. "Thats why we had to make that trade in the third

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins postponed their series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday because of inclement weather, the second straight game they had washed out at Target Field. The Twins announced the decision in the early afternoon, more than six hours before the scheduled first pitch, and slotted the makeup for Thursday as part of a day-night doubleheader. The Twins had a day off on Monday, meaning they havent played since Saturday afternoon. Coaches and players came to the ballpark to work out a little bit and try to stay limber, while a cold, wet system stayed stuck over Minnesota with a forecast to linger well into the week. Temperatures have been in the high 30s and low 40s, with steady rain falling since Saturday night and a bit of snow mixed in at times, too. "They feel like they havent been out there in a year, and its only been a few days," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said, adding: "Mother Natures winning right now." The predicted high for Wednesday was 45 degrees, with the chance of precipitation pegged at 70 per cent, so that game could be in trouble, too. "Mother Nature is what Mother Nature is. Thats one of those many aspects of life and baseball that you cant do anything about," said right-hander Kyle Gibson, who was supposed to start on Sunday, and on Tuesday, and will now take the mound on Wednesday opposite Dodgers right-hander Zack Greinke. Maybe. "You hope that we can step right back into it and get into a flow," Gardenhire said. Well, if the weather wont relent, theres always an NHL playoff game to watch. The Wild will play at Colorado in Game 7 of their first-round series on Wednesday night. "Im going to challenge something early and get thrown out of the game and come in here and watch hockey," Gardenhire joked in his office. The Dodgers, who were to begin a nine-game road trip, werent available for comment. They were scheduled to start Dan Haren on Wednesday and Josh Beckett on Thursday, but their rotation for the reshuffled series was yet to be determined. The Twins picked Mike Pelfrey for the original game on Thursday afternoon, but Gardenhire said they hadnt determined the starter for the makeup game on Thursday night. Ricky Nolascos turn would be next, but teams are allowed to call up a 26th player for doubleheaders. So a Triple-A pitcher could make a spot start if either or both teams wanted to avoid using Greinke and/or Gibson on short rest this Sunday. This was the 11th postponed game for the Twins in five seasons at Target Field, six of which have been over the past two Aprils. Their scheduled series finale on Sunday against the Tigers was pushed to either August or September when the Tigers make their return trips. Rescheduling the Dodgers would be far more difficult, because this is their only planned visit. The next common day off for the teams is May 19, when the Dodgers would have to make a one-day stop between series in Arizona and New York. There are only two other mutual openings on the 2014 schedule outside of the All-Star break, but those would require the Dodgers (July 28) and Twins (August 25) to play 24 straight days. The collective bargaining agreement prohibits teams from being scheduled to play more than 20 straight days. If the Dodgers are forced to make a return trip, theyll probably have Clayton Kershaw with them. The two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, who has been on the disabled list for the first time in his career with a back muscle injury since winning the teams season opener, will make his second minor league rehabilitation start on Wednesday for Double-A Chattanooga, the Dodgers announced on Monday. Kershaw said over the weekend he felt ready to return, but the team preferred to be cautious with their $215 million ace. 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Black Friday Shoes Store . PETERSBURG, Fla.PHILADELPHIA -- The Montreal Canadiens got bigger in Saturdays NHL draft but couldnt resist the allure of five-foot-eight Sherbrooke centre Daniel Audette. Its other five picks were all six foot or better, with three at 6-1 or above. Third-round pick Brett Lernout stands six foot four and weighs 206 pounds. "Hes a big strong strapping defenceman," Trevor Timmins, Montreals director of amateur scouting, said of Lernout. "Hes tough as nails and has a heavy shot." Timmins had talked prior to the draft about the Habs wanting to "get bigger, stronger, faster." "But at the same time if theres a player thats undersized there and hes a good hockey player, then hes hard to pass. Thats the situation here with Daniel -- similar to a Brendan Gallagher in his draft year. You simply cant go by a player with that much ability." Gallagher is five foot nine and 180 pounds but plays much larger. The 175-pound Audette had 21 goals and 55 assists in 68 games last season. Audette, the son of Habs amateur scout and former NHLer Donald Audette, went in the fifth round. Timmins said Audette Sr. had not been involved in any of the pre-draft discussion on his son. In fact, Donald was told to spend the afternoon in the stands with his wife and son until Daniel got drafted. Donald collected 260 goals and 249 assists 735 career NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, Atlanta Thrashers, Dallas Stars, Montreal and Florida Panthers. The Canadiens traded up to get Lernout, a Swift Current defenceman. They gave up their third-round pick (87th overall) and fourth-round pick (117th overall) to get Arizonas third-rounder (73rd overall). "I looked at the team picking in front of us and I thought there was a good chance that he wouldnt be there (by Montreals pick) ... We wanted to add some ssize on defence and he was a good fit for us there," said Timmins.dddddddddddd Montreal took AJHL defenceman Nikolas Koberstein (125th overall) and Audette (147th overall) in the fifth round, USHL goalie Hayden Hawkey (177th overall) in the sixth round and Ontario Junior Hockey League forward Jake Evans (207th overall) in the seventh round. Montreal used its first-round pick Friday to take Russian forward Nikita Scherbak of the Saskatoon Blades 26th overall. Thanks to reaching the Eastern Conference final, the Canadiens draft position was well down this year. "If you take a look at our picks in every round, theyre pretty late. So the asset value of the picks we had wasnt near as high as last year or the year before," Timmins said. "Thats why we had to make that trade in the third (round) to move up. "We had to wait out turn pretty long in each round. Ill tell you (how we did) a few years down the road. But were happy with the guys we got. Theyre the guys we targeted and we still had guys left on the list that we wanted to draft." The Habs went "under the radar" on Koberstein, according to their scouting director. "I think this guy has good upside and long-range projection," he said. "Hes a great kid and has tons of character but hes a good hockey player too." Koberstein is committed to play at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks after one more year with the Olds Grizzlys of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Timmins sees him as a five-year player, meaning he has one year at Junior A and four at college. Hawkey, USHL goalie of the year, is committed to play collegiate hockey at Providence. "Hes like money in the bank," said Timmins. Evans is headed to Notre Dame. "Hes a skilled centre with great playmaking ability," said Timmins. ' ' '