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Twins welcome Morneau back in Toronto

Apr 1, 2011 - 2:48 PM (Sports Network) - The Minnesota Twins expect to have first baseman Justin Morneau in the lineup this evening when they kick off their 2011 campaign against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Morneau suffered a season-ending concussion on July 7 when he was accidentally kneed in the head by Blue Jays second baseman John McDonald. The former American League MVP had been in the midst of a terrific season, as he was batting .345 with 18 home runs and 56 RBI in 81 games.

He appeared in 11 games this spring, but hit just .152 with three doubles. The doctors, though, have cleared him to play.

"He'll tell you he's getting closer," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "The big thing is he feels good on and off the field. We have a good thing going on there. Now, we just have to find him at-bats. I sat him down in my office, and I said, 'Are you ready to do this?' And he said he's ready to do it. So that's all I can go by."

For the second straight year the Twins barely skipped a beat without Morneau, as they rolled to their second consecutive AL Central crown in 2010. And for the second straight year as well they were swept by the New York Yankees in the ALDS.

Even more impressive than the Twins doing what they did last season without Morneau was the fact that they also had to do it without closer Joe Nathan, who suffered a season-ending elbow injury last spring. Nathan is back healthy this year and will split the closer duties with Matt Capps at the start of the season.

Minnesota did not do much this offseason, but did bring in Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka. The 26-year-old switch-hitter led Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league last season with a .346 batting average to go with 11 homers, 59 runs batted in and 22 stolen bases.

Also, the Twins re-signed right-hander Carl Pavano, who won 17 games last season and was tied for second in the majors with seven complete games. Pavano will get the call tonight in his first Opening Day start since his only other one back in 2007 with the New York Yankees.

Toronto, meanwhile, heads into the 2011 campaign with modest expectations after going 85-77 last season last year. Despite the 20-game improvement from 2009, the Blue Jays still finished fourth for the third consecutive season in the ultra-competitive AL East.

General Manager Alex Anthopoulos had a terrific offseason as he first hired highly-regarded manager John Farrell to replace the retired Cito Gaston, then he was able to move perhaps the worst contract in the league when he sent outfielder Vernon Wells to the Angels, while also signing rising Toronto star Jose Bautista to a five-year, $64 million contract.

Anthopoulos also reworked his bullpen, trading for former Rangers closer Frank Francisco and adding powerful right-hander Jon Rauch, effective veteran Octavio Dotel and Carlos Villanueva. Rauch will handle the closing duties early on, while Francisco recovers from a biceps injury.

The rotation is young, but it will be led by tonight's starter, third year left-hander Ricky Romero, who was brilliant last season, going 14-9 with a 3.73 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 210 innings. .

"He's the guy we'll look to match up against anybody," Farrell said. "We have that confidence in him that he can match up with whoever is put out there by any other club."

Toronto was 6-3 against the Twins last season and is 17-6 in the series since the start of the 2008 campaign. However, four of Minnesota's six wins in that time have come north of the border.

The Twins and Blue Jays last opened the season against each other in 2006