BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : WORLD SERIES : Twins’ Puckett Expected to Bat Fourth as DH Davis Leaves the Lineup Tonight

Minnesota Manager Tom Kelly wouldn’t say how he will restructure his lineup tonight, when he won’t be able to use designated hitter Chili Davis, but Kirby Puckett probably will drop down a spot in the order and take Davis’ place as the Twins’ clean-up hitter.

Davis led the Twins during the regular season with 29 home runs and 93 runs batted in, but he probably will do no more than pinch-hit in Atlanta.

Another option for Kelly when his team faces left-hander Steve Avery tonight is to move Kent Hrbek into the clean-up spot. Hrbek usually bats fourth or fifth, but against left-handers is often seventh in the order. Hrbek, a left-handed hitter, batted .281 against left-handers this season. Puckett, a right-handed hitter, batted .406 against left-handers.

“I’ll watch the football game tonight and write something down,” Kelly said.

Hrbek doesn’t expect to be the clean-up hitter.

“I doubt it,” he said. “But as long as I’m in the lineup, I don’t care.”

Puckett assumed an exaggerated expression of innocence when asked if he would be hitting cleanup.

“Me? You want to put that on my shoulders?” he said, smiling. “If that’s what (Kelly) wants, that’s what I’ll do.

“I don’t approach it any differently. A lot of people think if you hit fourth, you should hit home runs. But if I’m hitting fourth, I won’t be hitting home runs. As long as I do something to help the team, that’s what matters.”

If the Twins’ batting practice session Monday at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was any indication, don’t bet against Puckett--or anyone else--hitting homers tonight.

Pitchers Jack Morris and Scott Erickson each reached the seats, prompting Puckett to say, “That tells me it’s a little-bitty ballpark.”

But watching teammate Al Newman hit a home run, the same Al Newman who has the major leagues’ longest homerless streak at 1,725 at-bats and whose only homer came in Atlanta five years ago, the Twins knew the stadium dimensions weren’t to blame.

“The ball just seems to really fly out of here,” Puckett said.

Erickson, who declined to discuss his home run because “I’m coming here to pitch,” is wary but not worried. “The ball definitely carries here,” he said. “But I think Fenway Park is much worse than this.”

In case the Braves worry about the Twins’ pitchers as hitters, reliever Rick Aguilera offered a warning.

“Westie (David West) has been hitting the ball pretty well. He’s got some power,” said Aguilera, who hit three homers while with the New York Mets. “He put it in the upper tank of the dome. But I’m not sure how many at-bats he’ll get.”

Aguilera said the Twins aren’t overconfident.

“I remember the ’86 Mets were down 2-0,” said Aguilera, a member of the Met team that rallied to defeat the Red Sox in the World Series that year. “We know we’ve got to face some tough pitching here. We’re not going to think we’ve got it wrapped up.”

With Erickson starting for the Twins tonight, his personal catcher, Junior Ortiz, will replace Brian Harper in the lineup. Harper understands.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to play, but the way we’ve done it has been so successful for this team, why change it?” Harper said.