With two out and two on in the bottom of the fifth, baseball's longest-serving manager pulled veteran starter Joe Blanton at 80 pitches rather than have him face a 21-year-old rookie with two big-league at-bats to his credit.

Of course, the first of those saw Arcia -- sent back to Triple-A Rochester afterward with Wilkin Ramirez returning from paternity leave -- line a sharp single to right on the second pitch he saw in the majors.

Arcia made a hard turn around first, causing Josh Hamilton to bobble the ball in right for an error that allowed Arcia to advance to second. Next time up, Arcia flied out to center after Blanton threw him three straight off-speed pitches.

Now here was Scioscia leaving the visiting dugout in the fifth to wave in lefty reliever Michael Roth.

Arcia, who saw six pitches all night, got a first-pitch flat slider and gave it a ride. Only a running catch by on the warning track in left center kept Arcia from padding the Twins' lead and creating an instant legend.

"He cracked that ball," Gardenhire said. "That was a nice swing off a lefty he'd never seen before."

Not even a two-base error on a dropped popup in the seventh could mar Arcia's memorable night. That runner was one of six the Angels stranded on a night when they could muster only two solo homers against Twins starter Kevin Correia (1-1).

Besides, Arcia was playing left field, a spot he hasn't occupied since winter ball in his native Venezuela.

Originally slotted in at designated hitter, the natural right fielder wound up in left after Josh Willingham arrived at the ballpark with a 24-hour flu.

Plagued by a sore throwing shoulder until recently, Arcia was pulled for defense in the eighth.

"He jumps in there," general manager Terry Ryan said. "Doesn't matter if it's left, right, velocity, soft toss -- he looks like he wants to be in that batter's box."

Since Joe Mauer's debut in 2004, just one other Twins rookie was younger at the time of his arrival than Arcia. That was left-hander , who was less than a month younger than Arcia, who turns 22 on May 9.

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"He's on a mission with a bat in his hand," Gardenhire said of a pure hitter whose .429 start at Triple-A earned him this brief look. "He just doesn't believe anybody can get him out."

If only the Twins could transfer some of that swagger to slumping rookie Aaron Hicks.

Hicks came off the bench in the eighth to draw a walk, nab his first big-league , take third on a ball in the dirt and eventually score a run.

"That's the guy we saw all spring training: free and easy," Gardenhire said. "Hopefully we can find more of him. We'll probably end up moving him around a little bit (in the ), giving him a day here and there, and see if we can get him going."

Besides the baseball from his first big-league hit, which he plans to "keep as a memory at my house," Arcia said he had other takeaways from his unique experience.

"I take away how they play the game here," he said through translator Bobby Cuellar, the Twins' bullpen coach. "I take away how I'm watching everybody hit, take pitches and look for their pitches."

He smiled again. There was one more thing.

"And how good it feels and how good it looks," Arcia said, "when you're watching a game here in the major leagues."

Fans, players react to news of Boston explosions

Doug Miller / StarTribune.com – 4/15/13

The Red Sox were busy getting to Cleveland, but right outside the old ballpark, Bostonians could hear what was going on in Copley Square, just a few T stops from the Kenmore Square station that serves as the final stop for Sox fans on game day.

Sirens blared, helicopters buzzed overhead and televisions in the bars near Yawkey Way played out the inescapable images to sullen, teary- eyed viewers as others ran to attend to their suddenly altered lives with cell phones glued to their ears or raised aloft in attempts to get better signals.

"We were sitting at [a bar called] Who's on First," said Robert Francis Gailes, a Red Sox fan from Lee, Mass. "All of a sudden, we heard this bomb went off. Two of our friends have people running in the race."

Red Sox designated hitter and city icon hasn't been with the Red Sox lately. The man they call "Big Papi" is rehabbing the Achilles injury that ended his 2012 season early, and he weighed in from Pawtucket, R.I., where he's with the club's Triple-A affiliate working his way back to the Majors.

"I'm kind of angry," Ortiz said. "Whoever did this is insane. People are trying to raise money to get people healthy [by running the marathon]. This isn't a day to pick to do things like that. This is a big day for Boston and the nation in general.

"It's horrible when you see things like this happen. I'm watching the news and I can't believe it. I can't believe it."

Ortiz said he had been receiving text messages all day.

"I had people from my country [the Dominican Republic] texting me, asking am I OK, am I OK, am I OK?, because that's right around the corner from Fenway," Ortiz said. "'How is the family? We're watching the news and everything's going crazy.'

"It's a bad day, man."

~ 10 ~

Reds Bronson Arroyo was Ortiz's teammate in Boston and was well aware of what the Boston Marathon and the fanfare surrounding it meant to the city and its people. He remembers pitching against the Blue Jays on Patriots Day and ending up at the finish line, where he waited with teammates Curt Schilling and Mike Timlin, whose wives ran in the race.

"This is going to change the landscape of Marathon Monday in Boston, which is a huge deal," Arroyo said. "It's an event in Boston and close to home for everybody. It's definitely sad."

Down the hallway from Arroyo, in the visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park in and preparing for a game against the Reds, a one-time Boston celebrity now pitching for the Phillies sat in silence with his teammates in front of the TV and tried to put words to the shock, although the blasts hit home for him ... very close to home.

Jonathan Papelbon, who pitched for Boston for seven seasons, said he used to live above the Boston steakhouse Abe and Louie's, located near the scene of one of the two deadly explosions, which The Associated Press reported took place about 100 yards from each other by the crowded finish line and resulted in an unspeakable scene of carnage.

"It's sad, man," Papelbon said. "Patriots Day is a big thing in Boston. Sox play at 11 o'clock. It's all ruined. Families are ruined, lives are ruined. For what? It's just sad.

"I'm looking at it right now and I'm like, 'Damn, I used to live right there.'"

Papelbon had not been able to reach friends and loved ones in the city, and he admitted that the situation is hard to even fathom right now. "It's kind of surreal," he said. "I don't know man, it's crazy. ... Hopefully the city can rally and make things better, but it's going to be tough." Oakland A's first baseman knows that city well. He grew up in Wellesley, Mass., which is the halfway point of the marathon, and he spent many a Patriots Day morning downtown watching the runners go by.

"It's such a huge deal, a big day there," said Freiman, who was in constant contact with friends and family members all day. "It's just awful what's happened."

Mets reliever Scott Atchison pitched for the Red Sox last year and couldn't help but remember leaving the stadium via a different route on Marathan Monday because the roads to his home were blocked off.

"I still know so many people that are right there in that area," Atchison said. "But as far as I know, everybody was all right that we know." Padres manager Bud Black also was fortunate. While en route to , where his team and the Dodgers were set to honor the life, legacy and impact on society of Jackie Robinson and then play a game, he learned of the explosions. His daughter, Jamie, lives two blocks from Fenway and Black could not get through to her when he tried to call her at first. He did, however, reach her by text and found out she was OK.

Elsewhere around the big leagues, players were chiming in with their prayers, condolences, sadness and shock. Several Dodgers, for example, offered their thoughts via Twitter.

"Thoughts and prayers to all of the victims and families of the #bostonmarathon," tweeted reliever Brandon League. "Sick Sad World." Outfielder Matt Kemp tweeted, "Prayers go out to all affected by the explosions in Boston. #PrayForBoston," while his teammate, former Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, tweeted, "My prayers go out to the city of Boston! #prayforboston."

Nationals manager Davey Johnson was far away from the site, readying his club for a game against the Marlins in Miami, and he communicated the collective feelings of all of baseball in light of such a sobering real-life event: that baseball is a game and a pastime, and it all seems unimportant on days like this.

"It's just a terrible tragedy," Johnson said. "Kind of brings things into perspective. It's the world we live in. That's the tough part. But we've got to go out there and perform, do our job."

White Sox manager Robin Ventura echoed the sentiments shared by many when asked for his thoughts.

~ 11 ~

"I think it just always boggles your mind and you scratch your head," Ventura said. "It doesn't make any sense, ever. It's just sad. I think anytime you see something like that, there is just no reason for it."

Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire agreed, struggling to find words to describe it.

"It's sad to see," Gardenhire said. "I guess we'll find more in the coming days what this all means. But it's sad. People were just enjoying a race."

For Rockies Adam Ottavino, the events of Monday served as a stark reminder to Sept. 11, 2001. Ottavino went to Berkeley Carroll High School in Brooklyn and was a sophomore that day.

He said he hopes, after a necessary period of grief and mourning, that people will soon resume their daily routines without fear of what might happen randomly while enjoying the fruits of freedom in public places.

"One of the worst things you can do is to hide and be scared, not live your life," Ottavino said. "One of the big moments from 9/11 was when people started getting back to normal lives, playing baseball again, things like that. It's good for America."

Joe Mauer homers, picks up four hits as Twins rip Angels

AP / ESPN.com – 4/15/13

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota's starting pitching is still undergoing significant repairs.

Kevin Correia, for his part, has given this lagging rotation quite a lift.

Joe Mauer had a home run among his four hits and drove in three runs for the Twins in an 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on a cold, windy Monday night that helped send several fly balls to the deepest parts of Target Field.

Correia (1-1) earned his first American League win after finishing seven innings for the third time in as many starts with the Twins, getting two double-play grounders to help him limit the Angels to solo home runs by Peter Bourjos and former Twins utility infielder Brendan Harris. "The thing that I was most impressed about was early on he didn't really have his best stuff, and he navigated through that lineup with pitches other than our normal game plan. Then he kind of found it later on, which was great," Mauer said.

Albert Pujols went 1 for 4 and Josh Hamilton was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. The Angels, with the sixth-highest payroll in the majors, fell to 4- 9 for the second straight year.

Angels starter Joe Blanton (0-3) was battered again for nine hits, one walk and four runs in 4 2/3 innings. Mauer doubled and scored in the first and led off the fifth inning with a homer to left-center. Trevor Plouffe also went deep off Blanton, and Justin Morneau drove in a run with a double.

Mauer added RBI singles against relievers in the sixth and eighth, when Pedro Florimon also hit a two-run double.

"The ball was carrying better today," Mauer said. "I've been disappointed in previous seasons, but tonight it was just flying a little bit better." Correia gave up eight hits and a walk while striking out five. When he signed a $10 million, two-year contract last winter, it did little to excite Twins fans. But the 32-year-old has been by far their best starter so far with a 2.95 ERA.

"He's not going to wow you with his stuff, but he had a little cutter, changed speeds. Had some movement on his ball," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "I think he pitched a strong game tonight."

Said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire: "He's a very competitive guy, and we see that in him."

~ 12 ~

Correia was supposed to pitch on Sunday, but a blend of snow, sleet and rain led to that game against the being postponed until August. The first-pitch temperature was 38 degrees Monday, actually the third-warmest of six home games for the Twins in this frosty start to the season. The wind was gusting toward center field at 16 mph, and it showed.

Bourjos, the slap-hitting speedster in the leadoff spot for now, sent a drive into the left-center bullpen on Correia's fourth pitch. Harris, whose last major league home run was for the Twins on April 8, 2010, against the Angels, hit one nearby to start the third inning.

"What are you going to do? The first hitter of the game, you can't really pout too much. You've got a long game ahead of you," Correia said. "You've got some really good hitters coming up after him and you've got to get a lot of outs after that, so the easiest thing to do was to kind of shake it off and pretend like it didn't happen."

By the seventh inning?

"Got my body temperature up. Could feel the ball finally," Correia said.

Blanton bore the brunt of the breeze, but he's been throwing a bunch of hittable pitches all month. As one of three newcomers in the rotation with Tommy Hanson and Jason Vargas, Blanton has an 8.59 ERA over three starts. He has allowed 26 hits and six home runs in 14 2/3 innings.

"It's early, but at the same time it's not," Blanton said. "It won't be early long. It's time to start getting deep into games." Garrett Richards, on Saturday, was the only Angels starter to pitch into the seventh inning in 13 games this year. Three-time All-Star Jered Weaver, the staff ace, is out for at least another three weeks because of a broken bone in his left (non-throwing) elbow. Oswaldo Arcia singled in his first major league at-bat for the Twins, but he also dropped a routine pop fly for a two-base error in the seventh inning.

The 21-year-old, one of the organization's top outfield prospects, was recalled from Triple-A before the game. He played left field for Josh Willingham, who was sick, but was sent back to Rochester after the game when Wilkin Ramirez was reinstated from the paternity leave list. "It was fun to watch him walk to the plate," Gardenhire said.

Game notes

Vargas (0-1, 4.76 ERA) will pitch for the Angels on Tuesday against Mike Pelfrey (1-1, 7.36). ... Arcia was the first Twins player to debut before age 22 since Francisco Liriano in 2005. Mauer, in 2004, is the only other to do so since 2000. ... Harris went 117 at-bats between homers. He's gone deep 30 times in 1,603 career at-bats.

Wearing No. 42 with pride, MLB honors Jackie

AJ Cassavell / Twinsbaseball.com – 4/16/13

Even without the matching No. 42 jerseys worn throughout baseball and without Monday's pregame festivities across the country, Jackie Robinson's historic legacy would have remained apparent around the baseball world.

One needs to look only at the on-field diversity to see it clearly.

But every year on April 15 -- the anniversary of Robinson's breaking the color barrier in 1947 -- the baseball world spends a day reinforcing the importance of that legacy by celebrating Jackie Robinson Day.

In 1997, under the direction of Commissioner , Robinson's No. 42 was retired across all of Major League Baseball in an unprecedented tribute. In recent years, players have honored Robinson by wearing that number on his day.

"You look out on the field, and everybody has 42 on with no last name. It's just a special moment and a special day for baseball," Nationals center fielder Denard Span said before the Nats-Marlins game in Miami. "And not just baseball -- I think just for the as a whole, because he broke so many barriers, period, in baseball and other walks of life. He's definitely a figure that should be celebrated forever." ~ 13 ~

Dodger Stadium hosted the biggest fanfare of the evening, with a special video before the in-game tribute and a mini statue -- featuring Robinson, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe -- handed out to the first 40,000 fans. On hand for the ceremonies were Jackie's widow, Rachel; his daughter, Sharon; and his son, David.

The at Dodger Stadium was thrown by actor Harrison Ford, who played -- the general manager who gave Robinson the opportunity to shatter the color barrier -- in the movie "42."

"Jackie Robinson probably opened the door to a lot of those guys, too -- and me," Dodgers part owner Magic Johnson said before his team's series against the Padres. "If Jackie hadn't played for the Dodgers, I don't think I'd be an owner of the Dodgers."

In Cincinnati, Phillies Jimmy Rollins took the wearing of No. 42 a step further, sporting custom-made blue cleats with the number across the heel.

Before his club's game against the Reds, Rollins tweeted: "66 years ago today Jackie Robinson opened the door for all men to be able to play Major League Baseball! Thank you".

In Miami, former Brooklyn Dodgers ball boy Norman Berman threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Now 85 years old and a resident of West Palm Beach, Fla., Berman reflected on Robinson's character during his playing career.

"He was intelligent -- college man," Berman said. "He played three or four different sports, and he was so great to talk to. He always had a smile on his face when he talked to me. I told him, 'I wanted to be a ballplayer. I just had to gain some weight.'

"Then we'd have a catch. I'd never go to him when he was playing pepper with the other guys, or if he was talking to somebody -- only when he was alone. Sometimes, when he was alone, I'd take the ball and throw it up in the air and catch it. That was my call to him. 'Could we have a chance now?' He'd say, 'Yeah.'"

Teams with Monday off will honor Robinson on Tuesday with similar celebrations across the country.

On Monday, umpires across baseball also donned No. 42 patches on their sleeves for the occasion, and on each of the bases at home ballparks was a logo commemorating the day.

"We're wearing the number 42 on the back tonight; a lot of people might not know what it really means," Blue Jays reliever Darren Oliver said.

"But I think a lot of people should … for what he did. How hard it would be to actually be the first black person to play baseball and go through all the stuff that he went through off the field, and on the field."

Angels Howie Kendrick echoed Oliver's sentiment.

"Wearing '42' just reminds me that there were no blacks in baseball at one point," Kendrick said, "and what Jackie Robinson endured -- all the threats, all the criticism he received from various sources -- to still go out and play the game, give all of us an opportunity to play the game, it was a huge impact on baseball. As a kid, I didn't really know a whole lot about Jackie Robinson, but the older I got, I really understood because I was really into baseball, and I really understood what he did. Basically, he's the reason why I'm here."

Remembering Robinson's legacy is a daily occurrence for Astros manager Bo Porter, who helped honor Robinson in Oakland, where two local Jackie Robinson Foundation alumnus scholars threw out the ceremonial first pitches.

"It's always meaningful when this day comes around," Porter said. "For me, though, it's every day. I was able to play, coach and manage baseball because of him. He means a lot to this country, and for me, I honor him every day."

~ 14 ~

Mired in slow start, Hicks gets break from lineup

Rhett Bollinger / Twinsbaseball.com – 4/16/13

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks was held out of the starting lineup for second time this season on Monday against the Angels to get a chance to regroup for a couple of days, as Sunday's game was postponed due to weather.

Hicks, though, came into the game as a defensive replacement for Oswaldo Arcia in the eighth inning. He drew a walk in the bottom of the eighth and picked up his first career stolen base before scoring on a double from Pedro Florimon.

But Hicks is still off to a slow start this season, hitting just .047 (2-for-43) with four walks and a Major League-high 20 strikeouts. Darin Mastroianni made just his second start of the year in center field in Hicks' absence and went 1-for-5 with a stolen base and a run.

"I wanted to play Mastroianni," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said before the game. "He's been sitting for a while. He last played in Kansas City, but we had a day off and yesterday off."

Gardenhire said the Twins will continue to be patient with Hicks, who spent time before the game working with hitting coach Tom Brunansky. "I just want him to be able breathe a little bit and get back to his routine with Bruno," Gardenhire said. "So we'll go from there."

Twins hold Jackie Robinson Day pregame celebrations

Rhett Bollinger / Twinsbaseball.com – 4/16/13

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins celebrated the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier with a ceremony before Monday's game against the Angels.

All players from the Twins and Angels, as well as on-field personnel, wore Robinson's No. 42 during the game. In 1997, under the direction of Commissioner Bud Selig, Robinson's No. 42 was retired across all of Major League Baseball in an unprecedented tribute.

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau said he felt honored to wear No. 42 again, especially after watching the film, "42," in a special screening in Fort Myers, Fla., last month. Morneau was surprised to see himself in the movie, as he's featured near the end in a scene that shows big leaguers running onto the field wearing No. 42 on Jackie Robinson Day.

"He might be the most important player who has ever put on a uniform," Morneau said. "So it's good that his story is being told again and that on April 15 every year we get to celebrate what he meant to this country."

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire also saw the movie on Sunday night and came away impressed with the film and what Robinson stands for. "It was a really neat movie," Gardenhire said. "It was emotional for me seeing all the history of Jackie and what he went through. It's just an emotional movie. The baseball parts were OK, but the movie itself and everything about it was really cool."

Arcia sent back to Triple-A after Major League debut

Rhett Bollinger / Twinsbaseball.com – 4/16/13

MINNEAPOLIS -- Oswaldo Arcia's first trip to the Major Leagues was a brief one.

Arcia, ranked as the No. 93 overall prospect and as the Twins' No. 5 prospect, was recalled from Triple-A Rochester before Monday's game against the Angels but was optioned immediately after the game. Arcia took the place of Wilkin Ramirez, who was placed on the paternity list on Sunday, but will rejoin the Twins on Tuesday.

~ 15 ~

"It was fun to watch him walk to the plate, but he'll get plenty of opportunities if he continues doing what he was doing in the Minor Leagues," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's just one of those things where we brought him up here for a reason to get an at-bat and help us for a game or two."

Arcia, who started in left field and batted seventh, wasted no time getting his first big league hit, as he singled against Angels right-hander Joe Blanton in his first at-bat and reached second on an error by right fielder Josh Hamilton.

"I was very content," Arcia said through translator and Twins bullpen coach Bobby Cuellar. "I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and I hit it." Arcia ended up going 1-for-3 in his debut but dropped a fly ball in the seventh for an error and was replaced by Aaron Hicks in the top of the eighth inning.

Arcia, 21, said he was notified of the decision that he would be called up to the Twins by Rochester manager Gene Glynn on Saturday after the Red Wings played in a . He added that he told Gardenhire he was willing to play wherever they put him, even though he's mostly been used in right field throughout his Minor League career.

"I told him I was ready to play wherever," Arcia said before the game. "Left field, center, right -- I played all of these all the time in Venezuela."

Gardenhire added that Arcia was originally slated to start at designated hitter, but Josh Willingham came in feeling sick, so Willingham was out of the lineup with Arcia getting the start in left. Ryan Doumit started at DH.

Arcia, who was the organization's Minor League Player of the Year last season, was off to a hot start at Triple-A, hitting .414 with three homers, two doubles and eight RBIs in nine games.

Longtime skipper Scioscia, Gardenhire battle on

William Boor / MLB.com – 4/15/13

Tuesday's game is the second in a three-game set between the two longest tenured managers in baseball. Mike Scioscia took over the Angels in 2000 and Ron Gardenhire, who has a lot of respect for Scioscia, took over the Twins in '02.

"You talk to players who played over there and they just love the way he goes about the game," Gardenhire said. "He's a good one and has always been one of the best in the league and won a and had his team in the playoffs plenty of times. So if you give him the talent, he can do some really good things with it."

The Twins, who snapped a five-game losing streak with Monday's 8-2 victory, will send Mike Pelfrey to the mound. Pelfrey only lasted two innings in his previous start, but is 2-0 against the Angels in his career.

Opposite Pelfrey will be Jason Vargas. The Angels' right-hander is still looking for his first win of 2013. Vargas lasted 5 2/3 innings in his previous start, but he will look to go deep in the game Tuesday, which is something the Angels starters have not been able to do this season. "I think the teams we've faced have been very good offensive clubs," Scioscia said. "It's just one of those things where they're going to grind out at-bats. You only have so many pitches, but you can't let wanting to get deep in a game affect what you're doing out there."

Angels: Callaspo ailing • Alberto Callaspo missed his fourth straight game Monday, but the Angels are hoping the tightness in his right calf will go away and he can avoid a stint on the disabled list.

Twins: Two in a row • Wins have come in pairs so far this season, and Gardenhire's club is hoping to repeat the process and win the series against the Angels on Tuesday.

~ 16 ~

Worth noting: • Chris Iannetta is the only player on the Angels roster with more than 10 plate appearances against Pelfrey. Iannetta has 11 plate appearances against the right-hander and is hitting .333.

• Tuesday's game is expected to be played, but there is a strong chance Wednesday's game -- the series finale -- may be postponed due to inclement weather. Both teams have Thursday off, but the forecast for Thursday isn't promising.

Twins roll behind strong nights from Correia, Mauer

Rhett Boor / MLB.com – 4/16/13

MINNEAPOLIS -- With a starting rotation that logged both the fewest innings and had the worst ERA in the American League last season, the Twins hoped veteran Kevin Correia could provide a boost to their pitching staff.

And while it's only been three starts, Correia has been doing just that for the Twins, and he was at it again on Monday night against the Angels at Target Field.

Correia continued his strong start to the season and was backed by Joe Mauer, who had four hits, including a solo homer and three RBIs, to lift the Twins to an 8-2 win over the Angels to snap a five-game losing streak.

Correia, who has been the club's most consistent starter in the early going this season with a 2.95 ERA, went at least seven innings for his third straight start with the Twins. The right-hander surrendered two runs on eight hits and a walk over seven frames while striking out a season-high five batters to pick up his first win of the year.

"I've been real impressed with him," Mauer said. "He's been the total package. He's even shut down the running game. Today he gave me a chance to throw a guy out. He just changes his looks and keeps competing. He's been a nice pickup for us."

Correia was able to settle down after the Angels scored in a hurry, as Peter Bourjos led off the game with his first career leadoff homer. Correia later served up a homer to former Twins infielder Brendan Harris in the third.

But it was the only damage the Angels could do against Correia, who was happy to help the Twins put an end to their losing streak. "I think it's important for anybody in that situation when you lose five games in a row," Correia said. "But even if you've lost two games in a row you want to stop it as quick as possible."

The Twins also scored early against Angels right-hander Joe Blanton, as Mauer doubled off the wall in right-center field before scoring on a two-out single from Ryan Doumit in the first. Minnesota tied it up in the third, when Justin Morneau laced an RBI double to score Darin Mastroianni, who singled and stole second.

Plouffe gave the Twins the lead for good with a solo shot off Blanton in the fourth inning for his second homer of the season. And Mauer added a solo blast of his own in the fifth against Blanton, who gave up four runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings to get saddled with the loss. "It was a good night," Mauer said. "The ball was carrying better. The balls I hit carried pretty good. I've been disappointed a few times this season, but tonight it was flying a little bit better."

The Twins added another run in the sixth, as Mauer came through with a two-out RBI single off reliever Michael Roth to score , who led off the inning with a walk. Mauer fell just a triple short of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a homer, a double, three RBIs and two runs scored.

"He's a terrific hitter, first of all, but I think he showed what he does," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He used all fields, and when we got some pitches in some zones, Joe struck him out one time, but when for the most part, when we made a mistake, he was on it." Prospect Oswaldo Arcia also made his Major League debut for the Twins, and went 1-for-3 with a single in his first at-bat. But he also dropped a fly ball in the seventh and was replaced by Aaron Hicks in the top of the eighth. He was optioned after the game, as Wilkin Ramirez is set to return from paternity leave on Tuesday.

~ 17 ~

Minnesota added three more runs in the eighth keyed by a two-run double from Pedro Florimon, who scored on Mauer's fourth hit of the game.

"It was one of those ballgames that was fun to watch," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We had some timely hitting with guys in scoring position and ran around the bases. So it was a fun ballgame for us."

Oswaldo Arcia singles, commits error, gets demoted all in one day

Brandon Warne / 1500ESPN.com – 4/15/13

MINNEAPOLIS -- Oswaldo Arcia's big-league dream lasted one game.

Immediately after Monday night's 8-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels, the team announced the highly touted prospect is headed back to Triple-A.

Arcia, 21, singled in the second inning in his first major league at-bat. But he also dropped a routine pop fly for a two-base error in the seventh inning.

Wilkin Ramirez, who welcomed a baby girl Venus with his fiance Karaine, will be reinstated on Tuesday.

"We didn't want to send the kid back down (to Rochester), as hard as it might be, but he'll get plenty of opportunities if he keeps doing what he's been doing in the minor leagues," manager Ron Gardenhire said.

"It was a lot of fun watching him walk up there to the plate. We brought him up for a reason -- to help us out for a game or two -- but Wilkin will be back tomorrow."

Arcia will return to a Triple-A triple-slash of .414/.500/.793, while Ramirez has gone 2 for 11 in five games of action with the Twins.

Morneau honored to be in Robinson biopic ‘42’

Tyler Mason / FSN – 4/15/13

MINNEAPOLIS — If you blinked, you might have missed Minnesota Twins first baseman Justin Morneau's brief cameo in the movie "42," which documents the story of Jackie Robinson's struggle to break baseball's color barrier.

After all, Morneau nearly didn't recognize himself on the big screen when he saw an advanced screening of the film during spring training earlier this year. He was shown on the screen along with several other Major Leaguers during a montage of players wearing the No. 42 jersey, like the Twins, Angels and all other teams in Major League Baseball will be doing on Monday. Morneau was shown from behind as he trotted onto the Target Field grass during a previous Jackie Robinson Day game with his white No. 42 Twins jersey.

Morneau almost didn't recognize himself.

"It was unexpected. My wife looked at me and said, 'That was you.' And it was. I had no idea," Morneau said Monday. "That was pretty cool to be in that, just such an important movie -- not that I really had a role -- but just to see yourself in a movie like that is pretty cool."

The movie "42" was released in theaters on Friday and made more than $27 million at the box office over the weekend. is cast as Jackie Robinson, the man who broke baseball's color barrier to become the first African-American player in the majors when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

Robinson went on to play 10 years in the majors, all with the Dodgers. He was a career .311 hitter and led the league in stolen bases twice. He won the Rookie of the Year award in 1947 and was the National League MVP in 1949. Robinson was eventually elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962 after receiving 77.5 percent of the votes.

~ 18 ~

While Robinson's stats were impressive, his impact on the game of baseball transcended what took place in the box scores. He opened the door for generations of minority players to have a chance to play in the majors.

"I think reading books about him and reading more about his life and learning more about his life, I think you kind of understand the impact that he had on not only baseball but the country itself, moving everyone in the right direction towards equality and all the things that he stood for and everything that he helped to improve in this country," Morneau said. "He might be the most important player to ever put on a uniform. It's good that story's being told again and every April 15 we get to celebrate what he meant to this game and this country."

While Morneau had the opportunity to watch an advanced screening of "42" during spring training, not all of his teammates have seen the movie -- or Morneau's big screen debut. His manager, however, said he enjoyed it.

"I saw a couple things there at the end with their jerseys on. He was proud of that. He should be," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Morneau's cameo. "It was a really neat movie. It was emotional for me watching that movie and seeing the history behind Jackie and what he went through."

Twins Joe Mauer said he plans to see the movie but hasn't yet.

"I knew he was in it, but I didn't hear what it was about," said Mauer, one of Morneau's closest friends on the team. "So no major lines or anything?"

Indeed, Morneau didn't have any lines, but he was featured at the end of a film that tells at least part of the story of one of the most influential players in baseball history. Even though he didn't know he was in it, Morneau was proud to share the same screen as the tale that was told in "42."

If only for a brief second.

"It was so quick and I was so surprised when it happened. It was one of those things you weren't really expecting so it takes you back. I'm thinking, 'That's pretty cool, in a movie depicting something so important," Morneau said. "Obviously we're never going to understand the depth of everything that he went through and the difficulties of his time playing baseball. It will be hard for anyone to really comprehend how difficult that was.

"It's kind of hard to capture that in a movie that's an hour and a half or two hours long, but I thought they did a good job of opening peoples' eyes to some of the difficulties."

Answer Man: Glen Perkins talks Minnesota, sabermetrics, bullpen cars, fishing, deer urine and famous acquaintances

David Brown / Yahoo! – 4/16/13

Born and raised just outside of the Twin Cities, left-hander Glen Perkins of the Minnesota Twins also attended college at Minnesota before being taken in the first round of the 2004 draft by his home-town team. Success at the major league level didn't come quickly; Perkins had a 4.81 ERA over his first 303 innings. Only when the Twins converted him to relief, in 2011, did Perkins begin to thrive.

How is he going to maintain success? By staying humble, staying at one with nature as a fisherman and hunter, staying up on the latest advanced statistics and by running as little as possible. Perkins, who engages fans like few other pro athletes on Twitter, delved into his personal philosophies during a recent Answer Man session inside of the visitor's clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

David Brown: You tweeted Monday night you were watching the national (men’s ) championship game with Eddie Vedder. What?

Glen Perkins: Haha. Yeah, he was in town (in Kansas City) and we had met him last year in Seattle. He was in town to see a friend and we (some of the Twins players) had rented a room just to watch the game and he came by and hung out.

DB: What did you talk about? ~ 19 ~

GP: Really, everything but. We drew parallels about traveling, and what we do — being nervous in front of crowds. He’s a huge sports fan and a basketball fan. We ended up talking a lot about the game.

DB: You also appear to have an online relationship with Dwight Yoakam. Confirm or deny:

GP: Oh, yeah. It’s funny that I tweeted when Robinson Cano switched to Jay-Z [as his agent]. Dwight Yoakam, I’ve listened to him my entire life. His image is about a 180 from Jay-Z, so I tweeted that maybe I should switch my agent to Yoakam. And the next day, I check my phone and he had responded. He’s like, if you move to Los Angeles and play for the Dodgers, maybe we can work this out. So we’ve been going back and forth since. He actually played a concert in Minneapolis a week after we left spring training, which was disappointing because I wanted to go. It would have been fun.

DB: Should he act more?

GP: Yes, no question about it. I know he’s done a few things, but him in “Wedding Crashers” is one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen.

DB: Let’s say your fondest wish comes true and the Twins buy a bullpen car. What would you want it to look like?

GP: Haha. Well, it would have to be one of our sponsors. So you’d have to check with Arctic Cat or Polaris. One of their side-by-sides. Something for off-road. More than a golf cart.

DB: Don’t you and your wife sponsor a 5K run for cystic fibrosis?

GP: Yes.

DB: And you’re a professional athlete.

GP: Yes.

DB: What’s wrong with running from the bullpen?

GP: Hahaha. She’s a runner. That was her idea. My idea is to run less. She’s running a marathon here in a month. She’s all about running; I’m all about not running. But the 5K is a good way for us to raise money. It’s a cause that’s close to us. It gives her an outlet and I can only be a limited participant in terms of running it, so it’s a good setup. And it was a helluva lot of fun. We had a great time with it last year, I think it’s one of the better events the Twins have.

DB: Getting back to the bullpen car, are you old enough to remember when relievers actually used cars to come into games?

GP: You know, I want to say I am — but it’s probably just from watching ESPN Classic or old videos. I feel like I do, but if I don’t, it probably wasn’t long before I started watching that they used ‘em. It was a thing in the ‘80s. But I do have an idea of what they looked like and the whole thing they had with them.

DB: What’s the longest bullpen walk in the major leagues?

GP: Probably ours. We’re close. I haven’t pitched out of the bullpen at Coors, but that’s a long walk. I’ll bet that one at Petco is long, now that they’ve moved the bullpen and the fences. Ours is out there. We’re like 407, 408 (feet).

DB: Do you get a sense the Twins will ever go for it?

GP: I don’t know, and our president, Dave St. Peter, is active on Twitter as well, so I don’t know if he’s joking or not. I think it would be fun, a cool promotion. It’s not something that is going to catch back on. It would be fun, maybe one time, if you get a sponsor and make something out of it.

~ 20 ~

DB: Would you want to drive yourself?

GP: NO!

DB: You need a chauffeur.

GP: I think that’s the point. You’re doing nothing.

DB: It would be funny to drive in and just leave it running.

GP: Haha. That’s the other thing! What to do with it once you’re in the game?

DB: Your manager, Gardy, driving it back?

GP: Haha!

DB: How much personal courage did it take to out yourself as a sabermatrician stat head?

GP: Not much, because if you at least know what you’re talking about, you can at least hold your own, I guess. For me, it was just logical. It’s like anything else: If it’s something you believe in, something that makes sense to you — then that’s you’re belief, whatever it might be. Most of it makes sense. Most of it’s smart. Most of it is, I think, legit. When I started reading about it all, I said, “Well this makes sense to me.”

DB: So it was the logic that first appealed to you.

GP: I was a math guy in college. I’ve always liked math, so it’s got a lot to do with that, too. To me, you read it and it adds up...

DB: Do you agree that BABIP (batting average on balls in play) might be misleading?

GP: In what way?

DB: I just read a Baseball Prospectus post on BABIP by Russell Carleton that says we haven’t been fully understanding what the data tells us — for example, not taking into account that pitchers have a degree of control on how hard a ball is hit. GP: Yeah, I get that. There are certain things… I think the way you have to look at it is, it’s taking the fielders out of it. We just played the Rays, and they’re a team that uses a defensive shift. And that’s going to suppress a guy’s [batting] average on balls in play. You have to look at it more simply, as something that takes fielders out of the equation. So I get where it could be misleading, because some teams shift and some don’t.

DB: Does your postseason appearance (in 2006) seem like ages ago?

GP: Yes. What did I make that year? Like, three appearances? Four? I pitched against the Red Sox, the Orioles [twice] and I pitched against the White Sox. So my fifth career appearance was in the playoffs. I’ve been around a long time [laughs]. It does seem like a long time ago.

DB: Nerves?

GP: It really hit by facing Frank Thomas. Growing up in the ‘90s, him and Griffey were the guys. And I’m out there, I’ve got two weeks in the big leagues and I’m facing Frank Thomas in the playoffs. There were some nerves there. He hit a double.

DB: One of the first pictures that comes up after doing an internet search of you, is of you holding a shark. What is the story?

GP: We do shark fishing in Ft. Myers during spring training, just off the shore. I don’t know how it got on the Internet to be honest. But it is.

DB: So that wasn’t an accident, catching a shark?

~ 21 ~

GP: Oh, no. Steve Liddle, our old bench coach, and some of the guys were into shark fishing, and I started tagging along. We’ve gotten some good ones. It’s something to do in spring training; we’ve got a lot of down time. We just throw them right back. It’s not the kind of thing you’d keep.

DB: It wasn’t a great white, but was it scary at all?

GP: When they get bigger — that one wasn’t very big, probably a 3, 3 1/2 footer — but we’ve gotten 6-footers. They’re big. Even those are so strong. They’re fun to catch. You’ve just got to be careful.

DB: Whose idea was it to have the autographed Glen Perkins fishing lure?

GP: That’s a Twins promotion. I think they’ve done a fishing lure for a long time, for a few years. Last year it was Matt Capps they put on there, this year it was me. I don’t know if I’ll ever use one, but I put one in my tackle box.

DB: You and Josh Willingham went fishing in spring training and you took a lot of credit for him catching an attractive fish.

GP: I brought him there, and probably did everything but put the bait on his hook.

DB: He’s from Alabama, though. Doesn’t he know how to fish already?

GP: He just never snook-fished. I had learned some good spots down there to find them. They’re like a large-mouth [bass] on steroids. Crazy fight in them. They're fast, and big jumpers.

DB: Are you a crappie man?

GP: Crappie? (pronounced "croppy") I’ll fish for 'em. They’re good eating.

DB: Does deer antler spray help you more as a pitcher or a hunter?

GP: My key to deer hunting is peeing by my stand. I don't mess with the antler.

DB: You pee by the deer stand? I thought doe pee was the big draw?

GP: I pee by the deer stand usually because I can't hold it.

DB: Let’s say we’re going out for dinner to your family’s restaurant, Perkins. What on the menu should we avoid?

GP: The only thing to eat there is the Tremendous Twelve with a warm blueberry muffin and butter. Avoid everything else.

DB: Do people who spell Glen with two N’s not even have the same name as people who spell it with one?

GP: It's not the same name. Just like you can't trust a man with two first names (Joe Nathan, e.g.), you can't trust a Glen with two N's.

DB: How did you know 12 years ago to get your picture taken with Joe Mauer at a regional All-Star game when you guys were 18?

GP: He was just as good then as he is now. I wasn't the only guy that got a picture with him that day. We actually were roommates for that tournament as well.

DB: You grew up like 30 miles from the Metrodome, you went to college in Minneapolis with the Gophers and now you pitch for your hometown team. How likely is this story?

GP: I guess you would have to ask Mauer the same question. It is pretty damn cool though.

~ 22 ~

DB: Did you want to grow up to be Eddie Guardado?

GP: I always liked Eddie. Knowing him now, I think we have a lot in common. Funny side note is, I was actually drafted by the Twins with the pick they got for losing him as a free agent. We will always be connected.

DB: Do you think major league managers are prejudiced against left-handed people being the ?

GP: A lot of them think lefties can't get righties out, so, yeah.

DB: If you were a manager, would you be?

GP: Not if they could get righties out.

DB: Does Jim Thome's blue ox's poop come out blue?

GP: That ox looked ridiculous up close with the blue spray paint. I guess its sh*t would be blue with the right amount of paint.

DB: Can you feel it when you enter the game and circles you? Does the stain come out of the uniform if he gets some on you?

GP: It itches. The clubbies hate trying to get that yellow marker out of our jerseys.

DB: Shouldn’t some Targets be open 24 hours?

GP: Some?! They all should.

DB: What’s it like to have Dairy Queen wish you good luck?

GP: Funny thing was that they didn't take the two seconds to check my profile to see what people were wishing me good luck for, because it was . Dairy Queen was completely oblivious. That was pretty funny, though

DB: How are you personally coping without Denard Span? I don’t think I’d be doing too well.

GP: This is the first year since 2004 that we won't be teammates. It's weird. I unfollowed him on Twitter — I guess that's my coping mechanism.

DB: I noticed that your wife refers to you as “Hubs.” My wife does that on Facebook. Should we tell them to stop, or keep it to ourselves?

GP: I have threatened to block her numerous times on Twitter. She's running out of strikes.

DB: I mixed up Kevin Correia and Kevin Slowey the other day. That happening to you?

GP: No. Slowey is one of my closest friends. Correia is one of the funniest, quirkiest people I have met. They do have that in common.

DB: If the Twins bring back the bullpen car, can they also bring back the giant milk gallon that was inside the Metrodome?

GP: It was a half-gallon and that thing was terrible.

[Editor's note: That ain't no half-gallon, Perkins. And it was awesome]

~ 23 ~

Rochester Red Wings fall to 2-9 for worst start since at least 1966

Jim Mandelaro / DemocratandChronicle – 4/15/13

It has been so long since the Red Wings started a season 2-9 that ... well, even club officials don’t know when it happened last.

It was at least 47 years ago — way back in 1966 — when Bonanza was TV’s top show and a veteran first baseman named Joe Altobelli was getting ready to embark on his first managerial stint in Bluefield, W.Va.

Rochester fell to that unassuming mark Monday night with a 10-1 lopsided loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Frontier Field. The RailRiders rocked Wings starter P.J. Walters for five runs on 13 hits in 6-plus innings, including a three-run homer to right by Zoilo Almonte (4-for-4, walk) in the third.

“Nobody wants to be 2-9,’’ Wings left fielder Brian Dinkelman said. “We’re just having our cold stretch at the beginning instead of the middle.”

The Wings began the night 2-8 following a four-game sweep at Pawtucket — their worst start since the ’98 club began 2-8. But that Marv Foley-managed team won its next three games. No such luck for the current Wings, who threatened often but came up empty Monday. They were 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position (10 left on base) and are now 15-for-91 this season, a woeful .165 average. They have been outscored 29-5 the past four games.

“We need to fight a bit at the plate,” manager Gene Glynn said. “We need to grind it out a bit, more quality at-bats.”

Scranton outhit the Wings 17-10, with Joe Benson accounting for three of Rochester’s hits.

Wings media relations director Tim Doohan pored through media guides and record books dating to 1967 and still couldn’t find a team that started 2-9. The search resumes Tuesday, as the Wings take on the RailRiders in the second game of this eight-game homestand.

Rochester lost its best player on Monday when outfielder Oswaldo Arcia was promoted to the Minnesota Twins. The 21-year-old replaces Wilkin Ramirez, who is on paternity leave for three days.

Taking Arcia’s spot with the Wings is right-hander Liam Hendriks, who was demoted from the Twins and will start Wednesday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Walters allowing one run on three hits in 5 1/3 innings last week against Scranton, but the RailRiders (3-6) had his number Monday. “He left some fastballs up, but he looked strong,” Glynn said of Walters.

The lead grew to 5-0 before the Wings scored in the seventh following a throwing error from catcher Bobby Wilson. They had the bases loaded and one out in the seventh and eighth but couldn’t score.

“We were a couple of hits away from getting back into it,” Dinkelman said. “That’s the way it’s been this season.”

Corban Joseph iced it with a two-run shot off Bruce Pugh and Melka Mesa homered off Daniel Turpen in the ninth.

~ 24 ~