NewsHit hard, Slowey placed on disabled list
Twins ace strains right wrist -- 'a pretty significant area'
By Kelly Thesier / MLB.com
07/04/09 2:33 AM ET
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins suffered an 11-9 loss to the Tigers in 16 innings on Friday night, but the bigger blow came when they lost their 10-game winner as well. Right-hander Kevin Slowey was placed on the 15-day disabled list after the contest with a strained right wrist. The Twins have called up right-hander Anthony Swarzak from Triple-A Rochester to take his place on the roster. Slowey, who entered the night trying to become the first pitcher in the Majors to win 11 games, tossed just three innings against Detroit as he gave up a season-worst six runs on five hits. It was during his start that Slowey felt a "sharp pain radiating from my wrist." It's the same wrist that was hit by a Juan Uribe line drive in Slowey's final start of the 2008 season on Sept. 25 against the White Sox at the Metrodome. At the time, he was diagnosed with just a bruise after X-rays and an MRI both came back clear. Slowey is scheduled to have the wrist examined by doctors on Monday, and that's when the club will know more about how long the injury might sideline him, manager Ron Gardenhire said. "It's the same general area," Slowey said. "That's what hurt last year obviously from blunt force trauma. But I think they'll look into whether it was related. ... More than anything, it's concerning because it's in my right wrist, a pretty significant area." Slowey said that this is the first time he's experienced the pain in his wrist this season, and that he didn't feel anything there during his previous three-inning start in St. Louis. The pain didn't occur on a specific pitch, Slowey added, but that it went from "dull to sharp" over the course of his outing. "It was something that kind of affected how I held onto the ball, grip strength, etc.," Slowey said. "It was just very, very uncomfortable." Swarzak, who is scheduled to join the team in time for Saturday's contest vs. Detroit, will pitch out of the bullpen for the first few days he's with the team before being slotted into the rotation. He'll provide an extra arm in relief for the Twins, who used all six of their relief pitchers in Friday's loss. So for now, the Twins will remain at just 11 pitchers. "He's rested and can come out of the bullpen and he's good to go," Gardenhire said. "That's what we have. ... We've got one and see if we have to get another we'll do that too." Gardenhire said that Swarzak will get the start in Slowey's next turn, which is scheduled for Thursday vs. the Yankees.Kelly Thesier is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
