Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Thursday, April 19, 2012 Twins report: Looks like the Justin Morneau of old is back. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 2 Jason Marquis wins in Minnesota twins debut. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 3 Twins 6, Yankees 5: Justin Morneau, Jason Marquis take bite out of Big Apple. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 4 Minnesota Twins: Nick Blackburn’s mystery ailment disappears. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 4 Minnesota Twins designate Luke Hughes for assignment. Pioneer Press (Shipley) p. 5 Bob Sansevere: Jerry Bell’s take on Vikings stadium. Pioneer Press (Sansevere) p. 5 Morneau belts two HRs’ Marquis earns first Twins victory. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 6 Luke Hughes’ next stop: waiver wire. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 7 Three thoughts from LEN3: Morneau, Marquis, spanking the Yankees. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 8 Kuroda knocked around early and often. Associated Press (Fitzpatrick) p. 9 Second helping: Morneau blasts two in win. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 9 Twins designate Hughes for assignment. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 11 Blackburn feels ‘good’, eyes Tuesday start. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 11 Perkins cleared, rejoins Twins in New York. MLB.com (Bollinger) p. 12 Toughness clearly runs in Marquis’ family. MLB.com (Bloom) p. 12 Each in search of ‘W,’ Swarzak, Hughes face off. MLB.com (Meisel) p. 14 Mauer takes cuts of another sort at fan Cave. MLB.com (Kay) p. 15 Twins designate Luke Hughes for assignment to make room for Marquis. 1500ESPN.com (Pelissero) p. 16 Glen Perkins expected to join Twins in New York, could pitch by Friday. 1500ESPN.com (Mackey) p. 17 Twins look to grab rare series win in New York. Associated Press (Staff) p. 17 Twins’ Marquis withstands rough first inning. FSNorth.com (Mason) p. 18 Twins activate Marquis; DFA Luke Hughes. FSNorth.com (Mason) p. 19 Healthy Twins relish two wins in Bronx. FoxSports.com (Rosenthal) p. 19 Twins’ addition of Clete Thomas gives Ben Revere time to develop. MinnPost (Gleeman) p. 21 Prospects’ arms far from protected. MiLB.com (Pentis) p. 22 Top Twitter Mentions p. 23 ~ 1 ~ Twins report: Looks like the Justin Morneau of old is back By: John Shipley, Pioneer Press – 4/18/12 NEW YORK - Justin Morneau hasn't looked like this in a long time - healthy, happy and dangerous. The Twins first baseman launched two Hiroki Kuroda pitches out of the park Wednesday night, April 18, as he drove in three and scored three in a 6-5 victory over the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. "It feels good," he said. "It's been kind of a long road, but obviously it's not the end. Hopefully it's the start of being the hitter I'm used to being." Two season-ending concussions and injuries to his neck, wrist, knee and foot have all conspired to keep Morneau mostly on the bench the past few years. And though he was in the lineup, Morneau wasn't nearly the player he was, say, when he won the 2006 American League Most Valuable Player Award. But with four homers and six RBIs in 11 games this season, he is starting to resemble the player he was before suffering a serious concussion on July 10, 2010, when he was kneed in the head while breaking up a double play in Toronto. He was batting .345 with 18 homers, 25 RBIs and 56 RBIs that day but hasn't been healthy since. Last year, he struggled through 69 games, finishing with a .227 batting average, four homers and 30 RBIs. Morneau played his 10th game as the designated hitter Wednesday, but on Monday he played first base, something he hopes to be doing full-time sometime soon. "The other day was the first step in hopefully getting out there consistently," he said. "The ultimate goal is to be out there healthy playing every day. So whether that's first base or DHing, whatever they need me to do, I'm willing to do it. It was a good first step." Splitter key Matt Capps earned his third save in three opportunities on Wednesday, and though he gave up a solo home run to Derek Jeter, he also threw his best split-fingered fastballs of the season. He added the pitch in spring training. With downward movement and coming in roughly 6 mph slower than his 94 mph fastball, it proved effective. "The game's constantly evolving," Capps said. "(Batters) are making adjustments on me, and I have to find a way to counteract that, make an adjustment to them." After Jeter's opposite field homer to right-center, Capps struck out Curtis Granderson on a splitter away for the second out. "I was pleased with it," he said. "I threw a couple of them for strikes, and got a swing and miss with one. That's kind of what you want." Briefly Left-hander Glen Perkins (forearm) threw a 40-pitch bullpen Wednesday morning and flew to New York in time to watch the Twins' victory from the dugout. He should be available tonight. ... Prospect Carlos Gutierrez was placed on Rochester's DL Wednesday with an injury to the labrum in his right shoulder, Ryan said. Gutierrez, who left his last appearances with shoulder pain, will be sent to the team's training facility in Fort Myers, Fla. ~ 2 ~ Jason Marquis wins in Minnesota twins debut By: John Shipley, Pioneer Press – 4/18/12 NEW YORK - Surviving a three-run first inning against one of the best offenses in baseball is a daunting task for any pitcher, yet still not as daunting as what Jason Marquis and his family, particularly his young daughter Reese, have gone through in the past month. Reese, 7, nearly died after a bicycle accident in mid-March. But after four surgeries and weeks of hospitalization, she was able to watch her father start, and win, his first game with the Minnesota Twins in a 6-5 victory Wednesday night, April 18, at Yankee Stadium. So while hanging on to a one-run lead with the bases loaded in the first inning, Marquis was not about to buckle. "You hear all those little phrases, 'It's not how many times you get knocked down but how many times you get up,' " Marquis said. "It's something I learned over the years from my family, my teammates and my friends; that's what I try to instill with my kids. Obviously, this situation with my daughter, she was able to do some amazing things in terms of recovery. What she went through, no kid should ever go through, let alone an adult. "She's come out of it better, and that's the mentality I try to take out on the mound. Just like that first inning, you can't give in, you've got to keep making pitches and positive things will come." It wasn't easy, but the Twins got what they were looking for, taking a 2-1 series lead and a chance to win their first series at Yankee Stadium since 2001 into Thursday night's series finale. Though he nearly squandered a 4-0 lead in the first inning, Marquis (1-0) rebounded and earned the victory, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings. "That was a hard five innings," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "And as I expected, when we went to take him out, he said, 'I've got more.' I told him that's good enough for tonight. He's had a lot going on." Marquis' previous two starts were with the Twins' Class AA team in New Britain, Conn., a convenient locale because it's two hours from his home in Staten Island - in between he was able to be home with his family while Reese recovered. He stayed in New York until the Twins came here for this four-game series, and when he pitched on Wednesday - his first start in Yankee Stadium - he brought roughly 60 friends and family members with him. In the grand scheme of things, that was victory enough. Still, beating the Yankees didn't hurt, especially the way he and his teammates did it. In the first inning, Minnesota tagged New York starter Hiroki Kuroda (1-2) for four runs on five hits, including a two-run homer by Justin Morneau, the first of two he hit Wednesday. Marquis nearly gave it right back, allowing five of the first six Yankees to reach in the bottom half. But with the bases loaded and the Twins ahead 4-3, he got Eric Chavez to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. The Yankees added one more run off Marquis, but the Twins never trailed. Morneau added a solo home run in the fifth, his fourth homer of the year, and finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs and three runs scored. "The biggest story of the game was Marquis coming back," Morneau said. Upstaging Morneau on such a night isn't easy, especially considering his own health battles the past few years, but Marquis - and his daughter - managed to do it. "Win or lose, I go home, she has a smile on her face; that's the great thing about it," he said. "I don't think they know from winning or losing...but to see where she is now from where she was a month ago is nothing short of amazing. To just be out on that mound, knowing that she's safe, is definitely the place where I wanted to be." ~ 3 ~ Twins 6, Yankees 5: Justin Morneau, Jason Marquis take bite out of Big Apple By: John Shipley, Pioneer Press – 4/18/12 RECAP: Justin Morneau homered twice, and Jason Marquis survived a three-run first to win his Twins debut as Minnesota held off New York in front of 36,831 at Yankee Stadium.