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Twins-Indians Preview

May 1, 2010 - 5:19 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Minnesota (14-8) at Cleveland (9-12), 7:05 p.m. EDT

The Minnesota Twins said there is no reason for fans to be worried about the health of 2006 AL MVP Justin Morneau.

The star first baseman may have made the more effective statement with regards to his status in his first at-bat in three days.

Morneau and the Twins continue a three-game series against the Cleveland Indians on Saturday night, looking to win for the fourth time in five meetings this season.

Minnesota (15-8) lost both games this week it played without Morneau, who was sidelined with a stiff back. He returned in Friday's 9-3 win over Cleveland (9-13), hitting a two-run homer in his first at-bat.

Although Morneau, who is batting .462 against the Indians this season, missed the final 20 games of last season and the playoffs because of a back injury, the Twins said it's unrelated to the previous issue. He was hitting .368 in his first 19 games before going 0 for 3 against Detroit on Tuesday.

"It feels good now," he said. "Let's see how it is when I wake up tomorrow."

Morneau's return helped Minnesota avoid a three-game losing streak, but he had plenty of help. The bullpen pitched four scoreless innings and Joe Mauer had two hits and drove in a run.

"Mauer and Morny - what else is new?" Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Minnesota's two MVPs.

Friday's loss was Cleveland's fourth in the last five games and seventh in 10. The Indians trailed 6-0 before scoring three runs in the fifth, as the slumping Grady Sizemore improved his average to .205 after recording two hits and driving in a run.

Cleveland's rotation has been the bigger problem lately, going 1-3 with a 7.16 ERA in the last five games.

Justin Masterson (0-3, 5.68 ERA) will try to reverse that trend, although he is looking for his first win since Aug. 20. He's lost nine consecutive decisions and the Indians have lost 10 of those 11 starts.

Masterson has pitched four innings in each of his last two outings. He gave up seven runs and eight hits in an 11-0 loss at Oakland on Sunday, throwing 96 pitches.

The right-hander is 0-3 with a 5.17 ERA in three starts and one relief appearance against the Twins, giving up 14 runs - nine earned - in 15 2-3 innings.

The Twins will recall Jeff Manship from Triple-A Rochester to fill the spot normally taken by Nick Blackburn, who was placed on the family medical emergency list Friday.

Manship appeared in 11 games last season, including five as a starter. He was 1-1 with a 5.68 ERA and made it past the fifth inning only once as a starter.

The right-hander made two relief appearances against the Indians, pitching 2 2-3 scoreless innings.

Shin-Soo Choo, who struck out in his only at-bat against Manship, will try to bounce back after going 0 for 5 with two strikeouts Friday. The right fielder recorded two hits in each of the previous five games and entered the contest hitting .338 with 15 RBIs for the season.