Justin Morneau

The Twins say first baseman Justin Morneau will miss several games with mild concussion symptoms. He jammed his shoulder diving for ball Sunday and starting experiencing headaches Monday. He's expected to take another concussion test today.

Twins edged the Detroit Tigers 6-5 Wednesday night to win 2 of 3 games against Detroit this week. Justin Morneau had a 2-out 2-run single with the bases loaded in the 9th inning to break the 4-all tie. Joe Nathan allowed an earned run in the 9th inning but still records the save, his 11th. Matt Capps helped bail out an ineffective Glen Perkins in the 8th inning to get the win.

The Twins took the day off Thursday and will begin a 3-game series at Cleveland against the Indians tonight at 6:05, pregame on WJON at 5:35. Righthander Carl Pavano (6-9) gets the start on the mound for the Twins and righthander Justin Masterson (9-7) toes the rubber for the Indians.

The Twins got 2nd baseman Alexi Casilla and first baseman Justin Morneau back Friday night but it appears to be too late. The Twins are 9 1/2 games back of Detroit, 13 games under 500 and need to catch 3 teams in the standings. If Morneau and Casilla were back when the Twins are just 5 games back in the standings things would be different but there not. It will seem surreal to see Mauer and Morneau hitting back to back in the lineup.

The Twins activated 2nd baseman Alexi Casilla from the 15-day disabled list after the game Wednesday night and optioned infielder Trevor Plouffe to triple-A Rochester. Casilla has been out with a hamstring strain. Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire says the Twins will activate 1st baseman Justin Morneau off the 15-day disabled list Friday.

The Twins have been doing well of-late, but if they want to continue that, they need to get and stay healthy. If they do, it could be one heck of a second half of the season.

The Twins got some good news on first baseman Justin Morneau. He had successful neck surgery to relieve a pinched nerve and expects to rejoin the team in August. Outfielder Denard Span will travel with the Twins to Chicago this week as he recovers from a concussion. No timetable for Spans return yet.

The Twins have won 7 straight games and are doing it with mostly a make-shift lineup. Twins fans would love to see this continue but without proven major leaguers it seems unlikely. If the Twins get players like Morneau, Thome, Kubel and Span back they should be fine. Alexi Casilla's hot streak continues but past history tell us that will end.

The Detroit Tigers beat the Twins 8-7 Tuesday night in Detroit. The Tigers scored a run in the 7th inning to tie the game at 7 before Detroit pulled ahead with a run in the 8th inning. Brandon Boesch had the go-ahead sacrifice fly against Twins' reliever Phil Dumatrait in the 8th inning for the Tigers. Justin Morneau hit 2 homeruns and drove in 3 runs for the Twins.

The Twins scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning but came up short in their comeback attempt and fall to the L.A. Angels 6-5 Sunday afternoon at Target Field. Denard Span and Justin Morneau each singled a run in in the 9th inning but Michael Cuddyer flew out to centerfield to end the game. Span and Morneau each had 3 hits and Morneau drove in 2 runs for Minnesota.