Touch 'Em All: Watch out: Morneau’s back with the Twins

After being out for more than two months, first baseman Justin Morneau is back with the Twins, just in time for their long climb back to respectability. Minnesota, which was once thought to be a bona fide contender for the pennant, reinstated the 2009 AL MVP before Friday night's game at Cleveland.

Morneau's return means the 52-65 Twins are finally nearing full strength. Morneau and fellow all-star Joe Mauer (another former MVP) have been the same lineup just nine of the last 198 games, including the playoffs. And designated hitter Jim Thome has been limited to 61 games this season by various aches and pains.

In fact, before rightfielder Michael Cuddyer was pulled for Friday's game because of strained neck, he and third baseman Danny Valencia were the only regulars who hadn't missed time to injuries this year.

Rivera has record save

Yankees great Mariano Rivera recorded his 30th save of the season Thursday night against the Angels, making it the 14th time in his career he has reached that number, and matching Trevor Hoffman for the most 30-save seasons in major-league history.

Following Rivera and Hoffman are Lee Smith with 10 seasons in which he saved 30 games; Billy Wagner with nine; and Dennis Eckersley, John Franco, Troy Percival, and John Wetteland with eight each.

Thursday's save, however, was far from easy: With one out in the ninth, pinch-hitter Russell Branyan smacked a three-run homer on Rivera's first pitch to turn a Yankees' four-run lead to a tense 6-5 save.

Uggla keeps on rolling

Atlanta's Dan Uggla homered his first time up against the Cub's Carlos Zambrano on Friday to extend his hitting streak to 32 games, tying him for 23d on the all-time list.

Contact Francisco Delgado at fdelgado@phillynews.com.

This article contains information from Inquirer wire services.