Nick Blackburn Injury: Struggling In Minors, But Twins Starter Still On Track

Minnesota Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn continues to recover from a right quadriceps strain that put him on the DL on May 17th. Blackburn remains in Rochester for another rehab start after struggling in his first outing on Tuesday. While not tearing up the Triple-A competition, Blackburn is reportedly making progress toward a return to the mound for the Twins.

According to Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, the end results in Rochester weren't a priority for Blackburn. Making sure his leg held up to the live pitching performance is waht really mattered in his first start. So now, assuming there are no set backs physically for Blackburn, if he can show some improvement in his performance he will be back with the big club next week.

"He threw 70 pitches or whatever," Gardenhire said Friday. "It was all about pitches and stretching back out and making sure his body's OK. Our preference would be to see him throw the ball good next time; we'll see what happens.

"He throws Sunday. If he's still having issues and not getting people out down there, we'll take a look and see what we've got."

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Nick Blackburn Injury: Pitcher Struggles In Rehab Appearance

Battling an injury that landed him on the DL on May 17, Minnesota Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn headed to Rochester recently to make a couple rehab starts. His first start with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate was on Tuesday and it did not go very well:

Blackburn, on the disabled list with a strained left quad, was tagged for four runs and four hits in 3 2/3 innings Tuesday, May 29, against the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. He also walked three batters.

Twins skipper Ron Gardenhire was concerned with Blackburn's results, especially his command, but was encouraged that Blackburn did not suffer any setbacks health-wise.

Blackburn is expected to make one more start with Rochester. If all goes according to plan, he will rejoin the Twins rotation after the outing for his next start.

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Nick Blackburn Expected To Make 2 Rehab Starts In Triple-A

In somewhat of a surprising move a little over a week ago, the Minnesota Twins announced that they would be sending Nick Blackburn to the disabled list with a quad injury that seemed to pop up out of nowhere instead of the knowingly injured Ryan Doumit. The news came a day after Blackburn gave up five straight singles and six runs to the Tigers over a mere two innings of work.

According to Rhett Bollinger, Blackburn is ready to come back, but will make a couple rehab starts before rejoining the team:

Blackburn set to travel Sunday to Triple-A Rochester to make rehab starts Tuesday & Sunday. #Twins

— Rhett Bollinger (@RhettBollinger) May 26, 2012

Blackburn has been extremely ineffective this season, allowing 31 earned runs in 33-plus innings of work and striking out 19 opposite 13 walks.

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Nick Blackburn, Not Ryan Doumit, Heading To Disabled List For Twins

The Minnesota Twins were expected to place catcher Ryan Doumit on the disabled list, but they've since pulled a switch. Instead, starting pitcher Nick Blackburn was played on the 15-day disables list on Thursday with a strained left quadriceps muscle. On Wednesday night, they had announced that Doumit would be going to the DL. The MRI he took did have favorable results.

According to the Star Tribune, Ben Revere has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester and will start in center field on Thursday. They're going to go with 12 pitchers and 13 position players for the time being, though a pitcher call-up is expected in the near future.

Doumit is day-to-day on the calf strain, and according to the article, Manager Ron Radenhire said that Doubmit should be "a few days." He also suggested that Doumit would play right now if he had to, which is a good sign. Blackburn is injured for the second time this season, after going down at the beginning of the season.

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