KANSAS CITY, MO. -- The Twins placed Carl Pavano on the 15-day disabled list with a strained anterior capsular in his right shoulder, and re-instated Nick Blackburn from the DL.

It sounds like Blackburn, who was out with a strained quadriceps muscle, will start Wednesday, in place of Pavano.

Mauer update

Joe Mauer (sprained right thumb) is not in tonight's lineup, as the Twins get ready to open a three-game series with the Royals.

Mauer said his thumb is pretty sore tonight. It got worse overnight, which is pretty typical. He's been icing it constantly and hopes to return as soon as possible. No one said this, but I'm guessing he'll miss this series with an eye toward returning after the off day Thursday.

What's on tap tonight?

For more on Royals starting pitcher Will Smith and his matchup tonight with Cole De Vries, check out our series preview here.

La Velle is Minneapolis, handling our draft coverage, as the Twins get ready to make the No. 2 overall selection, shortly after 6 p.m. Check his blog for updates.

TWINS (20-33)

1. Denard Span, CF
2. Ben Revere, RF
3. Josh Willingham, DH
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Ryan Doumit, C
6. Trevor Plouffe, LF
7. Brian Dozier, SS
8. Alexi Casilla, 2B
9. Jamey Carroll, 3B

Starting pitcher: RH Cole De Vries (0-1, 2.70 ERA)

ROYALS (23-29)

1. Alex Gordon, LF
2. Johnny Giavotella, 2B
3. Billy Butler, DH
4. Mike Moustakas, 3B
5. Jeff Francoeur, RF
6. Eric Hosmer, 1B
7. Alcides Escobar, SS
8. Jarrod Dyson, CF
9. Humberto Quintero, C

Starting pitcher: LH Will Smith (1-1, 6.75 ERA)

Kauffman Stadium. First pitch: 7:10 p.m. TV: FSN. Twins Radio Network

Follow along on Twitter: @JoeCStrib