Injured Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson nearing return

Josh Donaldson missed the past four Twins games after straining his right hamstring during a 6-3 loss Saturday in Kansas City.

The third baseman could return to the lineup Thursday when the Twins open a four-game series at Target Field against the Tigers.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said before Wednesday's 6-1 loss to the White Sox that Donaldson would have been available to hit off the bench in the past two games. He will go through a full workout before Thursday's game and, if all goes well, Baldelli said, "we're pretty close to getting the thumbs-up on letting him loose."

In his past seven games, Donaldson is hitting .318 with seven hits, five runs, four walks and eight strikeouts.

This series was the fourth of five between the Twins and White Sox, with Chicago winning 10 of 12 games and four of six at Target Field.

The AL Central-leading White Sox are eight games ahead of second-place Cleveland, while Minnesota sits in last place in the division, 15½ games behind.

Baldelli credited the "unlikely" heroes of Chicago as part of what makes them tough to beat. And then there's the pitching staff, which is fourth in the majors in strikeouts with 842.

"They have some good arms," Baldelli said. "They go out there and compete very well and hold the opposition down.

"I think that's been the biggest challenge for us against them is going out there and facing those good arms and competing against those guys. You can see why they win games. They're a good team."

Baldelli said outfielder Kyle Garlick is still recovering from a sports hernia he sustained in early June. Surgery to repair the hernia is "still on the table" for Garlick, who has missed the past 25 games.

"I still think there are things that Kyle is needing to test that we haven't tested at a game speed kind of level," Baldelli said. "It's a unique injury that he's dealing with, and I think we're going to be feeling it out till the very end."

Luis Arraez, who has replaced Donaldson at third base for the week, had two hits Wednesday and is eight for his past 16. Arraez is hitting .324 with five doubles since coming off the injured list June 14.

Second baseman Jorge Polanco ended an 0-for-12 slump with a single in the fifth inning and was 2-for-4 Wednesday.