Joe Mauer has brief groin scare during pickoff move

Joe Mauer was able to laugh about it later, but for a brief moment on Saturday he was surprised on a baseball field for one of the rare times in his career.

Standing awkwardly with his left foot on the bag after a two-out single in the first inning, Mauer was looking across the diamond at the signs from third-base coach Gene Glynn.

When Cleveland Indians right-hander Josh Tomlin whirled and made a pickoff throw anyway, Mauer instinctively moved away from a ball that was headed for his groin.

"That was your natural reaction to where the ball was headed," Mauer said. "It definitely surprised me. I was off the base. Then I realized I was off the bag and tried to put my foot back on."

At first it…