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Catch me: Mauer to make return as Twins host Padres

Jun 17, 2011 - 2:50 PM (Sports Network) - It's been more than two months since Minnesota Twins All- Star catcher Joe Mauer saw action behind the plate and the ballclub could use just about anything right now to climb out of the AL Central basement.

Mauer is expected to be activated off of the 60-day disabled list before tonight's opener of a three-game interleague series versus the San Diego Padres at Target Field. He was shelved due to a case of bilateral leg weakness and a viral infection, and hasn't played since April 12 versus Kansas City. He is hitting .235 with two runs scored and four RBI in nine games.

"We're thrilled to have him back," said Twins general manager Bill Smith. "The last few weeks have been a very positive sign for this organization. We've had a lot of good, young players that have stepped up and got this team moving back in the right direction. We're looking for Joe and the other players to continue this through the second half."

Mauer, a four-time All-Star and 2009 American League MVP, is 24 RBI short of 500 for his career, and will be joining a Twins club that has won four in a row. The Twins, perennial playoff contenders for the last decade and champions of the Central in 2010, trail first-place Detroit by nine games in the division standings.

Minnesota has started to show signs of emergence lately, however, as evidenced by a two-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox that extended the win streak to four games and gave it victories in 11 of the previous 13.

On Thursday in Minnesota, Michael Cuddyer accounted for the only run with a homer in the second inning, as the Twins earned a 1-0 win to sweep the rain- shortened set.

Cuddyer finished 2-for-4 while Jason Repko and Tsuyoshi Nishioka had the other two hits for Minnesota.

Nishioka returned to the lineup after missing 59 games with a fractured left fibula

Nick Blackburn (6-4) was sensational, working eight shutout innings, yielding seven hits and one walk with one strikeout. The right-hander has won five straight decisions. Matt Capps threw a scoreless ninth to record his ninth save of the season.

The Padres, also a contender in the National League's West Division for the past several years, are in last place and lag 9 1/2 in back of the first-place San Francisco Giants.

San Diego heads to Minnesota with a respectable 16-14 road record, though it dropped the final two games of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies earlier this week.

The Padres are 12 games below .500 (14-26) at home.

On Wednesday in Denver, Jhoulys Chacin silenced San Diego bats as Colorado topped the Padres, 6-3, in the rubber match.

Rob Johnson homered and Chris Denorfia went 2-for-5 with two RBI for the Padres, who have lost five of six.

Mat Latos (4-8) was charged with the loss after he gave up four runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings.

Lefty Brian Duensing gets the start for Minnesota after he was racked for seven hits and seven runs in just two innings of a 9-3 loss to Texas on June 10.

The 28-year-old Kansas native has won just once since starting the season 2-0 in April.

He is 1-3 in six home appearances this year and has never faced the Padres.

San Diego goes with 27-year-old lefty Clayton Richard, who won 14 games last season but has managed just two wins in 14 starts so far in 2011.

He picked up win No. 2 with an 8-4 decision at Arizona on May 16, but has subsequently gone 0-4 in five tough-luck starts while allowing just 10 runs on 28 hits in 30 2/3 innings.

The Padres have been outscored, 15-5, in those five games.

Richard is 0-1 in four career appearances against Minnesota.

San Diego and Minnesota are meeting for the first time since the Twins swept a three-game series at Petco Park in 2008. The Padres are 97-130 against the American League, while the Twins own a stellar 140-109 mark in interleague play.