Midweek Stock Report: Nunez, Mauer spark Twins
Every Wednesday, FOX Sports North takes a look at which athletes' stock is trending up and whose is trending down.
In other words, who is heating up and who is cooling off.
With that in mind, let's "take stock" of the current Minnesota sports scene.
Pat Dean, Twins pitcher
Dean's win over Seattle on Friday was his first in the majors after toiling in the minors for seven years. The 27-year-old outpitched Mariners ace and former Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez, allowing just four hits through seven innings of work.
Joe Mauer, Twins first baseman
Mauer earned his first AL Player of the Week award since 2009 on Tuesday, and had nine hits, five RBI and three home runs in six games since May 25.
Eduardo Nunez, Twins infielder
Nunez has been a force since moving to the leadoff spot for the Twins, racking up a whopping 14 hits in just six games (!) last week, while adding three RBI and two home runs for good measure.
Gophers baseball
Still mourning the death of beloved pitching coach Todd Oakes, the Gophers advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010, learning this week that they will play No. 3-ranked Wake Forest on Friday. The Gophers have dropped five of their last six games despite winning the Big Ten title.
Miguel Sano, Twins outfielder
Sano was coming off of another great week at the plate when he went down with a hamstring injury during a 7-4 loss to Oakland on Tuesday. The injury brought an uncertain end to a stretch of strong play for Sano that saw the slugger log seven hits, including four home runs, with eight RBI and seven runs.
Phil Hughes, Twins pitcher
Hughes has been demoted to the bullpen after allowing nine hits and four runs in just 4 2/3 innings of work Saturday. It's a shocking development for Hughes, who set an MLB record just two years ago after registering an 11.625 strikeout-to-walk ratio, but has just 30 strikeouts through eight starts this season.
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