CHICAGO — White Sox righthander Gavin Floyd stole the show Tuesday night at U.S. Cellular Field. But there was another pitcher who worked six innings. And he wasn’t happy with himself at all.

Twins righthander Nick Blackburn allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks. By definition, that’s a quality start — six or more innings pitched, three or fewer earned runs allowed. He now has four quality starts in seven tries and is 2-2 with a 3.65 ERA.

But if you think this rookie is pleased with that and just happy to be here, guess again.

“I’m tired of going out there and feeling like I am,” Blackburn said. “I haven’t felt comfortable in a while. It’s frustrating, I’m ready for stuff to start feeling right — you know, throwing pitches that I feel comfortable with, something I can trust. Tonight, it felt like I wasn’t trusting any of my stuff.

“It’s off and on. One outing, I’ll feel good up there. The next one — I’m just inconsistent right now. I’m getting away with a lot of mistakes. I know I can pitch a lot better than I am.”

Blackburn, 26, appeared to be injured when Nick Swisher spiked the back of his left foot at first base in the fourth inning. Blackburn said his shoe came off and he rolled his ankle slightly but was otherwise fine.

Now, it’s back to the video leading up to a bullpen session, likely on Thursday, with Blackburn’s next start scheduled for Sunday against Boston. Pitching coach Rick Anderson has been working with Blackburn on lengthening his stride back to where it was last year, when the righthander was dominating at Class AAA.

“We worked on some stuff last week,” Blackburn said. “Pretty sure it’s going to help me in the long run. I’m ready for it to be now.”

Update (9:40 a.m.): It’s raining buckets here. Supposed to let up by late afternoon. RHP Livan Hernandez never has faced the White Sox. And the Twins will get their first look of 2008 at LHP Mark Buehrle.

Also, the Twins officially made the roster move we told you about last night: Scott Baker to the 15-day DL with a right groin strain, Kevin Slowey activated from the DL to start Thursday, and Glen Perkins named probable starter for Saturday against Boston. No roster move yet for Perkins. Twins wanted him to throw another bullpen session with Rochester.

Update (12:25 p.m.): The rain has stopped. Still cloudy, but the skies are lightening. I think they’ll play ball tonight, despite the grim forecasts of Star Tribune baseball editor/weatherman Dennis Brackin.

Update (3:15 p.m.): I saw patches of blue sky on the way to U.S. Cellular Field. Batting cage is on the field. Twins might even get to take BP today. Heading to the clubhouse soon for the lineups.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 7th, 2008 at 9:42 am and is filed under Twins thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.