"The bad news keeps getting worse for the Twins.

The ballclub anticipated either Jim Thome (left quadriceps strain) or Jason Kubel (mid-left foot sprain) would have to go on the disabled list because of their injuries, but both players ended up on the DL before Thursday's 8-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

Thome and Kubel both reported to the Kauffman Stadium clubhouse quite sore on Thursday afternoon, and so the team sent the pair back to the Twin Cities for further evaluation while sending them to the DL, as well.

Ben Revere, called up Wednesday, was in the starting lineup as one of the roster replacements, and Luke Hughes was on his way, expected to arrive in Kansas City in time for tonight's game.

And that wasn't the end of it.

With two of his left-handed hitters now on the DL along with six other Twins, manager Ron Gardenhire was pining for more left-handed hitting before Thursday's first pitch, and after the ballgame he got what he wanted when the Twins sent Trevor Plouffe down to Class AAA Rochester and called up 27-year-old Brian Dinkelman from the Red Wings. In 50 games for the Red Wings, Dinkelman batted .296 with a .374 on-base percentage and .402 slugging percentage while playing second base and the outfield.

Gardenhire has been open about his disappointment with Plouffe's defense in particular, but on Thursday he tried to emphasize the positive."