BOSTON – Mike Pelfrey, scheduled to pitch Monday in the opener of a four-game series with the Red Sox, will take the mound in Fenway Park on Tuesday instead. Beyond that? The Twins have some things to figure out.
A wet, cold, miserable day and a forecast that said conditions would only get worse caused the Red Sox to call off Monday's game about five hours before game time, pushing back Pelfrey's start by a day. The game will be made up on Wednesday, part of a day-night doubleheader that will begin at 12:35 p.m. Central time. Fox Sports North will televise that game, as well as the regularly scheduled 6:05 p.m. game.
Phil Hughes, Tuesday's originally scheduled starter, is likely to pitch one of Wednesday's games, but the Twins on Monday weren't ready to announce who might start the other one. That's because, while the extra day off is beneficial to a Twins bullpen that had to cover eight innings on Sunday, it could disrupt their plans for the starting rotation.
Trevor May was supposed to start Wednesday's game, and he could be kept on that schedule — but that would mean the Twins would need to find another starter for Saturday's home game against Milwaukee.
They could choose to give a spot start to Tim Stauffer, who converted to pitching out of the bullpen only last year. But that would leave the bullpen shorthanded again, and Stauffer's experience in three starts last year — a 10.13 ERA and only eight total innings for San Diego — doesn't offer much encouragement. Nor does his 8.03 ERA in 10 relief appearances this year.
The more likely solution: Add a minor-league pitcher to the roster for Wednesday. Under baseball rules, teams can add a 26th player to the active roster on days with two games. That player has to be on the 40-man roster, and the Twins have three starters currently on the roster at Class AAA Rochester: Alex Meyer (who was temporarily moved to the bullpen 10 days ago), Tommy Milone and Jason Wheeler. Milone would appear to be the obvious choice, given his extensive major-league experience and 0.70 ERA in five starts with the Red Wings — but he pitched Saturday, and the Twins probably wouldn't want to use him on short rest.
The Twins could also add a Rochester pitcher to the 40-man roster for the day, like Taylor Rogers (4-3, 3.34) or Pat Dean (5-3, 2.36), or even give Class AA prospect Jose Berrios (6-2, 2.84 at Chattanooga) a shot, but that would require waiving a player currently on the roster.
All of this leaves the Twins rotation in flux, but there's even more uncertainty: Righthander Ricky Nolasco was scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging scan on his right ankle Monday, one day after he left his start against Toronto in the second inning because of injury. The Twins did not announce the results of the MRI, leaving his status — his next start would come Friday or Saturday, if he's able — in doubt.
