Knee to idle Cirillo a few games

By La Velle E. Neal III, Star Tribune

Last update: April 3, 2007 - 11:38 PM

Twins infielder Jeff Cirillo will be out a few days after receiving a cortisone shot in his left knee for a slightly torn meniscus -- a problem that goes back to his playing days with the Brewers.

Normally a player needs to wait a couple of days after the shot before being able to play, meaning Cirillo will be out until this weekend's series in Chicago.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said Cirillo recently aggravated the knee. That's why Jason Tyner replaced Cirillo as a pinch runner in the sixth inning on Monday.

Cirillo warned Gardenhire earlier in the game that he might need a pinch runner if he reached base, but he stayed in after getting a run-scoring single in the fourth.

"[Monday] as he ran the bases he wasn't feeling very good," Gardenhire said.

Cirillo wasn't likely to start Tuesday or today anyway because righthanded pitchers were starting. Jason Kubel was the designated hitter Tuesday.

All of this means catcher Chris Heintz could be pressed into duty as a backup third baseman to Nick Punto in the next few days.

Bonser hangs in there

Boof Bonser and the Orioles' Daniel Cabrera hooked up Tuesday night in a nice duel of 25-year-old righthanders.

Both made big pitches, had timely strikeouts and used back-bending breaking balls.

Bonser lasted six innings, holding Baltimore to two runs on three hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Gardenhire said he thought about bringing Matt Guerrier in the game early as Bonser labored and needed 75 pitches in the first four innings.

"But he kept his composure and gave us a chance to win a baseball game," Gardenhire said.

Bonser said he got back to staying tall in his delivery. After needing 75 pitches to get through four innings, he needed 25 pitches to get through his last two -- and he retired 10 of the last 11 batters he faced.

Cabrera, who has grown an inch and is now 6-9, held the Twins to three runs over seven innings on six hits with four walks and nine strikeouts.

"Cabrera is a very tough pitcher," Gardenhire said. "He's got nasty stuff and when he is throwing strikes, he's one of the better righthanders around."

Santana on Sunday

Here's the pitching matchups for the Twins-White Sox series this weekend:

On Friday the Twins' Carlos Silva will face Javier Vazquez. On Saturday the Twins' Sidney Ponson will face John Denks. And on Sunday Johan Santana will start against Jose Contreras.

The Twins are giving Santana an extra day off between starts after his victory in the opener.

"He thinks he might need that extra day, and that is fine," Gardenhire said.

The Twins will check with Santana all season to see if he needs an extra day off during periods when the team has an off day on the schedule.

"It's not a health issue," Gardenhire said. "It's just something we think will help him long-term."

And it will allow the Twins to use their entire rotation the first week of the season.

"Everyone gets to be a part of it right away," Gardenhire said.

A record payroll

The Associated Press reported that the Twins' 2007 payroll is a team-record $71.439 million. The Twins' payroll in 2006 was $63.396 million. The addition of Ponson's $1 million salary accounts for part of the increase. The team also opened the season with Lew Ford, Alejandro Machado and Francisco Liriano on the disabled list, and taking on additional salaries helped push the total over $70 million.

Even so, the Twins still are 19th in payroll.

La Velle E. Neal III • lneal@startribune.com