The Minnesota Twins are gearing up for the second of three meetings with the Baltimore Orioles, having lost the first outing 4-2 to start their season on Friday. Tommy Hunter will be on the mound for the Twins, with Francisco Liriano the counter for Baltimore. But that's not the most interesting matchup this series, and for the Twins, "interesting" could have a negative connotation. ESPN Twin Cities is reporting that Liam Hendriks will not be the starter for Sunday's game, as he's been struck with food poisoning.
In his place, Anthony Swarzak will be making the start. Hendriks had claimed the spot in the starting rotation with Jason Marquis out of action for two weeks and Scott Baker going through some injury troubles, but this is a definite setback for his immediate future in the rotation. He was looking forward to playing and making a name for himself to earn more time in the role.
Hendriks was admitted to a hospital on Saturday and should be released on Sunday, but will not be in action. Swarzak, a righty, went 2-0 with a 2.93 earned run average during spring training. He's 6-12 with a 5.36 ERA in 23 career starts, but by all accounts, he looks better now than he has in a long time. He'll be up against Jason Hammel for Baltimore.
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