DETROIT – As the Red Sox finished their four-game series at Comerica Park and departed Detroit on Monday, the Twins moved in. But not without a few precautions first.

The Twins contacted the Tigers and asked the clubhouse staff to do some extra disinfecting in the visitor's locker room Monday night, and requested similar work be done at the team's suburban hotel. At least a half-dozen Red Sox players — call them the Red Tox — were stricken by the flu in the past week, and it raised some concerns among Minnesota's players.

"Yeah, we talked about it a little bit," righthander Phil Hughes said. "I texted Mike Herman yesterday to ask if they were going to do something about it, and he said they already were in contact" with the Tigers.

Herman, the Twins' director of team travel, was assured by Detroit's staff that unusual precautions had been taken to make sure no flu virus would linger in the clubhouse. But the Twins also are staying at the same hotel here — in fact, they stayed in Chicago on Sunday because there weren't enough rooms available until the Red Sox checked out Monday — so the team voiced the same concerns there.

"The hotel said they sent an alert to all their housekeepers: Deep-clean any Red Sox rooms," Herman said. "The good news was that a couple of the sickest guys didn't even make the trip."

Pitcher Robbie Ross Jr. was even placed on the disabled list because of the flu, and outfielder Andrew Benintendi began throwing up midway through during Saturday's game. Hanley Ramirez and Mitch Moreland also missed time, and even Boston's TV play-by-play man, Dave O'Brien, had to leave the booth because of illness.

"Someone offered me Lysol Wipes this morning. I'm not a person who overly reacts to those things, but you kind of use common sense," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "It's unfortunate the Red Sox went through that, but hopefully it's not an issue for us."

Both catchers start

The Twins only carry two catchers, and managerial superstition says one of them should always be on the bench, just in case. But Molitor penciled in Jason Castro behind the plate Tuesday, while backup catcher Chris Gimenez played first base.

It's risky, he knows. "There's always a chance both guys can get hurt. Worst case scenario, they run into each other," Molitor said.

He hadn't envisioned this situation a month ago, but now he finds himself without a true backup first baseman. "I thought there was a fairly high chance that either [ByungHo] Park or [Kennys] Vargas was going to be here," Molitor said. "But as that situation unfolded, it became more obvious there was a chance [Gimenez] was going to get a little bit more time playing at other positions than just catching."

Etc.

• Park was placed on the seven-day disabled list at Class AAA Rochester because of a strained right hamstring. He was hitting .375 through four games.

• MLB Network was scheduled to televise Thursday's Twins-Tigers finale to cable systems in Minnesota, but cancelled those plans Tuesday. The game will be broadcast only on radio (93.6-FM) in the Twin Cities.

• Glen Perkins reported no problems after throwing 25 pitches at the Twins' Fort Myers headquarters. Meanwhile, injured infielder Ehire Adrianza has begun doing baserunning drills and taking ground balls as he recovers from a strained oblique.

• Brandon Kintzler's right index fingernail has begun to heal, and the Twins closer believes he can pitch with the minor injury. The fingernail cracked during spring training, and began bleeding when he pitched during Sunday's victory in Chicago.