Series Preview: Twins at White Sox

Schedule (all games on FSN)

• Monday: 7:10pm, Francisco Liriano vs. Gavin Floyd
• Tuesday: 7:10pm, Cole De Vries vs. Jose Quintana
• Wednesday: 1:10pm, Nick Blackburn vs. Jake Peavy

Weather Update

Like Minneapolis, or a junior high dance, the weather in Chicago's scheduled to be warm, sticky, and unsettled. Thunderstorms are possible all three days of this series, so don't be surprised to see some delayed baseball.

Twins Notes

• Ryan Doumit became the first Twin since Chili Davis in 1992 to homer from both sides of the plate on Sunday. The only other Twin to accomplish the feat was Roy Smalley, who did it at the Metrodome in 1986. Coincidentally, Davis also pulled off the homer switcheroo in Kansas City, albeit in October when the ball wasn't sailing so nicely.
• The Twins are one of only three American League teams that are not within four games of a playoff spot. On the bright side, they're just a game back of Seattle and a half-game back of Kansas City, and if they can leapfrog the Mariners, they might be as few as ten back.
• Trevor Plouffe missed another game with a bruised right thumb, but Ron Gardenhire told our friends at ESPN Radio that the team's hoping for the third baseman to return tonight.
• Proud father Justin Morneau is also scheduled to return to the club in Chicago, likely on Tuesday, which seems slightly sad. Stay at home with the kiddos, Justin. It's gotta be more fun than sweating to death in Chicago. Morneau's new son is named Martin, and with a name like Martin Morneau, he is clearly going to be playing left wing for the Winnipeg Jets in 2035. Mark it down now.
• Nick Blackburn starts Wednesday, and said that he took his demotion to Rochester as an opportunity to look at some video, and so I'd like to take this opportunity to tell the Twins that I would be happy to buy a VCR or a Betamax or a DVD player or whatever for the clubhouse up here in the major leagues, because I really think it would be useful.

White Sox Notes

• Boy howdy, do the Sox need some wins. Chicago's lost five in a row, and just got swept under the rug by the Tigers over the weekend, turning a game-and-a-half division lead into a game-and-a-half deficit. The Whities are 3-7 since the break. Even the previously-untouchable Chris Sale got bombed on Saturday, giving up five runs and losing to Rick Porcello.
• Part of the problem is in the bullpen, where the Sox currently have six - SIX - rookies on staff. Jesse Crain is returning from the disabled list, which will help, but you can read about all of the gory details of the Sox bullpen rookies here.
  
• Gavin Floyd returns from the 15-day DL tonight, where he's been languishing with right elbow tendinitis. To make room for both Crain and Floyd, they optioned Dylan Axelrod and Donnie Veal to Triple-A, assuming that those are real people, which we do not believe for one second.
  
• Saturday, Chicago traded two prospects for Astros closer Brett Myers. Myers is 19-for-20 in save situations this year, and I think we can all agree that we're shocked that Houston had as many as 20 save opportunities this year. No word yet on whether Myers will become the new closer, or whether Chicago will stick with Addison Reed.