May eager to get on mound for Twins' home opener

CHICAGO -- Trevor May has thought about how exciting it'll be to pitch the Twins' home opener against the Royals on Monday.

But he's just anxious to pitch in general.

"It'll be fun," said May, a 25-year-old right-hander. "I'm going to take a moment to take it in. It's something you only get to do [once]. Some guys get to do it more than once, but I'm ready to pitch. I haven't pitched yet this year. I just want to pitch."

May was originally scheduled to pitch Saturday for Triple-A Rochester, but the Twins recalled him to take the place of the injured Ricky Nolasco, who landed on the 15-day disabled list for right elbow inflammation, retroactive to Thursday. May joined the Twins on Saturday and was activated before their game against the White Sox.

"My whole plan was just to be ready whenever I was needed, and it just happened to be sooner rather than later, but I'm ready to go," May said. "I stuck to the program and I'm excited to get going."

May said he most recently threw in a game for three innings on the last day of Spring Training. He planned to throw off the mound on Saturday.

"I feel strong. I feel as good as I ever had," he said.

May went 3-6 with a 7.88 ERA in 10 appearances, including nine starts, with the Twins last season. In his Twins debut on Aug. 9, he allowed four runs in two innings in a start against the A's. May is 54-46 with a 3.90 ERA over seven Minor League seasons.

"I'm just excited to have the opportunity to continue building on what I was working on toward the end of the year last year and building on the success I had in spring," May said. "All that kind of stuff, I did it already. It's nice to be able to move forward.

"It'll be that good excitement," May said about having possible jitters. "That 'let's have some fun' type stuff."