"Twins catcher Joe Mauer and shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka were held out of Thursday's lineup for precautionary reasons, but are expected to be back in the starting lineup Friday in Milwaukee.

Mauer, who is dealing with a sore back, told manager Ron Gardenhire he was healthy enough to play, but Gardenhire didn't want to take any chances considering Mauer missed 58 games with bilateral leg weakness before returning Friday.

"He actually said he would like to be in there but he's stiff, sore back, and I said we did this at the beginning of the year so we're not going to start it again," Gardenhire said. "We don't want to be in the same situation. He wanted to face Lincecum, but I just said, 'Joe, we're not going to go there again.'""