DETROIT -- Nick Blackburn is heading back to Class AAA Rochester.
The Twins optioned the righthander today, promoting righthanded reliever Casey Fien to take his roster spot. Fien was added to the 40-man roster and will arrive in Detroit tonight, although he probably won't be available to pitch until Thursday.
Fien went 2-5 with a 4.30 ERA and had nine saves in 12 opportunities for the Red Wings. He pitched two scoreless innings on Tuesday night.
Blackburn was 4-5 with an 8.10 ERA in 13 starts. His next scheduled start was Sunday, and the Twins haven't announced who will face Texas that day in his place.
Independence Day Underdogs
After a brutal start to the season, the Twins are enjoying a nice ride as they arrive at the mid-point of the season tonight.
They are 25-19 since they were sitting 10-16 on May 15. They are 4-0 in Detroit after winning the first two games of this four-game series. It's enough to make you forget that they still have the worst run differential in the majors, at -81 (329 runs scored, 420 runs allowed).
Despite all that positive momentum, they'll spend the Fourth of July as the biggest underdogs of the day. Because of this pitching matchup -- Justin Verlander vs. Brian Duensing -- a person would have to bet $2.80 to make $1 on a Tigers victory, according to one site I checked.
