Slowey's injury forces a Plan B for a possible playoff

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: September 26, 2008 - 6:10 AM

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Before Kevin Slowey injured his right wrist Thursday night, the Twins planned to have him start a potential one-game playoff against the White Sox on Tuesday, if that game is necessary.

"Slowey's my big concern," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said after his team's 7-6 victory over the White Sox. "I'm guessing, but that start in five days might be in jeopardy."

Juan Uribe blistered a line drive into Slowey's wrist. The ball bounced to the third base side of the mound. Slowey pounced on the ball and had a play at first. But the control specialist -- who has issued only 24 walks in 160 innings this season -- threw wildly to first base.

Aa the ball bounced into foul territory, Slowey's pain was obvious.

X-rays were negative, but Gardenhire said Slowey would have a magnetic resonance imaging exam today.

"He's pretty sore, he's pretty bruised," Gardenhire said. "They're going to check everything out."

Playoff factor

Twins reliever Jose Mijares is eligible for the team's postseason roster, even though he wasn't with the big-league club when playoff rosters were submitted Aug. 31.

The Twins entered that date with three players on the disabled list -- Michael Cuddyer, Matt Tolbert and Pat Neshek.

Since Neshek hasn't returned from his elbow injury, the Twins can fill his spot on the 25-man playoff roster with any player who was in their organization, as of Aug. 31.

That's good news for the Twins, who have seen Mijares, 23, blossom into a primary setup reliever.

After getting promoted from Class AA New Britain on Sept. 5, the lefthander dazzled the Twins in his first seven appearances. He worked a 1-2-3 inning in his Metrodome debut Wednesday and carried a 1.29 ERA into Thursday.

Perkins feels strong

Glen Perkins said the extra rest the Twins gave him this week should help him Saturday against Kansas City. He was encouraged with his bullpen session Wednesday. So was Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson.

"It was exciting," Perkins said. "It was the first time in probably a month where I had a good bullpen. I didn't have to try to throw real hard and still threw good pitches."

Perkins is 0-1 with a 9.42 ERA in four September starts. The Twins skipped his turn during the White Sox series, so Saturday will be his first start in nine days. "After how my last four starts went, I'm looking forward to getting back out there," Perkins said.

Ratings boost

Wednesday's game received a 13.6 rating on FSN North, the second-highest Twins telecast on the network dating to 1997. One ratings point in the Twin Cities these days equals 17,067 households.

Staff writers Judd Zulgad and La Velle E. Neal III contributed to this report.