ANAHEIM, CALIF. -- Scott Baker's elbow still isn't perfect. He didn't want to blame tonight's short outing on the elbow, but it's clear this is something that affects him from time to time.
"You either can pitch or you can't, and as of right now, I can pitch," Baker said. "I think if you asked anybody, nobody's perfect in here. Tonight, was just strictly poor performance."
From start to start, Baker isn't sure how the surgically repaired elbow is going to respond. It doesn't sound like he's in pain as much as it's tough to get loose.
"You've been around long enough to know, what's OK and what's not OK," he said. "And as of right now, it's OK. It's just a little more work to get your work in between starts and getting loose. That really hasn't changed. Since the elbow injury, that's been the case, but as long as you're going in, and you're effective, you just kind of have to grind through it sometimes."
Young's thoughts on the DH role
Delmon Young hit two homers tonight, doubling his season total, but he said he still doesn't like the DH role.
"I just did it because I had to," he said.
Said Manager Ron Gardenhire: "I don't think he wants to be a DH the rest of his career. He'll do it every once in a while. I told you we're going to mix the lineup up, try to use everybody. Ben [Revere] had a really nice night tonight, and if we can piece it together, that'll be a good thing."
