Kurt Suzuki's name has appeared in every position in the Twins' lineup except first or ninth in his two seasons here, so batting fifth for a third straight day, as he will this afternoon against the White Sox, isn't that unusual. But it really has more to do with his teammates than Suzuki, his manager said.
Nolasco's back, and Suzuki's in middle of lineup
Kurt Suzuki's name has appeared in every position in the Twins' lineup except first or ninth in his two seasons here. Now he's batting fifth for the third straight game against the White Sox
May 2, 2015 at 4:29PM
"You kind of go day-to-day, in where guys are going to fit in and how you think your best chance is of finding a way to score runs," Paul Molitor said after writing out a lineup that bats Suzuki and Eduardo Escobar ahead of Oswaldo Arcia. "Today, [against Chicago starter Hector Noesi], he's done OK against him. I've got [Kennys] Vargas out of there, and Arcia is still trying to find consistency, so I like him down a little bit."
Ideally, though, Molitor prefers to bat Suzuki eighth, as he has done in 11 of his 18 starts this year.
"I like having him at the bottom, because I think he's a veteran presence down there, and a guy I can count on to have good at-bats if we have opportunities to score runs," Molitor said. "But certain times, depending on who's in there, if I want to emphasize speed at the bottom or whatever the personnel is, if other guys are having trouble handling those middle slots or driving in runs, I can always stick him in there because I know he's going to give me good at-bats."
The White Sox will try to have good at-bats today against Ricky Nolasco, who is making his second start of the season after more than three weeks on the disabled list with elbow inflammation. Nolasco will be limited to 75-80 pitches, Molitor said, but he's feeling good and is eager to resume his season.
"We're glad to have him," Molitor said. "I think we're all excited to see how Ricky's season is going to unfold after having a really good spring."
The Twins have outscored Chicago 13-2 in the first two games of this series, and 25-13 in their five games so far this season. Of course, Chicago is last in the majors in scoring.
Fans were lined up well before the gates opened this morning, in order to claim a fur-lined bomber's cap. It's 70 degrees right now, so those should come in handy. Here are the lineups those fans will see during today's 1:10 p.m. game:
WHITE SOX
Shuck CF
Cabrera LF
Abreu 1B
LaRoche DH
Garcia RF
Ramirez SS
Gillaspie 3B
Soto C
Johnson 2B
Noesi RHP
TWINS
Dozier 2B
Hunter DH
Mauer 1B
Plouffe 3B
Suzuki C
Escobar LF
Arcia RF
Schafer CF
Santana SS
Nolasco RHP
After an incredible 25-year career that saw him become MLB's all-time stolen bases leader and the greatest leadoff hitter ever, Rickey Henderson died Friday at age 65.
