--INF Matt Macri, boarding a flight to meet Class AAA Rochester after being optioned Wednesday, was contacted at the Minneapolis airport and told to meet the Twins' flight to Chicago instead. He will be activated again Friday to replace INF Nick Punto.
--OF Aaron Hicks, a switch hitter from Woodrow Wilson High in Long Beach, Calif., was the first of three picks by the Twins in the amateur draft's first 31 selections Thursday. Hicks batted .473 with 50 runs scored and 37 stolen bases during his senior season. The Twins selected Carlos Gutierrez, a 22-year-old closer from the University of Miami, with the 27th pick, and RHP Shooter Hunt from Tulane with the 31st pick. --RHP Kevin Slowey last ran the bases in 2005 at Winthrop University, but he was manager Ron Gardenhire's best choice as a pinch runner for C Mike Redmond on Thursday. "You revert to Little League form -- just stick to the basics," said Slowey, who advanced to second base but got no further.
--RHP Scott Baker threw 99 pitches in just five innings, an indication that he's still a little rusty after missing a month with a groin injury. But Baker got better as his outing went on, allowing just five hits and two runs while walking only one. He also reported no lingering soreness from his injury.
--2B Alexi Casilla collected three hits and drove in a run during Thursday's loss, but he missed two chances to tie the score. Casilla grounded into a double play with two runners on in the seventh inning and struck out to end the game with the tying runner on second base.
BY THE NUMBERS: .325 -- Twins' on-base percentage through June 1, a 20-point improvement over where they were on May 2, when they ranked last in the American League. They had moved up to a tie for eighth through Sunday. Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra said the lineup, from top to bottom, is trusting themselves more in their ability to work deep into counts. "I didn't really think that was going to happen for us, that they were going to trust themselves and get deep into counts," Vavra said.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Sure, I would rather have had a shutout. If only we had somebody fast in center field, I feel like we would have nailed it down." -- Kevin Slowey, joking after speedy center fielder Carlos Gomez was unable to track down a fly ball in Kansas City that dropped for a hit and ruined Slowey's bid for a complete game shutout. Slowey settled for a complete game instead.
