Brian Duensing News

Alex Avila reacts after being hit by a pitch from Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Brian Duensing during the ninth inning of Sunday's game in Minneapolis.

Alex Avila left Sunday's 5-2 victory over the Twins in the ninth inning on Sunday, after being hit by a Brian Duensing pitch just above the left wrist.

It was tempting to elevate the Royals into the first slot this weeka until I considered that the TIGERS were one strike away from taking the rubber game on Wednesday at Kansas City and reversing their recordsa We have been begging Jose Valverde to throw his splitter more, I guess maybe he knew better than we did after all, eh?..

Clete Thomas batted .362 in April at Class AAA Rochester. As Aaron Hicks' big league baptism was getting rough, Thomas looked more and more like a viable option -- although he wasn't on the Twins' 40-man roster at the time.

If you weren't able to watch tonight's game, you missed out on a really good one.

When right-hander Casey Fien came running in from the bullpen in the top of the eighth inning Tuesday night, only to be sent back out in exchange for left-hander Brian Duensing, it was a strange moment all the way around.

College baseball fans are urged to check out the city's riverfront parks instead of the downtown park that's undergoing renovation to dredge the lagoon and install new trails and lighting.

College baseball fans are urged to check out the city's riverfront parks instead of the downtown park that's undergoing renovation to dredge the lagoon and install new trails and lighting.

Jake Huscroft said he wants to make new sponsor Brian Duensing proud. "But I don't think there's any added pressure on us this season," he said.

RECAP: Justin Morneau greeted left-handed specialist Antonio Bastardo with a line single up the middle, scoring Jamey Carroll with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth.

Caleb Thielbar's road to the big leagues has not been an easy one, but a detour to the St. Paul Saints in 2011 has put the lefty in good hands When pitchers and catchers reported to Fort Meyers in February for spring training, at first, the bullpen of the Minnesota Twins was not something that was not going to be tinkered with too much.

If there is a group of professionals that gets as excited about Major League Baseball's draft as the players and teams themselves, it might be car salesmen.

Ryan Doumit homered and drove in a pair of runs Tuesday night, sending the Minnesota Twins to a 3-0 victory and the Kansas City Royals to their franchise-record 11th straight home loss.

MLB Team Report - Minnesota Twins - INSIDE PITCH In a perfect world, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire would have a seven-man bullpen.

RHP Kevin Correia started out the season strong with a 3-1 mark, but he's struggled of late.

Editor's Note: Mark Wilson has been an area scout for the Twins for 13 years. A Chisago Lakes native who covers the Upper Midwest scouted and signed several Twins, including Joe Mauer, Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing.

Trevor Plouffe was officially activated from the seven-day concussion disabled list before Wednesday's game against the Brewers but was a late scratch from the lineup because of left calf tightness.

Twins 6, Brewers 5 : Rookie Aaron Hicks doubled to lead off the 14th inning and scored the go-ahead run on Eduardo Escobar 's pinch-hit sacrifice fly as visiting Minnesota swept the two-game interleague series.

Kevin Correira earned a six-inning victory and Ryan Doumit supplied a key two-run single Monday in Minnesota's 6-3 interleague triumph over Milwaukee.

P.J. Walters pitched six efficient innings in his first start of 2013 Saturday and Minnesota broke a 10-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over Detroit.