Blackburn's efficiency prompts additional work

ATLANTA - Righthander Nick Blackburn was pulled from his start early Tuesday night so a few relievers could get some work. He went to the bullpen and threw another 30 pitches.

That made it 60 pitches total, after a combination of Blackburn throwing strikes and Braves hitters in express mode allowed the pitcher to throw 30 pitches over four innings before leaving.

He's eager to show how he's upgraded from last year.

"I definitely am," he sad. "I feel so much better about my mechanics right now. I almost feel like it's quite a bit different than what I was last year."

Blackburn can throw his slider again and all his other pitches are sharp. He gave up a hit and a walk but both runners were erased on double plays. The Twins went on to lose 4-2 in 10 innings on a walk-off homer by Mauro Gomez off Chuck James.

Blackburn has every reason to feel confident following a 2010 season that started poorly and got worse.

Blackburn had to miss a start during spring training last year when his right knee gave him problems. He needed an injection of Synvisc -- a synthetic lubricant -- in the knee.

Things worsened for him once the season began, because elbow problems kept him from using his trusty slider. He went 10-12 with a 5.42 ERA last season, which a included a stint at Class AAA Rochester.

His elbow was cleaned out during the offseason, so his slider is back. He's also been able to go through a normal running program and heads into the regular season feeling much better physically than he did the year before. He's able to stay on top of his pitches more and everything is sharper.

"I was able to do a lot more working out to build the muscle around my knee," he said. "My legs feel stronger and I don't feel any pressure on my knee."

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire pulled Blackburn to make sure other pitchers got work in. With rain in the forecast for Wednesday, Gardenhire was worried about getting another chance for his pitchers.

But Joe Mauer caught seven innings and Justin Morneau was replaced after batting in the ninth, because Mauer needed time behind the plate and Morneau wanted swings.

Gardenhire joked that he would have liked to have seen Blackburn throw more pitches, but it's hard to yell at him for being too effective.

"That's pretty much what we have seen all spring," Gardenhire said. "The big thing for him is that this is the first time he's had his legs under him really good since his first year up here, really. So you are seeing it. The ball is really coming out, he's not overthrowing it. And there's movement."