Twins place Pavano on DL, activate Blackburn

The Minnesota Twins placed right-hander Carl Pavano on the 15-day disabled list with a right anterior capsule strain in his shoulder. In his place, the Twins reinstated right-hander Nick Blackburn from his rehab assignment and activated him off the disabled list. Blackburn was on the DL with a quad injury.

Since joining the Twins in 2009, Pavano has largely managed to stay healthy. He pitched 221 innings in 2010 and 222 innings last season. But he had been dealing with shoulder inflammation this season. As a result, his velocity has seen a drop and his pitch counts have been lower. In 11 starts this year, the 36-year-old Pavano was 2-5 with a 6.00 ERA in 63 innings.

Blackburn made two rehab starts with Triple-A Rochester. His latest start for the Red Wings was shortened due to rain. He pitched just 2 1/3 innings (29 pitches), yielding one run on two hits. He also issued one walk and did not strike out a batter in his rain-shortened outing. In his first rehab start earlier in the week, Blackburn gave up four runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings, while also walking three batters.

Before going on the DL, Blackburn was struggling with Minnesota. In seven starts this season, he was 1-4 with an 8.37 ERA. According to the Twins, Blackburn is scheduled to pitch Wednesday in Kansas City.

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