BALTIMORE - Twins pitcher Scott Baker will get a second opinion on his right elbow next week in New York from Dr. David Altchek after having an MRI exam Friday.

Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said in an e-mail that "structurally, the MRI ... was very similar to the previous MRI he had in July of 2011."

Baker spent 18 days on the disabled list last July because of a strained right elbow, and Ryan's comment suggests the Twins believe this is an injury Baker can return from quickly. But Altchek is the doctor who performed Tommy John surgery on former Twins closer Joe Nathan and prospect Kyle Gibson, among others.

Baker did not have an MRI during spring training, when this injury was diagnosed as tendinitis. He hoped to throw 75 pitches Thursday in the season opener for Class A Fort Myers and had trouble keeping loose during the long pregame ceremony, exiting after throwing only 11 pitches.

"They had a little delay, had to sit back and wait a little bit, but not being able to make adjustments in the heat, the whole package, that bothers me," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It probably was a good thing -- had a little delay, wasn't able to get loose. He's going to have to be able to adjust. He's not ready for this."

Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne called Thursday night's Frozen Four semifinals in Tampa, Fla. -- including the Gophers' 6-1 loss to Boston College -- before hopping a flight to Baltimore to call Friday's season opener. He planned to return to Tampa on Friday night for Saturday's NCAA championship game. He'll be back in Baltimore for Sunday's series finale between the Twins and Orioles.

Is it hard switching gears like that between the two sports?

"There's nothing the same, so it's easy," Thorne said. "It's like going from indoors to outdoors. It's two different things."

Thorne was behind the microphone when the Gophers won their NCAA hockey titles in 2002 and 2003.

"Nobody thought it was going to be a 6-1 game [Friday], nobody," Thorne said. "The irony was it was the goaltending for Boston College the first half of the game that was the difference. [Parker Milner] made great saves. Minnesota easily could have had two or three goals and been in the lead midway through the game, but he stoned them."

Pat Neshek, the former Twins pitcher and Park Center graduate, didn't make Baltimore's Opening Day roster despite posting great numbers this spring. In nine innings pitched, Neshek didn't give up a run and allowed only three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

A nonroster invitee coming into camp, Neshek was reassigned to Class AAA Norfolk.

Gardenhire's first year coaching in the big leagues came in 1991, the last season the Twins played at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. Gardenhire remembers the Twins having a 15-game winning streak stopped there on June 17, 1991. Camden Yards opened the next year.

"What a difference," Gardenhire said. "That [old ballpark] was kind of a football stadium. You come here, and it's like pretty impressive. It set a tone. It sent a tone for baseball."