Turning Point

Since June 8th, which has been deemed the Minnesota Twins' turnaround point, they have the best record in the league (45-16), the highest batting average, and the lowest ERA, matching a franchise best. That's right, they've dominated. Much of their success has been credited to Justin Morneau, who leads the majors with a .383 average, 88 hits and 66 RBIs since that date. The Twins sit 7.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers and 1 behind the Chicago White Sox, who they are getting ready to put the beatdown on this weekend, in the final series of this homestand.

Nick Punto, being left out of the lineup for the third straight day Thursday due to a bone bruise near his left kneecap, was able to take batting practice and field some grounders at third base. He says he's feeling better and the soreness is going away. Punto should be ready for the White Sox series, but if the problem lingers over the next few days, Gardy says there is a possibility that the club could make a move to 11 pitchers and add an extra infielder, to avoid putting Punto on the DL.

Quién es su papi: Johan Santana has a career record of 37-13 at the Metrodome. He joins Mark Mulder (40-10), Tim Hudson (39-11) and Roy Oswalt (37-13) as the only other pitchers to win 37 of their first 50 home decisions.