Patrick Reusse: With a lightened load, Perkins manages good outing

Glen Perkins found out in the middle of the week he would be recalled from Class AAA Rochester to start for the Twins on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox.

Perkins decided to use the modern approach, and shipped his equipment bag to 34 Kirby Puckett Place in Minneapolis.

"He shipped his gear and, last I heard, it's still not here," manager Ron Gardenhire said two hours before the scheduled pitch. "I think there's a frantic search going on."

The manager paused, smirked and said: "We're off to a good start."

The former Stillwater High and Gophers lefthander had been around the Twins enough in the previous seasons that it was easy to lose track of the fact that this would be his first major league start. The previous 23 appearances (as well as one in the 2006 playoffs) had been in relief.

Perkins had spent much of the 2007 season sidelined with a significant strain of a left lat muscle. He pitched only 48 innings at five different levels of the Twins organization.

Still, Perkins went to spring training expecting to earn a spot as a Twins long reliever. Gardenhire described him as "frustrated and confused" on March 23, when he was told that he would start the season in Rochester.

There were reports that Perkins' text messages and other communiqués were reaching the Twins clubhouse with such frequency that grumbling was heard from the team's brain trust.

"Perk's going to have to spend less time worrying about what's happening here and more time getting hitters out if he's going to get back here any time soon," one of these influential people was heard to say.

Whatever the reason (presumably, arm strength), Perkins started to turn things around in an April 21 start. Starting then, he made three starts, pitched 19 1/3 innings and allowed only 10 hits and three earned runs.

Kevin Slowey already was on the way from Rochester to replace Francisco Liriano in the rotation. When the decision was made last week to disable Scott Baker, Perkins was next on the seniority list.

Did the equipment show up?

There were times when Perkins pitched with authority in his previous Twins appearances. There were other times when his control was shaky, or he relied on trying to throw high fastballs past big-league hitters.

On Saturday, facing Boston's loaded lineup, the Twins watched a different pitcher at work.

Perkins kept a sinking fastball at the knees often enough to get some big outs. He reached back to hit 93 miles per hour with his riding fastball. He struck out Manny Ramirez with a terrific changeup. And, he showed a dropping curveball.

It was a mix of pitches that will work for Perkins in the big leagues, either as a starter or as a much-needed second lefty to go with Dennys Reyes in the bullpen.

"I thought this was the best I've ever seen him," pitching coach Rick Anderson said.

He threw a changeup high and way too hard to Kevin Youkilis, and he mashed it for a second-inning home run. With a 2-1 lead to start the seventh, Perkins fell behind 3-1 to Coco Crisp, grooved a fastball, and Coco clobbered it.

He followed this with a 1-2 curveball to rookie Jed Lowrie. "That was the best curveball I threw all night," Perkins said. "I almost bounced it. But he went down and got it."

Lowrie's golf shot went into the left-field seats, Perkins left with a 3-2 deficit, and became the loser of a 5-2 final.

Boston hit four home runs to put its season total at 39. The Twins unloaded one mighty fly to the warning track (Jason Kubel in the second), and their home run total stayed at 17.

Meaning, if Perkins only had been pitching to his text-messaging pals rather than to the Sox, he would have had a much kinder fate.