When to rant about poor play? Twins manager Rocco Baldelli picks his spots

The Twins looked relaxed and jovial as they worked out before Wednesday's game against the Padres.

At the plate, they have looked anything but, batting .147 through their first seven games in May.

But Tuesday's 6-1 loss included defensive and mental errors — and not for the first time. Manager Rocco Baldelli viewed this as unacceptable. It was time for accountability.

"I think that everybody knows, but it's good when the captain of the ship calls you out on it," shortstop Carlos Correa said. "And there's a different level of focus when it comes from the top guy in this clubhouse."

Baldelli addressed the team after Tuesday's loss, during which they committed three errors in the seventh inning that helped San Diego pull away.

"But there is no right time," Baldelli argued. "You sometimes feel there's a time and then sometimes you don't go forward with it. Again, when you play 162 ballgames plus almost a two-month spring training and then, hopefully, longer, you can't be barging in that room every other day with a long and emotional talk. That, honestly, would wear people out very, very quickly.

"So you can't do that. So you definitely pick and choose your times when you're going to talk to the team and what you're going to talk them about. You better have something useful when you walk in there or don't do it."

The hitting woes have been evident. Tuesday marked the second recent game in which they made a mess out of an inning. On Saturday, the Twins kicked around grounders in the fourth inning of a 4-3 loss in Cleveland, and Jose Miranda struggled with three grounders in the game.

Miranda was sent to Class AAA St. Paul on Wednesday. The remaining players were left to sort things out.

"The mental errors are something that is unacceptable with the group we had in here," Correa said. "Hitting is going to come and go. It's part of the game. But the mental side of it, we should always be locked in on those."

Kyle Farmer was activated Wednesday, while Miranda was sent down, and started at third base. He returned after missing 24 games because of a facial laceration after being hit by a fastball thrown by the White Sox's Lucas Giolito on April 12.

"It's great to see him," Baldelli said. "I talked to him [Tuesday]. He said, 'I feel great. I'm ready to play. When you need me, let me know.'"

Willi Castro, Baldelli said, also will get starts at third base in upcoming games.

Farmer, batting .226 with one homer and five RBI entering Wednesday, has made 86 career starts at third. Castro has made 21.

Players wore T-shirts before Wednesday's game that read "Powered by Mental Health," reflective of the holistic approach the club tries to take with being at its best over the course of a season.

"It's something that I think we've made very good strides on, just awareness-wise and making it part of the everyday conversation," Baldelli said. "We like T-shirts here, too, so we pick and choose a few days to sport it outwardly and just remind everyone of what's going on here on an everyday basis."