CHICAGO – Twins righthander Ricky Nolasco threw in the bullpen Saturday. When he was done, pitching coach Rick Anderson approached him, the two did a fist bump and smiled.
Nolasco hasn't pitched since July 6 because of a flexor pronator strain in his elbow but is headed for a rehabilitation start on Tuesday at Class A Cedar Rapids.
Nolasco backed off of long toss throwing drills — which helps keep arms strong — because he was trying to nurse an injury he thought was minor. But his velocity dropped a mile an hour a month, from 93 miles per hour to 90, and he struggled to repeat his mechanics.
Rehabbing has gone very well, and the Twins are anxious to see how different Nolasco will look in games.
"His arm slot is 100 times better," Anderson said. "He told me last week when we started doing bullpen work that his arm felt better than it has in two years. He's thrown three bullpens now and his arm slot is where it should be, where it was in the past."
Nolasco will throw around 50 pitches on Tuesday then throw around 75 on Sunday. Anderson said that will be enough for him to return to the club, provided he stays healthy.
Nolasco is 5-7 with a 5.90 ERA after signing with the Twins during the offseason for four years and $49 million.
Abreu's streaks end
White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu popped out in the first inning Saturday, ending his streak of getting on base at 10 consecutive plate appearances. But after falling behind 0-2, he battled back to get the count to 3-2 before popping up on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. The rookie slugger from Cuba is tough to slow down these days.
