Thursday, April 19, 2007

Hunter still recovering; out of the lineup

Torii Hunter is taking another day off to rest his shoulder. I saw him after he took some swings in the batting cage, and he said he felt really good. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said he thinks Hunter will return to the lineup tomorrow against Kansas City.

Nick Punto has returned to third base and the second spot in the order. Gardenhire opted to use both his catchers for the second day in row, this time putting Joe Mauer (who turns 24 today) behind the plate to catch Johan Santana and Mike Redmond in the DH slot. Josh Rabe got the start in left field, and Jason Tyner's back in center filling in for Hunter.

The sun is shining in Seattle today and the roof at Safeco Field is open. That means that around 4:30, according to hitting coach Joe Vavra, it will get wicked tough to see the ball through the shadows. Right now the shade is such that the batter is in the sun but the catcher is not.