Worth noting

• Josh Willingham started in left field on Friday, six days after receiving a cortisone shot in his left knee.

"He says he feels better, so we're just going to play him until he tells me he can't play," Gardenhire said. "He hasn't said that. He keeps coming in here and saying, 'I feel good. I'm fine. It's getting better.'"

During the three-game sweep of the White Sox, Willingham made two starts in left but was forced to DH on Wednesday because of discomfort. Over 15 plate appearances, Willingham went 4-for-12 with three walks and four strikeouts. The left fielder is batting .217 (48-for-221) with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs.

• Though Jared Burton was forced to labor through a 23-pitch inning on Thursday and blew a save on Tuesday, Gardenhire is just fine with the way the right-hander is throwing.

"The ball's coming out of his hand really nicely," the manager said. "Yesterday was fine, and even the one outing where he gave up some runs, he'll tell you, he gave up the run that tied the game up, he had some of his best stuff. The ball was diving all over the place."

In 33 appearances, Burton is 2-for-6 in save opportunities with a 3.62 ERA., but his ERA in June is 9.45 through seven games.

• Since June 2, 2012, the Twins are 13-5 against Cleveland. In those 18 games, Mauer is batting .352, Dozier is hitting .333, Florimon owns a .310 average and Trevor Plouffe has batted at a .375 clip. Minnesota has outscored the Indians 116-72 since that date.