Jason Kubel

The Twins looked like they were going to escape Friday's game with a 1-0 win.

Nick Blackburn pitched seven solid innings.

"I think today everything was just down," said Blackburn, who had struggled earlier this month, "and that hasn’t been the case for probably the last four or five starts."

Joe Nathan took care of business in the eighth.

"He threw the ball very well," said manager Ron Gardenhire after the game. "He’s throwing the ball good."

With Micheal Cuddyer, Joe Mauer, and Justin Morneau yet to see any spring training games, Jason Kubel has been getting his cuts in the three-hole so far this spring.

Kubel is making those spring at-bats count, hitting .545 with a home run and four RBI's and a 1.636 OPS after a week of games.

"Right now, I'm just happy with the way things are going so far this spring, just with the way I've started off, the way I'm swinging, the way I feel," Kubel said.

Jim Thome came to an agreement to return to the Minnesota Twins for another season, Friday. The slugger agreed to a one-year, $3 million contract which is double what he made in his first season with Minnesota.

Coming into this week's series against the Chicago White Sox, it was a do-or-die situation for the Sox. They needed to take at least two from the Twins to stay afloat in the American League Central pennant race.

The Twins went ahead and stepped on the head of the White Sox. Race over.

At the All-Star break there were questions surrounding the Minnesota Twins line-up.  They didn't have an every day third basemen who could contribute offensively.  Justin Morneau had just suffered a concussion one week prior and it was unknown when he might return, if at all.

After shellacking the Chicago White Sox 12-6 on Tuesday night, the Minnesota Twins have moved into first place in the AL Central by one game.

Both teams are hot, with the Twins winning 12 and the White Sox winning 10 of the teams' last 15 games. White Sox have gone 39-16 since June 8th, overcoming a horrendous start to get to this point, while the Twins have gone 19-10 since the All-Star break without one of, if not their best, hitters.

In a pitchers duel, it doesn't take much to shift the balance of the game. For the Minnesota Twins Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, two key base hits provided a lead that they would refuse to relinquish.

Minnesota's Scott Baker managed to scatter several hits from the potent Ray's offense with minimal damage on the scoreboard. Working an effective slider and a fastball with plenty of bite, Baker managed to keep the Rays at bay, with the exception of a run scored on a ground-rule double in the first inning.

Every week, aside from my standard Fantasy Baseball dealings, I practice a little exercise to improve my research and team management skills.

On Sunday evenings I comb through who is available on the waiver/free agent wire, regardless of need, to familiarize myself with the current inventory.

Who should be the Twins' third baseman?

Coming out of Spring Training, Brendan Harris had the edge statistically after batting .326 with three doubles, a triple, and a home-run. 

Punto ended the exhibition season with a .233 average, one double, and 12 strike outs. 

When the season opened Ron Gardenhire named Punto his starting third baseman and the debate began.

The answer now seems obvious—give it to Michael Cuddyer.