Twins beat Indians

The Twins continued their quest for the playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Indians on Friday night. At this moment the Twins trail the White Sox (Central) and Red Sox (Wild Card) each by a half game. ESPN also puts their chances at making the playoffs at 49.8%

Three Stars:
Joe Mauer - 1 for 4, 2-run HR. Mauer's 7th HR of the year - his 6th against LHP - was the "hit of the game". It looks like Mauer is developing more power... at least we're hoping he is.
Nick Blackburn - 7 IP, 6 H, BB, ER, 2 K. Blackburn continues to get it done. The rotation is definitely going to be a strength for years to come.
Brendan Harris - 2 for 3, RBI, R, 2 2B. Harris continues to be a doubles machine, and he's been on a tear for the last six weeks.

*NOTABLE:
Randy Ruiz picked up his first major-league hit tonight. After calling for his release from Rochester earlier this year, I've come full-circle and have been calling for his promotion the last couple of weeks. It finally came; and you could tell he was nervous. I expect him to continue to be the regular DH against LHP.

I mentioned earlier that the Twins would have five spots open on their 40-man roster when the season concludes. I expect a few others - that will remain nameless - will be taken off of the 40-man. At this point there are handful of guys that I can almost guarantee will be added, therefore safe from the Rule V draft: AAA P's Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak, AAA INF Trevor Plouffe and AA INF Luke Hughes. There are many other players who have a case to be added. This is the closest I've followed the Twins minor leagues, so I'm not going to try to guess any more... but it will continue to be interesting watching what roster moves the Twins make.

Slowey tomorrow and the Franchise on Sunday... should be a great weekend!