--RHP Luis Ayala finished Wednesday's 8-3 victory over Tampa Bay by allowing a ninth-inning run, breaking his streak of four scoreless appearances. After opening the season by allowing runs to score in four of his first six outings, Ayala seemed to have regained manager Ron Gardenhire's trust by reducing his ERA from 9.00 to 5.40. Still, Ayala is rarely used in close games; the Twins are just 3-8 in games he pitches.
--C Joe Mauer arrived at the Metrodome during Wednesday's game after an extra month in Florida spent recovering from an inflamed sacroiliac joint in his lower back, an injury that caused him to miss spring training. Mauer was checked by team doctors and will be activated before Friday's game against the Royals. Manager Ron Gardenhire said he anticipates returning Mauer to his familiar No. 3 spot in the Twins' lineup. --CF Carlos Gomez became a father Wednesday when his wife, Gerandy, gave birth to a 7-pound, 1-ounce boy, which the couple named Yendel. Gomez, who was in Florida for the birth, will rejoin the Twins on Friday.
BY THE NUMBERS: 17 -- Minnesota's win April 24 in Cleveland was the first time in 17 games to start the season that the team did not trail at least once.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I said I thought it was a mechanical thing, and he said it's not mechanical, so then the only other thing is he stinks. Right now, he stinks. He's not pitching good. I learned that from Lou Piniella. You give them an out, they change it up, then he stinks right now. Right now, not all the time, but right now he does. And he needs to unstink. That's all I know about how to fix him. He's got to unstink because it's not mechanical. OK? There you have it. That's managing 101." -- Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, after learning RHP Scott Baker disagreed with the skipper's diagnosis of the starter's woes as a mechanical problem.
