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Welcome back: Jeff Cirillo signed a one-year contract with Minnesota back on Dec. 13, but it took until Friday night for the veteran infielder to say goodbye to the Brewers and officially become a Twin.

Before we discuss how it happened, a little background is in order:

A day before Minnesota's traveling party arrived in Milwaukee for their annual interleague series at Miller Park, Cirillo joked with broadcasters Bert Blyleven and Dan Gladden about the ovation he was expecting upon his return.

"The game time is listed at 7:05, but they might have to allow an extra five minutes for the ovation," said Cirillo, who was a fan favorite during two stints with Milwaukee.

Seven hours before the first pitch from Brewers lefty Chris Capuano Friday night at Miller Park, Cirillo - who knew he was making his first start of the season at third base -- ate a turkey and avocado sandwich for lunch and joked about hitting a home run against his former teammates.

"It'd be great if I could go deep and maybe smack Prince (Fielder) on the ass going around first base," Cirillo said. "That would be awesome. The problem is, I'm not sure if I can even hit a homer now."

Despite a healthy number of Twins fans in the sellout crowd of 44,759, the ovation never materialized. Some fans even booed Cirillo when he was introduced before his first at-bat. "That shocked me," Cirillo said.

What happened next socked just about everyone, including Cirillo.

After knocking in a run against Capuano in the third inning with his first triple since 2001, Cirillo came up in the seventh and ripped a 3-2 pitch from Carlos Villanueva over the wall in left-center for a two-run homer that helped the visitors take a 8-1 victory.

"This is his ballpark. He proved it," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of Cirillo. "He had a good ballgame here. He had a big pick-me-up triple. I didn't think Jeff Cirillo would get a triple, but, he got a triple and then puts one in the seats, too, so it was a very good night for him..

"I know he's very, very excited and so are we."

Cirillo, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery this spring and missed nearly three weeks ("Two weeks, five days," he said. "I want that on the record.") said he experienced "mixed emotions" during the game.

"I have a lot of fond memories here," he said. "It was weird, to tell you the truth. I really didn't talk to many people today. I was more worried about getting through the game. I hadn't played third all year. I was a little nervous."

The nerves didn't show. Cirillo spent time before the game giving teammates what he termed "excellent scouting reports" on Brewers' personnel. On the first pitch of his first at-bat, Cirillo ripped an inside fastball for Capuano near the left-field tarp. "I knew he was going to go in there," said Cirillo, who ended up flying out to centerfielder Bill Hall, his former teammate and close friend. "The rest of the game, he was away, away, away and then he tried to come in. For some reason, everybody on our team saw his changeup really well tonight."

In his second at-bat, Cirillo drove the ball over Hall's head. It struck the wall halfway up and caromed away from Hall, allowing Cirillo to mark his first triple since Sept. 28, 2001.

"I really didn't want to go (to third)," Cirillo said. "I just kind of had to. My legs felt horrible for like two innings after that. They just felt like Jell-O. But the knee was fine. I was pulling a train when I got around second base."

Torii Hunter followed Cirillo's triple with a grand slam that pushed the Twins' lead to 5-1 and a verbal shot for his teammate.

"Jeff Cirillo will get another triple in 2010, when he's in the Senior League," Hunter said.

"No way," Cirillo said. "I'm coming back as a pitcher."

When Cirillo led off the fifth, he noted that Hall was in a different spot. "It was good to see Billy back up," he said. After grounding out to J.J. Hardy, Cirillo jogged across the middle of the field and discreetly smacked Capuano on the backside.

In the seventh inning, Cirillo lined a pitch from Villanueva over the outstretched glove of leftfielder Geoff Jenkins, one of his closest friends in baseball.

"Jenkins was trying to rob me," said Cirillo, who roomed with Jenkins' brother when the two played at USC. "I mean, jeez. I can't tell you how many times I've spent in his room watching a movie or working on his swing or whatever and he's going to try to rob the old man out there (and) steal my glory?"

There was no stealing Cirillo's glory on Saturday. The only damper on his evening was that it came at the expense of his former club, which he has trouble following on highlight shows and box scores.

"For myself, personally, I really have to kind of let go of the Brewers and not really watch what they do and kind of root from afar," he said. "It really doesn't do me a service here. Playing them, I think, was a good thing. Competition sometimes brings out the best in you. You know those guys and you see them and you've got to beat them, so there is no thinking about what the Brewers are doing and how well they are playing and a 'what-if?' type of a deal. I'm here to help win the division for this team and get on a roll."

Weeks sidelined: Brewers manager Ned Yost seemed a bit perturbed Friday during his pre-game meeting with reporters and two factors may have been at play.

Yost was questioned about his decision to use Gabe Gross as the rightfielder / leadoff hitter rather than Tony Gwynn, Jr. That probably irked Yost, who likes to "play the hot hand," was rewarding Gross for a two-homer performance on Thursday afternoon in Philadelphia. (Not many first-place managers like to be second-guessed about their lineup during hte third week of May).

More important, Yost may have been worried about second baseman Rickie Weeks, who sat out with a sore right wrist. Weeks, who has struggled at the plate of late, underwent surgery in August to repair a loose tendon. Apparently, doctors expected him to experience sporadic inflammation and soreness.  Page 1 of 2 (view all on one page)

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