Twins notes: May will start as scheduled

It didn't seem possible Saturday, when Trevor May was struck on his precious right elbow, that he could recover in time to start Thursday against the White Sox.

But after throwing in the bullpen Tuesday with no problems, the Twins announced that May will take his normal turn in the rotation. That's a relief to the Twins, who would have had to scramble to come up with a starter for May if he had been unable to start.

"May did well, no issues," Twins manager Paul Molitor said of the bullpen session. "He will start on Thursday. And we will keep [Kyle] Gibson on his regular rotation day, which will be Friday."

May was struck just above the elbow by a line drive by Seattle's Kyle Seager. He was able to recover the ball and throw Seager out at first but then winced and grimaced in pain as trainer Dave Pruemer rushed to his aid. He reported a day later that he was not in as much discomfort as he thought he would be, which was an encouraging sign.

May had given up two runs in the first inning but struck out the side the next inning and had retired six of seven batters when he was hit by the line drive.

The Twins have not decided what they are going to do with righthander Ricky Nolasco, who is eligible to come off the disabled list after recovering from a sore elbow.

New of Tigers announcer Kirk Gibson being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease stunned many across the league.

Former teammate Jack Morris called Gibson and left a message of encouragement. Many are stunned because Gibson, 57, was physically fit and was just managing the Diamondbacks last year. Morris also mentioned Dave Bergman, another member of the 1984 world champion Tigers, who died in February after a battle with bile duct cancer.

"They both took great care of themselves and all the things to stay physically fit," Morris said. "Something like this comes along and you realize it's your time, bad draw or whatever it is. So you have to appreciate every day. And I love Gibby. I called and told him that. Told him my prayers are with him."

Gibson said in a statement: "I have faced many different obstacles in my life, and have always maintained a strong belief that no matter the circumstances, I could overcome those obstacles. While this diagnosis poses a new kind of challenge for me, I intend to stay true to my beliefs."

Last year as a Twins coach, Molitor challenged Brian Dozier to play as many games as possible, and the second baseman responded by playing in 156.

While his first-half batting average of .242 and second-half average of .244 are close, his home runs dipped from 18 in the first half to five the second half. After batting .280 in August, he batted .235 in September.

Molitor spoke with Dozier about it on Monday, with Dozier lobbying to stay in the lineup. But Molitor got his way and Dozier, the only Twin to appear in each of the team's first 19 games, did not start Tuesday.