The Minnesota Twins enter Friday’s game against Tampa Bay with a 4-8 record, having blown a ninth-inning and 10th-inning lead in Thursday’s loss to the struggling Rays.

And after the game, it was announced that catcher Joe Mauer is going on the 15-day disabled list.

What more can go wrong?

So now it’s up to Drew Butera and Steve Holm – who played about 50 games for the San Francisco Giants from 2008-09 – to replace Mauer. But it doesn’t stop there.

Mauer was the team’s second – but best – option in the No. 2 spot of the batting order. He took over in that role after Tsuyoshi Nishioka injured his leg about a week ago.

WDAY’s Dom Izzo and I discussed the Twins struggles on the radio Wednesday. Izzo asked me if I thought it was too early to hit the panic button. I said it was, and I still think that way. But I’m guessing that panic button is within arm’s reach for a lot of fans right now.

You wonder how the Twins will respond to not just Mauer’s loss but last night’s effort, in which the team’s “two closers” – Matt Capps and Joe Nathan – each blew late-inning leads. The offense was struggling with the 2009 AL MVP in the lineup.

At some point, someone – Jim Thome, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer, you name it – will have to put the offense on his back, get hot for a week, and see if anyone else follows.