Joe Mauer didn’t receive any gifts for returning from a lengthy stint on the disabled list.
No
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two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber.
”Yeah, welcome back, right?” Mauer said with a laugh.
The six-time All-Star returned to the lineup on Friday after missing 25 games with a strained neck and concussion-like symptoms sustained when he was injured
diving for a foul ball last month.
And while facing Kluber might not be an ideal first step back, the struggling Twins, who have one of the league’s weakest offenses, were thrilled to have
Mauer back in their lineup.
”It’s good for any manager to have a chance to put a guy like Joe’s name down there,” said manager Paul Molitor, who had Mauer batting first against Kluber in
the opener of a three-game series against the AL Central-leading Indians.
”Yeah
Womens
Luke Kuechly Jersey , he’s in a good place, he’s excited to be here and we
welcome him back. Hopefully, he can give us a little bit of a boost.”
The Twins came in seven games under .500 and batting just .238 as a team. They also entered the series with only three runs in the past 19 innings.
That’s not ideal against Kluber, who is 5-0 with a 0.76 ERA against the AL Central this season.
”Obviously, he’s one of the best in the game,” Mauer said. ”That’s the big leagues. You’re going to face the best night in and night out. It’s a tough
matchup first game, but the one tomorrow (Carlos Carrasco) is pretty tough, too.
I’m just excited to be back.”
Mauer has been symptom-free for a week. He went hitless in 10 at-bats over three games in a rehab stint with Triple-A
Rochester
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go.
”It’s been going good,” said Mauer, who was batting .283 with one homer and 11 RBIs when he got hurt. ”Obviously, I went down there and got in a couple of
games and did everything I had to do to get back here. I’m excited to check off
those boxes, get a couple of at-bats and play in the field for nine
innings.”
Mauer said he didn’t have to make any diving stops in the field at Rochester, and that he won’t alter his game just because of the recent injury.
”My experience is when you try to do that you end up getting hurt,” he said. ”I got the full clear to go and I’m excited for that.”.
—
The Tennessee Titans plan to release running back DeMarco Murray.
The Titans announced their intentions Thursday, when general manager Jon Robinson said in a statement that Murray ”was a pro in every facet and we wish
him and his family the best moving forward.”
Murray ran for an AFC-leading 1
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2016, his first year with the Titans. He ran for 659 yards and six touchdowns
last season as Derrick Henry gradually took a bigger role in the running
game.
Murray, 30, dealt with a knee injury late in the year and missed the Titans’ final regular-season game and two playoff contests. He was due to make a $6.25
million base salary in 2018, and the Titans wanted Henry to take over as their
lead running back.
Henry, the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner and a second-round draft pick in 2016, rushed for a team-high 744 yards last season.
The Titans acquired Murray in a March 2016 trade with the Philadelphia Eagles. Murray had spent one year with Philadelphia after playing four seasons
with the Dallas Cowboys. Murray was playing for Dallas in 2014 when he won the
NFL rushing title and was voted Offensive Player of the Year.
—
