RIP, Bea Arthur; Game #18 - Kubel Leads Twins

The Twins made it two in a row over Cleveland Saturday night, winning big 7-1. The victory evens the Twins' record at 9-9 on the season and on the road trip (2-2).

Kevin Slowey was masterful, going 8 scoreless innings before losing his shutout bid in the 9th inning. He allowed 8 hits and 1 run in his 8+ innings, walking nobody, and striking out 7 while improving to 3-0 on the season.

At the plate, Jason Kubel went 3-5 - 2 hits being homers - and batted in 2. Joe Crede also homered for the Twins. Delmon Young was 3-4. Crede, Michael Cuddyer, and Justin Morneau had 2 hits apiece.

The Twins go for the series sweep Sunday, sending Glen Perkins to the bump to face fellow lefty Aaron Laffey.

In other Twins' good news of the day, there is a possibility that Joe Mauer will return for the Tampa Bay series at the Dome next week. The target date is Tuesday. That should give the Twins' sputtering offense a shot in the arm and allow the Twins to return their best hitter to their "regular" lineup.

Around the AL Central:

• Chicago White Sox 10, Toronto 2 - The Whities exacted revenge on the Jays with a 13-hit performance at the plate and strong pitching from Mark Buehrle. Alexei Ramirez and Jermaine Dye homered for Chicago.
• Detroit 9, Kansas City 1 - The Tigers took it to the Royals, hitting 3 homers in the process. Gerald Laird, Curtis Granderson, and Magglio Ordonez each went deep, and Zach Miner was strong on the mound.

Around the Minors:

• AAA - Scranton/Wilkes Barre 17, Rochester 14 (13 innings) - Rochester lost in extras to SWB, and continued their skid. The Wings pounded out 19 hits, but surrendered 21 to the Yankees in the loss. Matt Macri and Luke Hughes each homered twice; Brock Petersona dn Justin Huber also went deep. Hughes, Dustin Martin, and Peterson each had 3 hits for the Red Wings. Each of the 6 Rochester pitchers surrendered runs in the game. The Red Wings are now 5-9 and dropped 8 straight.
• AA - New Britain 5, Trenton 1 - The Rock Cats scored a nice win behind the pitching of Matthew Fox. Fox went 7 innings, allowing no runs and just 5 hits. Rob Delaney surrendered a run in his one inning; Anthony Slama struck out the side in the 9th. Rene Tosoni and Toby Gardenhire had 2 hits apiece. New Britain improves to 5-10 with the victory.
• High A - Jupiter 2, Ft. Myers 1 (10 innings) - The Miracle lost despite a solid pitching performance from Carlos Gutierrez, who went 7 innings and allowed just 2 hits and 1 run (unearned). Joe Benson doubled for the Miracle, and Joe Mauer went 0-3 in his rehab stint. Ft. Myers drops to 10-5 with the loss.
• Low A - Beloit was postponed, and holds steady at 5-8 on the season.

Misc.:

• Bea Arthur died on Saturday. She was the star of TV's "Maude" and "The Golden Girls." She was a funny woman - and, by far, the funniest one on "The Golden Girls." RIP.
• Here is some classic Bea Arthur......