Twins move Gomez to ninth in lineup

Struggling center fielder replaced by Span in leadoff spot NEW YORK -- Carlos Gomez had been the Twins' leadoff hitter in each of his first 90 games this season. But for Tuesday night's contest against the Yankees, the excitable center fielder found himself in a different spot in the lineup -- the No. 9 hole. Manager Ron Gardenhire met with Gomez, who has been in a prolonged slump, on Tuesday afternoon to tell him that he was flip-flopping the center fielder in the order with Denard Span. Since being recalled by the Twins on June 30, Span is batting .370 with a .477 on-base percentage. "I brought him in and said, 'You are pressing, trying too hard,'" Gardenhire said of his talk with Gomez. "We saw that before the break. Then after the break, he had a couple of good days. But he's still pushing a little bit too hard. ... I... [read full story]