OAKLAND, Calif. -- Slowly, the change has begun. At 30, Kurt Suzuki is the oldest player in the Twins' lineup tonight, and the leadoff, cleanup and fifth hitters are all under 25. The Twins are gradually getting younger at key positions, a process that will only speed up in the next year.
Trevor May is in the clubhouse today, but he must stay there during tonight's game because he is not yet on the 25-man roster. The Twins will activate him before his start tomorrow, but first must jettison a player to make room. Whether it's a pitcher or a position player isn't known yet, but will be revealed after the game ends.
That sounds awkward, but it didn't seem so in the Twins' clubhouse. May said he tried to prepare himself on the flight to California for the surreal experience he's about to go through, but he knows that he'll feel distracted. He's also aware of the excitement his promotion has generated in Minnesota. "I'm a pretty big Twitter guy," he said.
But that's tomorrow. Until then, the Twins must deal with lefthander Scott Kazmir, who has beaten them four times in the past two seasons, posting a 1.95 ERA.
Here are the lineups for tonight's 9:10 p.m. CT game, with Sam Fuld facing his old team:
TWINS
Santana CF
Dozier 2B
Plouffe 3B
Vargas DH
Arcia RF
Suzuki C
Parmelee 1B
Nunez SS
Schafer LF
Gibson RHP
A'S
Crisp DH
Jaso C
Donaldson 3B
Moss LF
Lowrie SS
Reddick RF
Vogt 1B
Fuld CF
Sogard 2B
Kazmir LHP