The Twins have promoted Ben Revere from Class AAA Rochester to take Josh Willingham's roster spot when Willingham begins his paternity leave. Willingham's wife, Ginger, is scheduled to give birth to the couple's third child on Wednesday.
Teams can fill a roster spot for a player on paternity leave for up to three days. Revere batted .222 (6-for-27) with no walks and one strikeout after getting sent back to Rochester this month.
Tonight's game
The Twins, Red Sox and Pirates have each received a grand total of two wins from their starting pitchers this year. Yes, two.
Twins starters are 2-9 with a major league worst 6.46 ERA.
Red Sox starters are 2-7 with MLB's second worst ERA, at 5.81.
Nick Blackburn and Josh Beckett will try to improve those numbers tonight at Target Field. Blackburn is making his first appearance since April 14, when he left his start against the Rangers with right shoulder stiffness. An MRI exam eased his concerns, and he had a pain-free, 52-pitch bullpen session Sunday in New York.
Beckett has a 5.03 ERA, but it's come down significantly (from 13.50) since his first start against the Tigers. He held Tampa Bay to one run on five hits (and one walk) over eight innings in his second start and held Texas to three runs over seven innings in his last start.
