Closer Matt Capps, after a week of attempted rest, is headed to the disabled list. He won't be back until after the All-Star break. In his place, both Glen Perkins and Jared Burton picked up saves last week.
The Twins finished interleague play 9-9, their best record in three years. The team hasn't finished above .500 against the NL since 2009, when they were 12-6 and had just about the best cumulative interleague record in baseball.
Minnesota has won four consecutive one-run games, the team's only four wins in their last 11.
Trevor Plouffe is hitting .351 / .412 / .805 with ten home runs in June, which means that he is playing better than he is able.
Let's all congratulate Scott Diamond, who - barring some kind of designated-hitter foolishness - will finish with the only hit of 2012 by a Twins pitcher. For the season, he is only one base hit behind Luke Hughes and Sean Burroughs, and just three behind Clete Thomas.
The Sox are coming off a 6-9 stretch in interleague play, but still lead the AL Central by a half-game. Over the weekend in Milwaukee, they beat the Brewers two out of three, in a series that included a pair of 1-0, 10-inning games (with each team winning one.)
Kevin Youkilis is likely to make his White Sox debut tonight. He has a career .859 OPS against the Twins, but an abysmal .527 mark in eight games at Target Field. South Side Sox is happy with the trade, calling it "an exchange of disappointments."
Youkilis will replace the very loud Orlando Hudson as everyday third baseman. O-Hud, who will move into a utility role, says he would have made the trade, too.
Keep an eye on Chris Sale, as the skinny lefthander is still making his transition to starting. He's 8-2 with an impressive 2.24 ERA, and has allowed three earned runs or fewer in all but one start this year, including two eight-inning, no-run starts this month.
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