After blowing his third save in three weeks on Tuesday night, Twins closer Glen Perkins is unavailable Wednesday night as team doctors will examine him again for discomfort in his neck and left shoulder, according to the Pioneer Press. A recent round of tests on the reliever showed no structural issues.
“We’re going to let the doctors look at him,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters Wednesday. “He’s going to get checked out here and they’re going to tell us where we need to go. Definitely not going to pitch tonight (Wednesday), and we’ll back him off until they tell us what we need to do.”
Tuesday night, with the Twins leading 2-0 in the top of the ninth inning, Perkins gave up a three-run homer to Detroit’s J.D. Martinez. It was the fifth home run Perkins had given up in his past 6 1/3 innings.
The numbers are especially startling when you look back over the course of the season, according to Hard Ball Talk.
In his first 55 innings, Perkins allowed just two home runs and posted a 2.44 ERA with a 64/9 K/BB ratio. In his last eight appearances Perkins has given up 10 runs for an ERA of 14.21 over those 6 1/3 innings. Opponents are also hitting .429 off Perkins during that same stretch.
Glen Perkins threw 211 fastballs at 96+ MPH last year. This year he has thrown 4. Crazy stat. http://t.co/ZQho1WC1pi
— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) September 17, 2014
The Star Tribune reports Gardenhire says Jared Burton, Lester Oliveros and Michael Tonkin are the candidates to close in the Twins bullpen.
