Continued: Neshek is lost to ligament tear

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Twins righthander Pat Neshek is now focusing on 2009 after learning that he has an acute partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow.

Neshek felt a pop in his elbow after throwing a slider on Thursday during the Twins' loss to the White Sox, and an MRI exam on Friday confirmed the tear. In this case the word acute means that the injury is not chronic but just occurred.

Neshek, who consulted with Twins physician Dr. Dan Buss, said there are no plans for surgery, that rest and rehabilitation should lead to a full recovery.

"It's going to be three months without throwing a baseball,'' Neshek said. "They told me there's an 80 percent chance of a successful rehab, so it sounds like I'm not going to have surgery.

"I'm looking at trying to get back by Opening Day next year.''

Neshek is 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA in 15 appearances. He hasn't been as dominant as he was for most of last season but still has been effective.

"Our goal is to get him back healthy,'' Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's one of the good ones.''

The Twins bullpen entered Friday fifth in the AL with a 3.42 ERA. Neshek's injury will test that group more.

Righthanders Jesse Crain and Matt Guerrier should get most of the eighth-inning duties, with Dennys Reyes facing lefthanded hitters when needed. Righthander Juan Rincon likely will be used in seventh-inning roles but could be brought in for work in the eighth inning, too.

If the Twins need to reach down to Class AAA Rochester, options include righthanders Julio DePaula and Tim Lahey.

Lamb loses playing time

The play of Matt Tolbert and Nick Punto has caused Gardenhire to adjust his starting lineup.

Mike Lamb, who entered Friday batting .207 with no homers, will lose at-bats against lefthanded pitchers so Gardenhire can use Tolbert or Punto. Tolbert started at third base on Friday against Boston lefthander Jon Lester. Lamb, who was 1-for-14 vs. lefties, came into the game when second baseman Brendan Harris left in the sixth inning because of a tight right hamstring, and Tolbert moved to second.

Lamb came through in a big way in the ninth, delivering a two-out, two-run single to left off Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon that scored Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez for a 7-6 Twins victory.

"He's been struggling lately with the bat [and] defensively," Gardenhire said of Lamb before the game. "He's going to play. He's going to get his opportunities to play. We're just mixing it up the best we can."

Gardenhire didn't hide the fact that he likes what Tolbert and Punto have brought to the lineup, suggesting there will be more days when the pair will make up the left side of the Twins infield instead of Lamb and Adam Everett.

"It seems like there's a little more energy," Gardenhire said. "You're not hitting a lot of home runs at this point of the season so you better be able to run a little bit, and that's what we have talked about, athleticism. We like that word around here.''

Etc.

• The Twins on Friday wore patches on their right sleeves commemorating Minnesota's sesquicentennial celebration.

• Punto's left hamstring still was sore Friday, so Gardenhire did not expect to have him available for the game.

• Boston was successful on 22 consecutive steal attempts before J.D. Drew was caught in the fifth inning.

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