Ryan Sweeney got into only one rookie-league rehab game, with three at-bats as the DH, but no matter -- he was ready to hit big-league pitching after missing two and a half weeks with a sprained right thumb.
Out of the group of young outfielders that opened the spring with Oakland -- Sweeney, Travis Buck, Chris Denorfia and Carlos Gonzalez -- Sweeney is the only one still with the big-league team following Gonzalez's demotion on Thursday. And along with second-year catcher Kurt Suzuki, Sweeney has been the most impressive. He has three hits in his first two games since returning from the DL and his .291 average leads the club. On Friday, manager Bob Geren put Sweeney in the three-hole in the lineup.
Sweeney is wearing a protective guard on the thumb; he already is wearing a guard on his left ankle, which he injured earlier in the year.
Sweeney was obtained in the Nick Swisher deal with the White Sox, and his average is 60 points higher than Swisher's.
TWINS 12, A'S 2: Oakland's first two-game winning streak in seven weeks didn't make it to three Friday. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau combined for nine hits (including a career-high-tying five by Mauer). A's starter Dan Meyer helped his own demise with an error in the second that helped the Twins score four unearned runs in the inning. Meyer has yet to record a win in 16 big-league appearances.
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