Injury tangles Twins' rotation

Carlos Silva is hurt, and questions dog some of the team's young starters as the season grinds to the end.

By Joe Christensen, Star Tribune

Last update: September 14, 2007 - 12:48 PM

KANSAS CITY, MO. The Twins pulled Boof Bonser from the starting rotation Wednesday and announced Kevin Slowey would take his place for Sunday's start against Detroit.

Then, the plans changed again.

Carlos Silva strained his right groin when he slipped on the mound in the first inning. Against Silva's will, manager Ron Gardenhire inserted Slowey in relief to start the third.

So the Twins finished the road trip with a 6-2 loss to the Royals, with two frustrated pitchers Bonser and Silva and with Slowey trying to solve his problem with the long ball.

Had they won, the Twins would have stretched their winning streak to four games and returned to .500, but they returned home on the heels of a 3-3 road trip at 72-74.

Slowey gave up two more home runs, making it 16 in 48 major league innings.

In a minor league career spanning 354 innings, Slowey allowed just 17 home runs.

"Your mistakes are magnified here," Slowey said. "In college and the minor leagues, a guy might hit your mistake, but you're probably not going to have to ask for a new ball."

Slowey allowed three runs in 3 1/3 innings and notched four strikeouts. The Twins decided Scott Baker would pitch Sunday and moved Slowey's start to Monday against Texas.

That will give him five full days to prepare, allowing the Twins to make a truer evaluation.

Gardenhire said Nick Blackburn also might start before season's end, depending on how Slowey does.

In a long meeting with Bonser, Gardenhire told the righthander he was moving to the bullpen but reminded him that another start could fall his way.

Bonser is 3-11 with a 5.70 ERA since the end of May.

"By no means are we giving up on Boof Bonser," Gardenhire said. "We love the guy. He's got three major league pitches. He competes. But it just looks like it's kind of flat right now.

"Take a step back, give another guy a shot, and that'll maybe make him more hungry when he gets to spring training."

Matt Garza has an 8.10 ERA in his past four starts, leaving him on shaky ground entering Friday's start against Detroit. And Gardenhire said the injury left Silva questionable for his next start.

Silva, a free agent at season's end, had a chance to reach the 200-inning mark with strong showings in his last three starts. The injury ended those hopes as he now has 182 1/3 innings.

"He said he wanted to throw seven innings," Gardenhire said. "We watched him and said, 'We're not going to let you hurt yourself. If we catch it early, you might be able to make your next start.' "

Silva (11-14) took the loss after allowing three runs on five hits.

The Twins didn't score against Royals starter Gil Meche (8-12) until the seventh inning, so this one was practically over by the time Mark Teahen homered off Slowey to start the third.

"How do you want me to feel right now?" Silva said. "He is the manager. He made a decision, you know."

Joe Christensen • jchristensen@startribune.com