Mauer wins Pepsi Clutch honor for August
Congratulations Joe 
!
Slugger batted .380 with .482 on-base percentage, 16 RBIs
MINNEAPOLIS — When Justin Morneau went down with a concussion on July 7, the Twins were sitting in third place in the American League Central division race. The Twins have been without Morneau since that date, but as the Twins head into the final four weeks of the regular season, they do so holding a 3 1/2 game lead in the AL Central division.
So how have the Twins been able to overcome the loss of their cleanup hitter?
The team has been fortunate to see other players step up in Morneau’s absence, including Delmon Young, Jim Thome and rookie third baseman Danny Valencia. But perhaps the biggest key to the success of the offense in Morneau’s absence has been the surge of Joe Mauer.
Mauer’s hot hitting month in August earned him the honor of being the August 2010 Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Month presented by Pepsi.
Mauer earned a total of 25 percent of the Pepsi vote, beating out the five other finalists: Braves pitcher Tim Hudson (19 percent), Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz (16 percent), Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez (14 percent), Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (12 percent) and Rays closer Rafael Soriano (12 percent).
After a slow start to the season, offensively, Mauer has gotten things turned back around. And a big part of that has to do with his August production.