News
Crain gives boost to worn-out 'pen
Minnesota (12-13) at Detroit (13-11), 6:05 p.m. CT
Jesse Crain was activated from the disabled list Sunday. (Charles Krupa/AP)
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
05/03/09 8:25 PM ET
MINNESOTA -- With the return of Jesse Crain, the Twins will get a boost to their worn-down bullpen Monday when they open up a two-game series in Detroit. Crain was activated from the disabled list following Sunday's loss to the Royals. Catcher Jose Morales was sent down to Triple-A Rochester to make room for Crain on the roster. The two roster moves gave the Twins a 12-man pitching staff and cut down their number of catchers on the 25-man roster to two -- Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond. The Twins had reduced their number of pitchers to 11 on Friday when they outrighted Juan Morillo in order to activate Mauer from the DL. The club felt it could get by with one less pitcher for a couple days as it waited on the health status of Redmond, who had been battling a sore right shoulder. But the Twins' bullpen took a hit on Saturday when the club used all five of its relievers in a 10-7 loss in 11 innings to the Royals. "Anytime you have a night like [Saturday], where you throw everybody out there, your bullpen is going to be screwed up for a few days," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. Crain, who was on the DL with right shoulder inflammation, will give the team another arm to use in the next couple days. The right-hander has posted a 7.50 ERA over six innings this season. But that includes his last outing, when he first started to feel the effects of his shoulder and gave up four runs in one-third of an inning. Prior to the outing, Crain had posted a 1.59 ERA in 5 2/3 innings and had been one of the team's most consistent relievers. Gardenhire said by getting Crain back, the club will once again have another option, along with left-hander Jose Mijares, to bridge the gap to closer Joe Nathan. "He'll be right out there with the kid," Gardenhire said. "You like [Mijares] in the eighth, but just like [Sunday's game], you can throw the kid two days in a row, but how can you throw him a third? We got him up. He said he's fine, but how many times do you want to do that? Somebody else has to throw the eighth inning too. So we're going to mix those two in and hopefully they'll be able to get us to Nathan." The Twins were able to send Morales down after Redmond showed the coaching staff during a pregame throwing drill on Sunday morning that his shoulder was feeling good enough that he could play. Gardenhire said that everything looked good with the catcher's throws and that Redmond reported feeling "the best he has in 10 years." Morales heads back to Rochester despite the fact that he batted .340 in 19 games for the Twins. "You've got to understand the situation," Gardenhire said. "[Morales] came into Spring Training probably going to be a Triple-A catcher, and because Mauer was hurt, he's been here, and he's handled himself fine. "But is he a perfect catcher? No. He's thrown out one runner in [14 stolen base attempts]. We've missed some balls, catching-wise -- a little sloppy still. Has he done a good job? Yes. He's handled himself very well in the absence of Joe. ... But there are some things he can work on, so we'll get him catching down there." Pitching matchupMIN: LHP Francisco Liriano (0-4, 6.04 ERA)
The lefty looked to be in line for his first win of the season after allowing just two runs over 6 2/3 innings to the Rays in his last start. But the Twins were unable to hold the lead, winning on a walk-off fielder's choice in the ninth inning. For Liriano, it was a positive outing, because he started to show better command of his fastball while also mixing in his breaking pitch. He'll try to avoid becoming the second Twins Opening Day starter to begin a season at 0-5, the only other being Frank Viola back in 1989. Liriano is 2-1 with a 4.93 ERA in seven career appearances (five starts) against the Tigers. DET: RHP Edwin Jackson (1-1, 2.25 ERA)
Usually, the new guy gets a little better welcome than this. Jackson has taken a scoreless performance into the seventh inning in three of his first five starts as a Tiger, but has only one win to show for it. He threw 117 pitches over six innings in his last start to keep the Tigers in a scoreless game against the Yankees before New York erupted for 10 runs in the seventh. He's 1-2 with a 9.42 ERA in six career appearances (three starts) against the Twins, but his lone meeting with Minnesota last year featured 7 2/3 innings of one-run ball for a much-needed victory. Tidbits
Gardenhire said that Mauer will likely play in three games of the upcoming four-game road trip to Detroit and Baltimore. The skipper indicated that Mauer would likely be behind the plate for two of those contests with a possible DH day added in as well. ... Craig Breslow's command problems have been a concern for the Twins. He's issued nine walks in 6 2/3 innings so far this season, and Gardenhire said on his weekly Sunday radio show on KSTP 1500 AM that those type of issues can't continue, along with adding that the club wouldn't allow them to continue. ... Michael Cuddyer is currently in the midst of a five-game hitting streak, in which he's batting .467 with five runs scored and four RBIs. Over that span, Cuddyer's batting average has risen from .216 to .253. The right fielder said that he's been feeling good at the plate all season but now he's starting to find holes. ... Following Sunday's loss to the Royals, the Twins are 4-5 vs. the American League Central this season. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• FS-N HD On radio
• TRN 1500 Up next
• Tuesday: Twins (Nick Blackburn, 2-1, 4.02) at Tigers (Rick Porcello, 1-3, 6.23), 6:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Twins (Kevin Slowey, 4-0, 5.17) at Orioles (Mark Hendrickson, 1-4, 5.79), 6:05 p.m. CT
• Thursday: Twins (Glen Perkins, 1-2, 3.34) at Orioles (Brad Bergesen, 1-0, 5.17), 6:05 p.m. CT
Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
