DETROIT - The Twins' clubhouse doors remained closed to the media for 22 minutes after Wednesday night's 11-7 victory over the Tigers as manager Ron Gardenhire and General Manager Terry Ryan sorted through their injuries and roster needs.

After blowing an early four-run lead, the Twins outslugged their division rivals for one of their biggest victories of the year, so they wanted to savor it, but with another game to play at Comerica Park on Thursday afternoon, they needed to work fast.

The Twins placed catcher Ryan Doumit on the 15-day disabled list because of a strained right calf and recalled Ben Revere from Class AAA Rochester. Revere is expected to arrive in time for Thursday's series finale, and the Twins might need him to play center field since Denard Span has missed the past two games because of right hamstring tightness.

Gardenhire said he didn't want to use closer Matt Capps on Wednesday because the righthander was a little sore after being used three times in four games -- and warming up on the other day -- between Friday and Monday.

"He's available [Thursday]," Gardenhire said. "I think he bit the end of the [bullpen] phone off when we said you're not going in the game tonight, so he's available."

Then there's starting pitcher Nick Blackburn, who allowed six runs in two innings Wednesday, in the team's shortest start of the season. After his outing, he told the Twins he'd been pitching with pain in his left quadriceps muscle.

"I wish he'd have said something," Gardenhire said. "He went out there for the second inning, and then he gave up five runs, and when he came out of the game, he said he felt like he had a knife sticking in his leg."

Blackburn said the injury actually started bothering him in Friday's start against the Blue Jays, when he looked solid for four innings before giving up three quick runs in the fifth.

"It was better throughout the week," Blackburn said. "The first couple days after my last start, it was pretty stiff, pretty tight, but it kind of continued to go away. Today, I showed up at the field and hadn't felt anything. Halfway through warm-ups, I started feeling it again, and it was just something I thought was going to be fine."

Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham hit RBI doubles in the first inning, giving Blackburn a 2-0 lead. The Tigers scored one run in the first.

"I felt sharp," Blackburn said. "I felt confident after that first inning, thought everything was going to be fine. I went out for that second inning, and wasn't able to get out over my front side anymore."

The results were nearly disastrous for the Twins. Brian Dozier's three-run homer had stretched their lead to 5-1, and the Tigers stormed back with five runs off Blackburn.

With an open date Monday, the Twins likely will skip Blackburn's next turn in the rotation but by May 26 they'll either need Blackburn or another starter to face these same Tigers at Target Field. Blackburn has an 8.37 ERA, so his rotation spot might have been in jeopardy, anyway.

In this game, at least the bullpen bailed him out, holding the Tigers to just one run over seven innings. Jamey Carroll's two-run double gave the Twins an 8-7 lead in the seventh inning. Alexi Casilla added a two-out, RBI single in the eighth, and Trevor Plouffe, who was batting .125, hit a two-run homer in the ninth.

"We're working on [the roster]," Gardenhire said. "But it doesn't take away from a heck of a win tonight against a very good baseball team over there."